How to stop FRO from thinking I'm in arrears and taking enforcement actions...

[bake]

I recently received a letter from the FRO stating that I'm in arrears and that they will take actions around reporting me to the credit bureau. I promptly contacted them and informed them that my youngest daughter was now (as of September 2022) attending university away from her mother's home.

Our current court order (November 2019) set out a provision for this scenario and prescribed a propionate cost sharing of expenses based on our incomes which is varied every July 1st. Our lawyers that created the revised court order in November of 2019 stated that it was a "blueprint" for the future and would not require annual court order changes as it took the above scenario into consideration.

I attempted to explain to the person from FRO that I don't pay child support while my daughter is away attending school. i.e. double dipping by paying child support and share of university expenses while she is living away from her mothers house. They didn't care as there was a paragraph in the order that stated an amount I was required to pay in 2019 while my daughter was in high school.
They didn't care about the paragraph that instructed the parties to vary the amount every July 1st.

I understand that I need to file a motion, but what would I say in the motion as I do not want anything changed in the order, I just want the FRO to follow the court order and understand that I made changes to my annual child support amount in July as prescribed in the court order and stopped paying child support in Sept. 2022 as my daughter began attending university away from home and that I'm now paying my proportionate share for that.

Withdrawing from the FRO is not an option as my ex is high conflict and got them involved in the first place. Also, I have tried to work with my ex on a domestic contract which states the above and the following. My 2nd daughter lives with me and is just finishing university in December. My ex owes me 2 years worth of her share of proportionate expenses which I figured would get reconciled when my youngster started school and my ex paid. I figured I would subtract the difference from what she owed me.

It's a very simple matter when 2 parties can co-operate but unfortunately I don't have that available to me. I'm in the process of filing a statement of arrears with the FRO and showing them the monies owed to me.

If anyone has any advice or guidance on how to proceed given the FRO's involvement. I think it outrageous to have to file a motion to ask the FRO to follow the court order which takes into account my youngest daughter starting school and the fact that child support is not payable at the same time when you are paying for them to live away from home.

Regards

[rockscan]

You will have to file a motion to change. Unfortunately FRO does not know how to follow variations in an order and only goes by the support amounts. Did they outline how much arrears you owe?

You will need to also file a motion to stop enforcement until your matter is heard.

As far as your previous order is concerned, it's useless.

In your motion you will ask for summer only support for your daughter as well as a split of expenses. You will also ask for what your ex owes. It will be worded as child support for child 2 is xxx per month for a set number of years. Post secondary costs are calculated as abc and she owes her share to you. Or you paid in full and she owes you.

You will also make an offer to her to settle the matter but advise you will seek costs should she refuse.

There are a few threads on her about this including a sticky post I did on university costs. Do a search as those have a bit more info on how to word your motion.

File it as soon as possible as a decision will probably not come until your kid is done school.

[bake]

Thanks for the quick response rockscan.

What motion/form do I fill out to stop the FRO from enforcement while I'm attempting to get a domestic contract signed to resolve all outstanding issues? Assuming that doesn't work, I will file the motion to request the changes required for a modified/new order.

I'm going to file a statement of arrears with the FRO for the over $9,000 that is owed to me. I stopped paying the $1000 monthly for my daughter beginning on September 1st when she started attending university away from home. I have repeatedly asked my ex for my share of expenses (which she has paid) so that I can pay them to her less what she owes me. Unfortunately she does not respond to my email requests for the amounts that I owe.

The FRO believe I'm just over $3000 in arrears because of my suspending of payments when my daughter began attending school.


Thanks in advance for your assistance

[rockscan]

What motion/form do I fill out to stop the FRO from enforcement while I'm attempting to get a domestic contract signed to resolve all outstanding issues? Assuming that doesn't work, I will file the motion to request the changes required for a modified/new order.

I'm not sure what the title is. I believe it's just a motion which will be to stop enforcement and it's against FRO. You may need to ask someone at the courthouse. Another poster on here did it. I can't remember his forum name but I did comment on his posts so search FRO.

Also, you will need a new order enforceable by FRO so let the domestic contract go. To get the action to stop enforcement you will need to show you have filed a motion to change. Not to mention that if your ex isn't cooperating now she won't cooperate at all. Stop wasting your time.

I'm going to file a statement of arrears with the FRO for the over $9,000 that is owed to me. I stopped paying the $1000 monthly for my daughter beginning on September 1st when she started attending university away from home. I have repeatedly asked my ex for my share of expenses (which she has paid) so that I can pay them to her less what she owes me. Unfortunately she does not respond to my email requests for the amounts that I owe.

She can reject the statement of arrears and FRO won't pursue it. Not to mention that they don't calculate percentages. You need to let that one go too. In your motion you outline what was owed, what was paid and what is outstanding. That is the only way to do it. They aren't savvy enough to do any of that. They have an order for a support amount and they go after that. Nothing else matters to them.

The only email you send to your ex now is this is what the monthly cs is (4 months of cs divided by 12) and this is what you owe me for school expenses. Tell her you are filing a motion to change to update accordingly and Should she refuse to withdraw from FRO, update cs and pay what she owes, you will seek a cost award against her.

Your ex doesnt want to play nice. When it involves significant money they never do. And agreements/orders are bullshit when it comes to support and post secondary. They assume people will play nice and they never do. You need a new order especially since your support will end when your kid finishes school. FRO's next step will be to suspend your license and garnish your income.

[bake]

Thanks again for the insight rockscan, much appreciated...

[rockscan]

Thanks again for the insight rockscan, much appreciated...

You should also connect with FRO again and ask for a supervisor or case manager and let them know that the situation has changed in accordance with whatever items are in the agreement and you are filing a motion related to the cs you are currently paying. Make an agreement to pay say $500 a month until you get the order for them to stop enforcement. Otherwise they will suspend your license.

[StillPaying]

and the fact that child support is not payable at the same time when you are paying for them to live away from home.

This is not automatic nor guaranteed without an agreement or order saying so. Doing nothing or saying you are trying to work out an agreement will guarantee FRO's enforcement actions.

File a MTC for support, then contact FRO and let them know you've filed, following up with them after each court appearance. This should be enough for them to pause enforcement while it's being worked out in court without paying anything.

[bake]

Thanks for the reply "Still Paying" and "rockscan".

Can you let me know all the forms or link to filling this motion on my own? Also, would I just ask for the change to suspend child support while my daughter is attending school away from home? My daughter is talking about staying in that location in the summer to work a summer job there. At that point, I will pay me proportionate share of expenses as she will then live in that off campus house with some friends for the summer and following school year.

How should I ask for the change in child support? Something to the effect of when the child is not living at home there is no child support payable in lieu of cost sharing per the existing order?

I'm happy with the existing order and don't want to make any other changes with it. I only want something added that states something for the FRO to understand and not come after me for child support that I shouldn't be paying while my daughter is living away from home.

Thanks in advance for your help

[rockscan]

It's a 15 motion to change.

You will ask for cs to terminate effective immediately for your oldest daughter and for cs to be adjusted as of September 2022.

You will also ask for the share of previous expenses and current expenses.

It will be along the lines of: (not a lawyer)

1. The respondent and I received an order/reached an agreement on DATE. It is attached as exhibit a.

2. The order/agreement outlined I would pay to the respondent $1000 per month for the support of two children of the marriage. Kid name, birth date and kid name, birthdate.

3. All monies owed for support up to and including August 2022 have been paid in full.

4. In date, the respondent filed the order/agreement with FRO for enforcement.

5. In September 2022, kid 2 began attending school away from home and as such support is paid on a summer only basis for a total of xxx per month. I contacted the respondent regarding monthly support and ceased paying the $1000 per month to FRO. That correspondence is attached as exhibit b.

6. The respondent has refused to agree to withdraw from FRO or file an amending agreement and FRO has filed enforcement actions against me. This motion is to cease support for our children and determine outstanding expenses for post secondary expenses.

7. Our daughter KID 1 attended SCHOOL NAME for the years x to y. Her expenses are broken down as follows (year 1, year 2, year 3). Based on the split of 1/3 to the child (AMOUNT), the remaining xyz is to be split proportionate to our incomes. The respondent currently owes abc in outstanding expenses.

8. Our daughter KID 2 is attending SCHOOL NAME and her annual expenses for 2022-2023 are as follows (list them and then the total). After the child's share of xyz and the proportionate split based on our incomes, the respondent owes abc.

Or something along those lines. You may need to break it out by year.

[bake]

That's excellent, thank-you very much for taking the time to put that detailed response together. Greatly appreciated...

I was going to go the Family Court tomorrow and get the court clerk to stamp my notice of arrears that I plan on faxing to the FRO which detail the monies owed to me for my daughters last 2 years of university. That cost sharing percentage is detailed in the current court order. I have all the detailed receipts and bank statements to prove all the expenses. I figured this way my ex would now have an incentive to try to resolve this amicably as now the FRO will go after her for arrears. Does anyone know if there is any other free service who can sign the form that has to go to the FRO. It says you need a lawyer/ JP/ Notary Public or Commissioner for taking affidavits. I know the Family Court can do this but would like to avoid going there and waiting for God knows how long...

I will definitely put together the Motion to Change and include your outline "rockscan" Thanks again...

[rockscan]

She can reject the arrears so don't put too much weight in that. fRO won't go after it if she says no and to be honest, I don't think they consider arrears from the responding party go ahead and try.

There may be a Family Law Information Centre at your courthouse with duty counsel possibly available to help too.