"I called the FRO and they are not helping me" - BlogBite (21)

We hear this statement quite frequently.

Here is a typical scenario:

* Parties' family law case ends with a final order for child support. They have one child. Dad pays child support for 9 years.
*Daughter turns 17 and moves in with her boyfriend. She also gets a full-time job.
*Dad has irregular contact with daughter, particularly as she gets older.
*Neither daughter nor Mom tell Dad she is now living with her boyfriend (and not Mom) and working full-time.
*Dad finds out a year later.
*Dad calls Mom and asks her to advise FRO that child support ended some time ago. Mom refuses.
*FRO continues to collect child support.
*Dad calls FRO - he is told (correctly) that they cannot help him in ending the child support payments. FRO's job is to enforce the last court order. They are going so.

What is Dad to do?

Dad needs to go to Court and ask for an Order changing the last Court Order and terminating his child support obligations. If Mom is not agreeing to advise the FRO of the change and Dad is successful in terminating the support payments, he may be entitled to costs (Mom may have to pay his costs for having to go to Court on this issue).

We will soon have a KIT available on our website for situations exactly like this one - Stay Tuned!

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

My child is 18, why is FRO still collecting? - BlogBite

BlogBite (1)

Question: my child is over 18 but FRO are still collecting child support from me.  Why is that?

Answer: the most basic answer to your question is:  "because they have not been told to stop".

Why have they not been told to stop collecting? There may be different reasons for this, for example (and this is not a complete list):

(a) your child is still entitled to child support, even though she/he more that 18 years old;

(b) neither the payor (the person paying support) nor the recipient (the person receiving support) have advised the FRO that the collection by FRO is to stop;

(c) the payor and the recipient do not agree that FRO collection should stop and a Court Order to this effect is needed. The payor has taken no steps to get that Order.

Do you still have questions? Call us for a 30 minute free consultation.

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

"I got a letter from the Family Responsibility Office, what is this about?"

...then you must either be paying or receiving child support in this province, more likely the latter.

There could be a number of reasons for which you received correspondence from the Family Responsiblity Office, the "FRO" as it is commonly known.

It may be that a Court in Ontario made a child support Order in a case before that Court  - such an Order automatically tiggers the involvement of the FRO. You are being contacted about child support payment arrangements.

It may also be that you are being sent a letter because the support recipient has informed the FRO that you are behind in your child support payments. It is important that you react to this correspondence - your failure to do anything about the communication may result in the FRO's taking further steps against you, including those resulting in a suspension of your driver's license.

If you are a recipient of child support, you may be hearing from the FRO about a "terminating event". The payor may have notified the FRO that support for a child is no longer payable because that child no longer qualifies for the payment.

Whatever the circumstances of the communication, hiding from it is not in your best interests. Contact the FRO directly or, if you prefer to understand your rights in advance, contact a lawyer with experience in dealing with the FRO.