yet another topic regarding FRO

[rivgal1964]

We have been paying cs to my husbands ex giving postdated cheques to her financial institution for a year at a time, this has worked out perfect for all involved. We have not had any dealings with the son who will be 18 this month sadly due to the decision of both ex and son since the son was 12. (long story) We have had no contact with the ex for over 2 years now. She is entitled to receive money through company benefits for any eyeglasses etc but we have not been approached for over 2 years now. (perhaps he no longer wears eyeglasses?) We have no idea what so ever if he is going to be continuing on to a 5th year or not and by judging by his report cards which we get he doesn't seem to like school since he never hands in assignments and never participates in class (per every single report card) we have no problem in continuing paying cs if he does in fact continue on but without this contact between us we don't know. We have placed cheques into the account until the end of June and hopefully we will hear something when she realizes that there is no payment for July. Question is can she go to FRO and get an order to have cs from us using this method if she wants to? Like I said we have no problem paying but need to know what is going on with him first, and also for the fact that we have never been delinquent in the past. I know I will get a response like just call him, but he doesn't want anything to do with us so our hands are tied. Thanks for any responses given

 

[dinkyface]

FRO can only enforce an existing court order.

If you have a court order that indicates how much CS, then she can enroll with FRO to enforce it. To protect against this, you will need to request a change in your order to cease CS - this can be done with her voluntary consent (yah, right!), or thru the courts.

In any case, you need to tell her well in advance (i.e NOW) of your intentions to cease payments!!! This is the considerate and common sense thing to do. She will need some time to make budget plans to adjust to the change in income.

Basically you will be telling her that your last CS payment will be Aug 1 (June is too early now). And that if you receive proof of enrollment/acceptance in additional schooling, the support will resume - along with your contribution to post-secondary tuition/books/etc.

 

[Mess]

Agree with Dinkyface

The FRO only can be involved if there is a court order, or if you have a signed agreement that is then registered with the courts.

You should not just unilaterally cease support even if there is no court order. You should contact the mother. Send an email stating that the child is turning 18 and you need to know whether he is registered for school in the fall in order to know if support should continue. If she doesn't respond to the email, try to phone.

If she gives you information by phone, respond with another email stating "This is to confirm that we will be <making the correct decision to continue or cease child support> according to the information you related in your phone call earlier today." This gives you a bit of a written record if she tries to deny the phone call later on.

If the child is going to repeat a fifth year in order to pull up their grades, then they are still a child of the marriage. If they are going to take a year off to decide their path, but intend on continuing school, then the courts will generally say they are still a child of the marriage and should still receive child support. That said, you have every right to know if they are working, that they are saving money for tuition, and that they have registered for school by spring of the next year.

If you are not getting answers, you should send a registered letter asking for this information, and then consider filing a motion for disclosure of the information if they do not comply.

I don't suggest being too aggressive; you may get the info you need simply by asking. I don't suggest sitting on your hands and not taking steps until much later. Start the process of communication now, so that you can show you made several reasonable requests for the details.

 

[DowntroddenDad]

Chances are, if your husband is divorced, there is a signed separation agreement which clearly states CS obligations? If so, that signed separation agreement can be presented to FRO for enforcement, based on one party's request. If the divorce proceeded without formally resolving those issues, which is rare, then FRO can't deal with it.