Enforcement
in Ontario is done through a provincial government
office called the Family Responsibility Office (FRO).
The court automatically files all support orders made
after July 1, 1987 with the FRO. Separation agreements
can also be filed there if they have been filed with
the court and then mailed to the FRO.
The
parent who is to pay support is told to make all support
payments to the FRO. When the FRO receives a payment,
it sends a cheque to the parent with custody, or deposits
the money directly into that parent’s bank account.
It only does this after it has received the money from
the paying parent.
If
a payment is missed, the FRO takes action to enforce
the order or agreement. To do this, the FRO needs as
much up-to-date information about the paying parent
as possible. This includes his or her full name, address,
social insurance number, place of employment or business,
income, and any property he or she owns. The information
about the paying parent goes on a Support Deduction
Information Form which is available at the court. This
form is given to the FRO along with the support order
or agreement. It is important to update this form whenever
the information changes.
The
FRO uses different ways to get the payments that are
owed. It can:
 • |
get
the payments directly from the parent who is
supposed to pay support |
| • |
have
the payments automatically deducted from the
parent’s wages or other income (other income
includes things like sales commissions, Employment
Insurance, Workers’ Compensation, income
tax refunds, severance pay, and pensions) |
| • |
register
a charge (a lien) against the personal property
or real estate of a parent who fails to pay the
support that he or she owes |
| • |
garnish
(take money from) the bank account of a parent
who fails to pay support |
| • |
garnish
up to 50% of a joint bank account that he or
she has with someone else, or |
| • |
make
an order against another person who is helping
a parent hide or shelter income or assets that
should go toward support |
The FRO can put more pressure on parents who do not make their support payments
by:
• suspending
their driver’s licences
• reporting
them to the credit bureau so that it will be difficult
for them to get loans, or
• cancelling
their passports.
Once
the order or agreement is filed with the FRO, then
it is the FRO, not the other parent, that is responsible
for any actions taken to enforce it.
Sometimes
parents receiving support withdraw from the FRO because
it is easier to receive payments directly from the
other parent. But if problems arise later, and they
want to re-file with the FRO, they might have to pay
a fee to do this.
Parents
who have an obligation to pay support should also know
that the FRO cannot change the amount that the order
or agreement says they have to pay. If they think that
a change in their financial situation justifies a reduction
in the amount of support they should pay, they must
get a new agreement or go to court to get the support
order changed.
FRO
can be contacted by calling 1-800-267-7263 or you can
also visit their web site at www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english and
click on “Family Responsibility Office”.
At
Russell Alexander, Family Lawyers our focus is exclusively
family law. To find out more about our services, we
invite you to contact
us or call the firm at 1.866.647.6335 |
