Nate Russell at 21:07, 9 April 2025

2025-04-09T21:07:26Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:07, 9 April 2025
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	==Enforcing orders for child support and spousal support==		==Enforcing orders for child support and spousal support==

	When a person obliged to pay child support or spousal support, the ''payor'', stops making those payments, a debt begins to accumulate in favour of the person entitled to the payments, the ''recipient''. This debt is known as the payor's ''arrears of support''.		When a person who is obliged to pay child support or spousal support (the ''payor'') stops making those payments, a debt begins to accumulate in favour of the person entitled to the payments (the ''recipient''). This debt is known as the payor's ''arrears of support''.

	Orders made under the provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' can be enforced in British Columbia, as well as in other provinces and territories when the orders are filed in the courts of those provinces and territories. They may also be enforceable outside of Canada, depending on whether the place in which the order is to be enforced is a reciprocating jurisdiction under the provincial ''[https://canlii.ca/t/84l3 Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act]''.		Orders made under the provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' can be enforced in British Columbia, as well as in other provinces and territories when the orders are filed in the courts of those provinces and territories. They may also be enforceable outside of Canada, depending on whether the place in which the order is to be enforced is a reciprocating jurisdiction under the provincial ''[https://canlii.ca/t/84l3 Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act]''.
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	====Payors of support====		====Payors of support====

	Payors can enroll in BCFMA too. It can sometimes happen, usually as part of a larger dispute, that a recipient will refuse to accept the payor's support payments. If a payor simply throws up their hands and says "fine, I'll keep the money," the payor ~~can find themself seriously disadvantaged~~ if it ever goes to a hearing, plus the payor may have to pay the money the recipient originally refused to accept! What can also happen is that parties disagree about the amounts actually paid (e.g. if the amounts were paid in cash, or if support payments were co-mingled with other kinds of payments), and as the payor, the onus is on you to show how much you paid.		Payors can enroll in BCFMA too. It can sometimes happen, usually as part of a larger dispute, that a recipient will refuse to accept the payor's support payments. If a payor simply throws up their hands and says "fine, I'll keep the money," the payor could face a serious disadvantage if it ever goes to a hearing, plus the payor may have to pay the money the recipient originally refused to accept! What can also happen is that parties disagree about the amounts actually paid (e.g. if the amounts were paid in cash, or if support payments were co-mingled with other kinds of payments), and as the payor, the onus is on you to show how much you paid.

	When a payor enrolls in BCFMA, BCFMA will accept the payor's payments and attempt to forward them to the recipient. If the recipient still refuses to accept the payments, BCFMA will keep the payments on behalf of the recipient as well as a record of the payments made. This will protect the payor's interests if there is ever a hearing. This can save the payor from falling into arrears.		When a payor enrolls in BCFMA, BCFMA will accept the payor's payments and attempt to forward them to the recipient. If the recipient still refuses to accept the payments, BCFMA will keep the payments on behalf of the recipient as well as a record of the payments made. This will protect the payor's interests if there is ever a hearing. This can save the payor from falling into arrears.
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	==Contempt of court==		==Contempt of court==

	Please note that the powers of a Provincial Court judge to cite people for contempt are more limited than in BC Supreme Court. Most of a Provincial Court judge's enforcement powers come directly from legislation. In terms of ''contempt'' powers specifically, a Provincial Court judge does have authority under section 52 of the ''[https://canlii.ca/t/848d Offence Act]'' to fine or even jail someone for refusing to show up (or refusing to remain) in court when legally required. Otherwise, a Provincial Court judge's powers in matters of contempt are derived from section 2.1(a) of the ''Provincial Court Act''. By contrast, BC Supreme Court judges have much broader powers based their ''inherent jurisdiction''. Their Provincial Court counterparts have a narrow reserve of inherent procedural jurisdiction, which is complementary to the powers under legislation that ensure court orders are obeyed. As noted above, the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' has some pretty good tools already.		Please note that the powers of a Provincial Court judge to cite people for contempt are more limited than in BC Supreme Court. Most of a Provincial Court judge's enforcement powers come directly from legislation. In terms of ''contempt'' powers specifically, a Provincial Court judge does have authority under section 52 of the ''[https://canlii.ca/t/848d Offence Act]'' to fine or even jail someone for refusing to show up (or refusing to remain) in court when legally required. Otherwise, a Provincial Court judge's powers in matters of contempt are derived from section 2.1(a) of the ''Provincial Court Act''. By contrast, BC Supreme Court judges have much broader powers based on their ''inherent jurisdiction''. Their Provincial Court counterparts have a narrow reserve of inherent procedural jurisdiction, which is complementary to the powers under legislation that ensure court orders are obeyed. As noted above, the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' has some pretty good tools already.

	The contempt jurisdiction of a Provincial Court judge hearing a family matter is limited to contempt in the "face of the court". If the judge clearly directs a party to appear in court and surrender their passport in court at a certain time, and if that party willfully disobeys the judge, then that is a more clear basis for a committal of contempt for a Provincial Court judge to act on (since the circumstances are in the personal knowledge of &mdash i.e. in the face of &mdash the court). On the other hand, a litigant who disobeys a Provincial Court order about parenting arrangements or support payments — while they might surely be breaching the order in the face of the other party — is not doing that in front of the court itself. Again, the ''Family Law Act'' has other tools for dealing with that problem.		The contempt jurisdiction of a Provincial Court judge hearing a family matter is limited to contempt in the "face of the court". If the judge clearly directs a party to appear in court and surrender their passport in court at a certain time, and if that party willfully disobeys the judge, then that is a more clear basis for a committal of contempt for a Provincial Court judge to act on (since the circumstances are in the personal knowledge of — i.e. in the face of — the court). On the other hand, a litigant who disobeys a Provincial Court order about parenting arrangements or support payments — while they might surely be breaching the order in the face of the other party — is not doing that in front of the court itself. Again, the ''Family Law Act'' has other tools for dealing with that problem.

	Most breaches will not attract a contempt sanction from a Provincial Court judge. The order must be enforced through legislative provisions or rules of court rather than a general "contempt of court" power. This fact should not discourage you, since there are powerful tools at the Provincial Court judge's disposal under sections 213 (enforcing disclosure orders), 228 (enforcing conduct orders), 230 (a party may request a judge to impose fines), and 231 (extraordinary power to order imprisonment up to 30 days) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]''.		Most breaches will not attract a contempt sanction from a Provincial Court judge. The order must be enforced through legislative provisions or rules of court rather than a general "contempt of court" power. This fact should not discourage you, since there are powerful tools at the Provincial Court judge's disposal under sections 213 (enforcing disclosure orders), 228 (enforcing conduct orders), 230 (a party may request a judge to impose fines), and 231 (extraordinary power to order imprisonment up to 30 days) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]''.
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	* ''[[Family Law Act]]''		* ''[[Family Law Act]]''
	* ''[[Divorce Act]]''		* ''[[Divorce Act]]''
	* [http://canlii.ca/t/8mcr Supreme Court Family Rules]
	* [http://canlii.ca/t/b8rn Provincial Court Family Rules]		* [http://canlii.ca/t/b8rn Provincial Court Family Rules]
	* ''[http://canlii.ca/t/840m Family Maintenance Enforcement Act]''		* ''[http://canlii.ca/t/840m Family Maintenance Enforcement Act]''
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	* [http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/enforce-execution/info_cont.html Department of Justice's website "Provincial and Territorial Information on Interjurisdictional and International Support Order Enforcement"]		* [http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/enforce-execution/info_cont.html Department of Justice's website "Provincial and Territorial Information on Interjurisdictional and International Support Order Enforcement"]
	* [~~http~~://www.~~fmep.gov.bc~~.ca/ Family Maintenance ~~Enforcement Program~~ website]		* [https://www.bcfma.ca BC Family Maintenance Agency website]
	* [~~http://clicklaw.bc.ca/helpmap/service/1082 Clicklaw HelpMap: Family Maintenance Enforcement Program details]~~		* [https://www.hcch.net/index_en.php Hague Conference on Private International Law]
	* [http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php Hague Conference on Private International Law]
	*[http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/4221 Ministry of Attorney General's website "International Child Abduction FAQs"]		*[http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/4221 Ministry of Attorney General's website "International Child Abduction FAQs"]
	* [http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/enforce-execution/index.html Department of Justice's website "Enforcing Support"]		* [http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/enforce-execution/index.html Department of Justice's website "Enforcing Support"]
	* [http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/1242 Dial-A-Law Script "Enforcing Orders and Agreements for Support"]


	{{REVIEWED \| reviewer = [[~~JP Boyd~~]], 3 January 2025}}		{{REVIEWED \| reviewer = [[Kendra Marks]], 3 January 2025}}

	{{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox\|type=chapters}}		{{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox\|type=chapters}}

Nate Russell: /* The BC Family Maintenance Agency */

2025-04-08T19:55:20Z

The BC Family Maintenance Agency

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:55, 8 April 2025
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	===The BC Family Maintenance Agency===		===The BC Family Maintenance Agency===

	The [https://www.bcfma.ca BC Family Maintenance Agency] ("BCFMA") is a government service that helps recipients collect support using the ''Family Maintenance Enforcement Act''. BCFMA will monitor payments as they are made (or not made), and calculate the interest accumulating on any arrears. BCFMA is a free service and you can register with them, whether you are the payor or the recipient, as long as you have a court order about support (or a written agreement about support that's been filed in court).		The [https://www.bcfma.ca BC Family Maintenance Agency] (BCFMA) is a government service that helps recipients collect support using the ''Family Maintenance Enforcement Act''. BCFMA will monitor payments as they are made (or not made), and calculate the interest accumulating on any arrears. BCFMA is a free service and you can register with them, whether you are the payor or the recipient, as long as you have a court order about support (or a written agreement about support that's been filed in court).

	====Recipients of support====		====Recipients of support====

Nate Russell at 23:12, 4 April 2025

2025-04-04T23:12:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:12, 4 April 2025
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	{{JP Boyd on Family Law TOC\|expanded = bcpc}}{{JPBOFL Editor Badge		{{JP Boyd on Family Law TOC\|expanded = bcpc}}{{JPBOFL Editor Badge
	\|~~CoAuthors~~ = [[Kendra Marks]]		\|CoAuthor = [[Kendra Marks]]
	}}		}}

Nate Russell at 21:54, 28 March 2025

2025-03-28T21:54:42Z

Show changes

Nate Russell: Interim page for live site pending family law litigation chapters update

2024-01-12T00:03:28Z

Interim page for live site pending family law litigation chapters update

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Enforcing Provincial Court Family Law Orders - Revision history

Nate Russell at 21:07, 9 April 2025

Nate Russell: /* The BC Family Maintenance Agency */

Nate Russell at 23:12, 4 April 2025

Nate Russell at 21:54, 28 March 2025

Nate Russell: Interim page for live site pending family law litigation chapters update