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  • Real Scared

    have been reading horror stories regarding FRO and what they can do to you and how slow they are. My husband is not working and we are feverishly trying to get our lawyer moving on making a court date, sending out the notice to his ex (giving her another 30 days)...However she is feverishly working on getting her children signed up in College...so by the time we go to court he will still pay.

    Since my salary has been cut and I am the only one working out of my husband, his ex and their kids...I could lose everything if he still has to pay and mark my words she will have them enrolled in birdewatching if it gets her what she wants.

    I see that FRO could take his license away, garnish his bank accounts - which are MINE too..I dont want to sound mean but this is ridiculous.....my question is this.......

    What if we had the house, bank accounts etc..all put in my name....could they get me then? I am absolutely terrified!

  • #2
    Unfortunately it can take months to vary a support order in court.
    Your husband must continue to pay what he can towards his support if he's not having automatic withdrawal off of his earnings or in his case EI.
    Once the arrears climb to a certain level FRO will start enforcement actions.
    His best bet would be to be in touch with them and let them know when he has a court date although ultimately this will not stop them as their job is to enforce court orders and that's what they do.
    If your husband has no means to enter a VAPS agreement with them to pay back the arrears, there's nothing he can do but wait till court gets it sorted.
    In the meantime I personally would change the bank account to your name. The bank garnishment will instantly seize the funds from any accounts w/your husbands name on them. Then you have 30 days to appeal it while they hold the money blah, blah, blah.
    I'm not certain if the FRO can put a lien on your house you may want to check if that is one of the actions. Your husband may need his equity against a loan or credit in future for legal fees or wanting to pay off the arrears to get the monkey off his back. This will have to be mutually decided by the two of you.
    While everyone penalizes FRO for doing their job it is really the slow court system that's presently in place to hurriedly alter support orders when it's a valid reason such as job loss, illness or substantial drop in earnings.
    In my experience, the bright side is that once he's been to court, even though it may take you months to get your court order, an order with the relevent information is sent to FRO and they promptly adjust support and arrears.
    The other avenue to avoid court delays is a Consent To Vary Support. This is if his Ex would agree to the variance. Then it's simply filed with the court.

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Lkpd

      Yes it is true that FRO is hard, and believe me I know, I'm still paying through them.
      If your Husband lost his job, you can always submit a "Whitby Motion" to the Family Courts, this motion is like an emergency court appearance, it should happen within 30 days or less, a judge will make an interim order until your case conference appearance. if for any reason your husband overpaid, and the judge makes an order to adjust from the date that your husband’s income changed, FRO will make the proper adjustments retroactively, though I have to remind you that your husband will have to call FRO so they can send him a cheque for what he overpaid. otherwise will stay with them until he claim it.Believe me that happened to me.
      Regarding your question of having everything under your name that will be the best approach, remembered that your income and whatever is under your name is untouchable, the only problem here is, if the court see that you did it with the intention of not paying support they might use your income as a revenue to help pay what your husband owes.
      if your husband intentionally made himself unemployed, then the courts might not reduce any support.
      I hope this helps.

      Comment


      • #4
        I am just copmpleteing my nightmare with the FRO. As an aside - I found they get very offended when you call them a Collection Agency! They claim they are an enforcement agency. Ask them to enforce access orders. They only get involved in collecting money owed. Not a Collection Agency???

        Anyway, I had a similar situation and they have suspended my license twice. When asked how I am to work without a license they don't care. Explain that I can not pay if I don't earn - they can't deal with that logic!!

        Now they are taking 50% of my income. At $100,000 this would be unpleasant, but bearable. But my income is less than $20,000 due to health issues and 50% of $20,000 is well below poverty. Still no comcern on their part.

        The only saving grace in this is that my experience is that when Judges hear FRO they usually roll their eyes and have little use for them. That has been the one thing that has been positive in my dealings with Judges.

        If you are having trouble getting a lawyer to move on your case (another surprise!! - not) You might try bringing your own motion on some of the things. I don't know all of your circumstances, but after paying $20,000+ to a lawyer I had to go on my own, and have found it is not uncommon in Family Court. If you take your time, and ask enough questions often enough it is not as daunting a task and you think it is.

        Although she is not doing a particularly good job at it, if my ex can represent herself, anyone who is able to find this site, obiviously has more skills, and should be able to handle it.

        Good luck. Feel free to contact directly if you need anything. jdjeffery@hotmail.com

        Comment

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