Spousal Support Arrears: Difference between revisions
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When a person who is obliged to pay spousal support fails to meet some or all of that obligation, a debt begins to accumulate and the amount owing is called the payor's ''arrears'' of support | When a person who is obliged to pay spousal support fails to meet some or all of that obligation, a debt begins to accumulate and the amount owing is called the payor's ''arrears'' of support. | ||
This | People generally have two different goals when arrears begin to mount up: the person responsible for paying support likely wants the court to reduce or cancel the arrears, while the person receiving the support will want the court to force the payor to pay what's owing. | ||
This section provides an introduction to the problem of arrears. It dicusses the reduction and cancellation of arrears of spousal support and the collection of arrears. | |||
==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
If spousal support is owed under a court order or an agreement, a failure to pay the support owing is a breach of that order or agreement, and, in the case of orders, it's contempt of court as well. The court places a high value on the financial support of spouses and will usually take an extremely dim view of anyone who defaults on such an obligation in the absence of a very good excuse or some very | If spousal support is owed under a court order or an agreement, a failure to pay the support owing is a breach of that order or agreement, and, in the case of orders, it's contempt of court as well. The court places a high value on the financial support of spouses and will usually take an extremely dim view of anyone who defaults on such an obligation in the absence of a very good excuse or some very compelling circumstances. | ||
A person who owes arrears of spousal support, a ''payor'', will likely be interested in the ways that the outstanding amount can be reduced, while a person to whom support is owing, a ''recipient'', will be interested in collecting on the arrears. A person who owes arrears will generally have a difficult time convincing the court to forgive all or some of his or her debt. On the other hand, collecting arrears can be difficult as well, if for no other reason than the fact that you can't get blood from a stone. Unless the payor has another source of funds to draw upon, a recipient may discover that the outstanding support will never be recovered. | A person who owes arrears of spousal support, a ''payor'', will likely be interested in the ways that the outstanding amount can be reduced, while a person to whom support is owing, a ''recipient'', will be interested in collecting on the arrears. A person who owes arrears will generally have a difficult time convincing the court to forgive all or some of his or her debt. On the other hand, collecting arrears can be difficult as well, if for no other reason than the fact that you can't get blood from a stone. Unless the payor has another source of funds to draw upon, a recipient may discover that the outstanding support will never be recovered. | ||
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#require the payor to provide security for his or her compliance with the agreement, | #require the payor to provide security for his or her compliance with the agreement, | ||
#pay any expenses incurred by the recipient as a result of the payor's actions, | #pay any expenses incurred by the recipient as a result of the payor's actions, | ||
#pay up to $5,000 for the benefit of another party or a child whose interests were affected by the payor's actions | #pay up to $5,000 for the benefit of another party or a child whose interests were affected by the payor's actions, | ||
#pay up to $5,000 as a fine, or | #pay up to $5,000 as a fine, or | ||
#if nothing else will ensure the payor's compliance with the agreement, jail the payor for up to 30 days. | #if nothing else will ensure the payor's compliance with the agreement, jail the payor for up to 30 days. | ||
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===The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program=== | ===The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program=== | ||
Although recipients can enforce orders and agreements for spousal support on their own, most of the time recipients will give that job to the [http://www.fmep.gov.bc.ca/ Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP)], a provincial government program under the provincial ''[http://canlii.ca/t/840m Family Maintenance Enforcement Act]'' which has been contracted out to an American company, Maximus (Themis) | Although recipients can enforce orders and agreements for spousal support on their own, most of the time recipients will give that job to the [http://www.fmep.gov.bc.ca/ Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP)], a provincial government program under the provincial ''[http://canlii.ca/t/840m Family Maintenance Enforcement Act]'' which has been contracted out to an American company, Maximus (Themis) ― not that you'd know this from the government website. | ||
FMEP is a free service for recipients that is largely funded by late fees and penalties charged to delinquent payors. | |||
FMEP has no discretion to change the orders and agreements that are filed with it for enforcement. FMEP cannot increase or decrease the amount of a spousal support obligation and it cannot reduce or cancel arrears of spousal support. | FMEP has no discretion to change the orders and agreements that are filed with it for enforcement. FMEP cannot increase or decrease the amount of a spousal support obligation and it cannot reduce or cancel arrears of spousal support. | ||
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==The reduction and cancellation of arrears== | ==The reduction and cancellation of arrears== | ||
Payors may apply to court to have their arrears cancelled or reduced | Payors may apply to court to have their arrears cancelled or reduced. Technically, this is in some ways an application to vary the order or agreement for spousal support under which the arrears accumulated rather than an independent order about the arrears. | ||
===Arrears under the ''Divorce Act''=== | ===Arrears under the ''Divorce Act''=== | ||