FRO- do I have to?

[stripes]

^^^ not a great idea. Unless you are sure that her marital status determines whether or not you pay SS, this would be a whole lot of drama for nothing. I really can't see a judge ordering her to reimburse you for the costs of a private investigator snooping around her personal life. It looks too much like creepy behavior.

[Links17]

I've heard the CRA ignores divorced ppl snitching on each other.

Hmmm.... I think officially you have to hire a private investigator for the cohabitation.

It could be grounds to terminate spousal support (need to know about your situation)..... It will almost definitely be a factor.

I think I would tell her that you know she is living with somebody and you will file a motion in court and if she doesn't admit to it that you will hire a private investigator and having him testify in court and ask the judge to force her to pay the cost of the investigator.

[rockscan]

I mentioned snitching only if she denies it for ss purposes. If your agreement states ss until she remarries/cohabitating then make the taxman do the leg work. Otherwise, dont bother because youll still have to pay ss no matter what.

That was just my two cents.

[Beachnana]

Mine was a SA as well, but my ex flat out denies being in a relationship, because she knows it may have an effect on spousal. Getting her to write a letter is out of the question.

Getting her to exchange tax forms is like pulling teeth. She has only recently provided T4's but did not provide the more telling self-employed NOA's or ROA's, despite numerous requests and a case conference endorsement to do so. When filing taxes last spring, her relationship would have been less than 6 months, and would not have been established as part of the 2013 tax year. Thus she would not have indicated on previous tax forms, and I highly doubt she will next tax year.

If she files as a single person then her new partner will not count. They have to be living together for 3 years and filing as common law for any effect regarding tax.

[stripes]

thanks for the advice. This remarriage is of interest to me and now I see a potential opportunity to take advantage of the FRO's involvment. Did you not have to go to court to have SS terminated? Would the FRO do this with an established common-law relationship?
My ex is in a 1 year common-law relationship that she denies. The probable reason she has now involved the FRO is for revenge: I have initiated a spousal support review which she has dragged out over months. When she very reluctantly filed her 13.1 financial statement, it was littered with errors, the most blatant of which was deliberately indicating that she is living alone.
When I challenged her on this in court documents, she in return challenged me to prove it, which I'm not sure how to do. It's her word against mine. I don't want to lower myself to taking photos of his car parked outside of her house every day. But I don't think I can just let this slide. I know he lives with her and my young children speak regularly (and highly) of her new spouse. He even works remotely out of her house.
I wonder what the effect of entering into a common-law relationship would have on spousal with the FRO?

My understanding is that FRO and other agencies like MEP in Alberta enforce/carry out existing orders, they don't change them. So for FRO, it's irrelevant whether your ex has a live-in boyfriend or not, as long as the paperwork they have in front of them says that you are required to pay a certain amount. If you want to adjust the amount, either you and your ex have to agree (in writing) or you need an updated court order.

(Depending on your SS arrangements, your ex's personal life may not be relevant to your SS obligations. Not all SS can be terminated just because the recipient has entered another relationship, especially if it's compensatory in nature [i.e. the point of compensatory SS is not to pay a former spouse to stay single]. Your mileage may vary).

[nogoingback]

Anonymous tip? Does CRA do that?

Never thought of that.
Lo and behold, a snitch line exists:
The Canada Revenue Agency Informant Leads aka “Snitch” Line | inTAXicating

[rockscan]

Anonymous tip? Does CRA do that?

[nogoingback]

Since our Spousal support was agreed to in a separation agreement and not in a court order, we didn't have to go to court to change it. There is a form, but my ex simply wrote a letter and it was done.

As for your ex's common law relationship, do you exchange tax forms? Surely she wouldn't be cheating the tax man?

Mine was a SA as well, but my ex flat out denies being in a relationship, because she knows it may have an effect on spousal. Getting her to write a letter is out of the question.

Getting her to exchange tax forms is like pulling teeth. She has only recently provided T4's but did not provide the more telling self-employed NOA's or ROA's, despite numerous requests and a case conference endorsement to do so. When filing taxes last spring, her relationship would have been less than 6 months, and would not have been established as part of the 2013 tax year. Thus she would not have indicated on previous tax forms, and I highly doubt she will next tax year.

[DowntroddenDad]

thanks for the advice. This remarriage is of interest to me and now I see a potential opportunity to take advantage of the FRO's involvment. Did you not have to go to court to have SS terminated? Would the FRO do this with an established common-law relationship?
My ex is in a 1 year common-law relationship that she denies. The probable reason she has now involved the FRO is for revenge: I have initiated a spousal support review which she has dragged out over months. When she very reluctantly filed her 13.1 financial statement, it was littered with errors, the most blatant of which was deliberately indicating that she is living alone.
When I challenged her on this in court documents, she in return challenged me to prove it, which I'm not sure how to do. It's her word against mine. I don't want to lower myself to taking photos of his car parked outside of her house every day. But I don't think I can just let this slide. I know he lives with her and my young children speak regularly (and highly) of her new spouse. He even works remotely out of her house.
I wonder what the effect of entering into a common-law relationship would have on spousal with the FRO?

Since our Spousal support was agreed to in a separation agreement and not in a court order, we didn't have to go to court to change it. There is a form, but my ex simply wrote a letter and it was done.

As for your ex's common law relationship, do you exchange tax forms? Surely she wouldn't be cheating the tax man?

[nogoingback]

When my ex got remarried, she sent a letter and they responded within 2 weeks, telling me I no longer needed to pay spousal.

thanks for the advice. This remarriage is of interest to me and now I see a potential opportunity to take advantage of the FRO's involvment. Did you not have to go to court to have SS terminated? Would the FRO do this with an established common-law relationship?
My ex is in a 1 year common-law relationship that she denies. The probable reason she has now involved the FRO is for revenge: I have initiated a spousal support review which she has dragged out over months. When she very reluctantly filed her 13.1 financial statement, it was littered with errors, the most blatant of which was deliberately indicating that she is living alone.
When I challenged her on this in court documents, she in return challenged me to prove it, which I'm not sure how to do. It's her word against mine. I don't want to lower myself to taking photos of his car parked outside of her house every day. But I don't think I can just let this slide. I know he lives with her and my young children speak regularly (and highly) of her new spouse. He even works remotely out of her house.
I wonder what the effect of entering into a common-law relationship would have on spousal with the FRO?

[rockscan]

Dont try to use it as a "ill get you" type of thing because then youre just feeding the drama dragon. Look at it as a way to avoid having to send her anything. She has more legwork. You get to just pay it like a normal bill. And if you stay in touch with your caseworker and are pleasant, theyll help you meet your obligations. Just stay on top of dates and ages so when your kid graduates or moves etc youve got a call in to FRO to help get it finished.

[nogoingback]

Initially my partner felt that he would be seen as a deadbeat because hes with FRO but really, its just a middle man to avoid drama. Sure its a shock to see a letter show up or a demand for money that isnt right but if you work with them on it, youll find it much more stress free.

thanks-very helpful. Must do my best to see this in a positive light and somehow use it to my advantage.

[rockscan]

My partner had that clause too. Funny, ex cashed all the cheques for support but filed with FRO because she felt he was in default. We're pretty sure she thought they would force him to pay the amount she thought he was supposed to pay, not the amount outlined in the fed cs guidelines.

Initially my partner felt that he would be seen as a deadbeat because hes with FRO but really, its just a middle man to avoid drama. Sure its a shock to see a letter show up or a demand for money that isnt right but if you work with them on it, youll find it much more stress free.

[DowntroddenDad]

In the end, if one of the parties insists on FRO, then you have to deal with them.

My separation agreement had a clause drafted by my ex, that we would NOT use FRO unless I became 30 days behind in a payment. Within 2 weeks of having a signed agreement, she registered it with the FRO and I learned it doesn't matter what you've signed.

They send the nasty letter but they won't garnish your wages unless they have to. My FRO worker has actually been very helpful, but clearly stressed and overworked. My calls get returned withint 48 hours. When my son moved out of his mothers and in with me, FRO guided me on the form to send in, and then when my ex refused to respond to the request to drop his support, did an admin procedure and lowered my support. When my ex got remarried, she sent a letter and they responded within 2 weeks, telling me I no longer needed to pay spousal.

[rockscan]

The FRO caseworkers arent evil minions either. My partners caseworker is pretty good at giving him info when he calls and calling him back if necessary. Shes told him repeatedly hes a good payor and she has no worries about him. The system itself sucks of course but as long as you meet your requirements youre ok. The ex doesnt email or call at all anymore about money. Sadly she figures if she just submits receipts theyll magically be paid what she wants. Thats the part that cracks me up. Shes miscalculated two expenses now. She could have been paid back in June voluntarily but now shes going to be waiting months for the proper amount according to the agreement because FRO is rejecting the costs due to them not adhering to the agreement.