FRO - what do they do?

[LisaS]

Originally Posted by Epona

FRO (Family Responsibility Office) makes sure that the financial obligations of the paying parent are met per the requirements described in a court document (eg separation agreement registered in court) or court order. Because of so many people supposedly in default, or who make it difficult to receive child support, the FRO is swamped and unable to tackle anything unless there is a court order and it takes about three months before they register a new case.
Any and all changes to child support (which can also include an additional monthly amount for S.7 expenses in addition to child support), must go through court. It's better and quicker if both parents agree on the amount (Consent to Change Child Support) as opposed to disagreeing (Motion to Change Child Support), which can take about nine months (within the GTA anyway) to change.
If the parents can trust each other, then they can agree to cancel the involvement of FRO and make adjustments more quickly.

Hi @Epona

That ideally would be the best way - mediate out a new agreement and file with the court - although not sure if his ex would see that as a reasonable option. I would think that it would be, especially since it apparently takes the FRO so long to process and - as per an above post - once he is notified by the FRO, he has to stop all payments and just deal though them, which I'm sure she'll find inconvenient. Thanks for the insights.