Are you having difficulty collecting support payments? Do you need to reduce or terminate your support payments?
Collection and Enforcement by the Family Responsibility Office (FRO)
The Family Responsibility Office is a Government of Ontario institution empowered by legislation to collect support payments (child and spousal support) and to enforce against non-compliant support payors.
FRO has wide powers of enforcement and all communications from the Office, in any form, should be taken seriously and acted on promptly. Failure to respond to FRO's letters, for example, does not mean that their collection or enforcement efforts stop. They continue even without the payor's participation.
IMPORTANT: it is important to understand that the role of the FRO does not include resolving disputes between payors and recipients of support. FRO's job is simply to collect support based on the last Court Order or deemed Order (based on the registration with the Court of a Separation Agreement, for example).
IF YOU ARE PAYING SUPPORT THROUGH THE FRO AND YOU WANT TO:
decrease the amount
end the payments or
change the support you are paying in any other way
....FRO will NOT assist you with these wishes in any way. Remember: FRO only collects and enforces.
FRO's powers include:
garnishment
suspension of a driver's licence
suspension of passport
and many others.
AGAIN, it is vital that you take communications from the FRO seriously and react to them in a timely manner.
We have considerable experience dealing with the FRO.