My ex-partner pays me child support late each month, what can I do?
The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is an Ontario Government program that collects and distributes child support and spousal support from the support payor to the recipient.
When a support payor does not meet their support obligations, they can enforce the child or spousal support payments, including garnishing wages and tax refunds, reporting to credit bureaus or suspending drivers’ licenses.
In extreme circumstances, where a support payor defaults on their support payments, FRO can commence a court action against the support payor.
If you have a Court Order for child support or spousal support, this Order automatically gets sent to FRO by the Court. From there, FRO keeps track of payments and calculates any outstanding child support.
What if I have a separation agreement and want FRO to enforce support?
If you and your ex-spouse have entered into a Separation Agreement that requires one of you to pay child or spousal support to the other, you can file the Separation Agreement with the Court. From there, the support terms of your Separation Agreement can be
enforced through FRO.
Sometimes your separation agreement will set out that you can seek enforcement of support through FRO only after payments are late for a specified number of days. After payment is late for the specified number of days, you are then free to file the Separation Agreement with the Court and seek enforcement.
What if me and my ex-spouse don’t want to use FRO?
FRO is helpful when you are dealing with an ex-spouse who is inconsistent, does not pay the full amount of support, or completely ignores making their support payments. However, getting your file set up with FRO can take some time, which means that you might be going without support for a period while they process your case.
In cases where the support payor is diligent about paying support monthly, on time and without issue, you may feel that FRO is unnecessary. In this case, both parties can sign a Withdrawal Form stating that you no longer want child or spousal support to go through FRO. If there are issues with support payments being made in the future, you can always re-enroll, for a small fee.
It’s important to speak with a knowledgeable family law lawyer if you have questions about support or the Family Responsibility Office. Contact us here if you have further questions.