How to Get Your Support Payments – Useful Tips

Orders for child support and spousal support in Ontario are enforced by the Family Responsibility Office (FRO).

The FRO is a provincial government office.

Every Court Order for child or spousal support is automatically filed with the FRO.

If you and your ex-partner have an agreement about support payments and you want the FRO to enforce it, you have to file the agreement with the Court first.

When a support Order is filed with the FRO, the person who has to pay support must send their payments to the FRO.

When the FRO gets the money, it sends it to the person who is getting support.

If the paying partner (payor) is late or misses a payment, here is what the FRO can do to collect the money:

If the payor is working, the FRO can order the payor’s employer to take money from their wages and send it to the FRO.
If the payor is unemployed or self-employed, the FRO can try to take money from the payor’s bank account.
The FRO can put a lien on personal property such as a car or home. If the payor tries to sell this property, the FRO will get the money the payor owes for support payments.
The FRO can take money that the government owes the payor, such as a tax refund or employment insurance benefits, to make child support payments.
If the payor is always late or owes a lot of support money, the FRO can report the payor to the Credit Bureau.
The FRO can also suspend the payor’s driver’s license and passport, and even put them in jail.

It is important to know that you cannot deny the payor parent parenting time with your child, for being late or not paying support.

You can only refuse to let a parent see their child when they have that legal right, if you are afraid for your child’s safety.

If you think your child is in danger from your partner, you should get help right away, by speaking to a lawyer about your options.

In an emergency, call the police at 911.

The FRO can help you collect support if the payor parent lives anywhere in Canada or the United States.

Ontario also has agreements to enforce support payments with some other countries including Bermuda, Ghana, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and many countries in Europe. The FRO website has a complete list of countries:

www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/familyResponsibility/Gene ral/livingOutOfOntariointernational.aspx

If the payor parent lives in a country that does not have an agreement with Ontario, the FRO can only help you if the payor has income or property in Ontario.

For more information, check out these resources on the FLEW website:

Child Support: https://onefamilylaw.ca/family-lawresources/child-support/

Spousal Support: https://onefamilylaw.ca/family-lawresources/spousal-support/

Child Support and Spousal Support for Indigenous Women

Key Legal Terms: https://onefamilylaw.ca/key-legal-terms/

Webinars: https://onefamilylaw.ca/webinars/

Family Responsibility Office (FRO):

www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/MCSS/programs/familyResponsibility/inde x.aspx

You can find more information on how to access services in French on our website at www.onefamilylaw.ca or www.undroitdefamille.ca.