After a divorce, the parents are obliged to pay the financial support for their children. Sometimes, if they fail to provide child support in Canada, they may need to go through some consequences depending on their situation.
In order to know the consequences, it is also important to know about child support enforcement. So, here we are going to tell you what will happen if you don’t pay child support in Canada. Keep reading for more.
What if you fail to provide child support?
According to the Canadian child support order, you are obliged to provide financial support to your child. Generally, there is a governmental agency called Family Responsibility Office (FRO) that collects child support from the parents. They also keep records of the amount that is being paid.
But now, you may wonder what will happen if you fail to pay the family responsibility office (FRO)? well, if you are the payer of child support, then again you fail to pay the allocated amount, then you may need to go through some consequences as follow:
- Garnishment of wages for the payment of child support
- Garnishment of insurance payments, income tax payment, and so on
- Passport suspension or the driving license.
- A seizure of your bank account or any personal assets
- Reporting for arrears impacts the credit rating.
In some cases, if the court finds out any irregularities without any valid reasons, you may also need to deal with imprisonment for some time, even though imprisonment for not paying the child support cases is very rare in Canada.
What if the parents cannot afford to pay the child support?
When the parents are obliged to facilitate the child support by the court, they need to pay the child support amount. But in some cases, some parents may not be able to afford child support. In such cases, they may need to inform the court.
The court will review their bank statements and some other issues. If the payer is truly unable to pay the child support, then the court will give them some other options. But you may need to remember that the reasons for not affording the child support should be valid and legitimate.
Can you reduce the child support payment?
Yes, you can reduce the child support payment. But you may need to show some valid reasons to the court for the reduction of child support. In some cases, the payer may face some hardships to pay the child support payment.
In that case, if the payee and the payer both agree, then the child support payment can be reduced legally. In order to do that, you will have to draw up a minute of settlement. In that settlement, you need to outline the original child support order.
After that, you need to state how much you want to reduce from that child support. And the thing that you need to remember is that the statement for reduction of payment should be backed up by valid and legitimate reasons.
But what, the parties are not agreed with the reduction of the payment. In that case, either party needs to write an application to the court. The rest will be decided by the judge of the court.
When can you reduce child support?
Usually, when a parent cannot afford to pay the child support, they can make an application to the court for undue hardship because this is one of the most common reasons for not being able to pay child support.
Generally, undue hardship refers to a situation when the payer faces some financial hardships and difficulties to pay the child support payment. So, when anyone faces undue hardship while paying child support, they can petition the court.
The court will take their cases into account for certain circumstances. Some of the circumstances are listed in the following:
- When the payer has high debts before the separation
- When child support is associated with high costs
- When the payer has the legal obligation to support another child
- When the payer has another person to take care of because of their illness or disability
- When the payer has a lower income or lower standard of living and many more.
How can a professional lawyer help you?
If you are one of the parents who is obliged to pay the child support payment, then you may face some difficulties. Sometimes, when you cannot afford to pay the child support, you may appeal to the court to reduce the child support payment.
But in order to do that, you have to go through some legal procedures and the court process. If you are doing it for the first time, it may seem very troublesome for you. In that case, you can seek help from a professional lawyer. Because for any reason, if you fail to pay the child support payment, you may need to face some serious consequences.
Bottom line:
Dealing with the child support payment can be very complex and stressful for your mental health. So, you need to take your move wisely. If you are going through this situation for the first time, it may seem more difficult to you.
That is why seeking assistance from a professional lawyer is always advisable and recommended. A lawyer can guide you throughout the process and can assist you with legal advice. Hopefully, this writing helped you to get the answer to your question, “What happens if you don’t pay child support in Canada.”
