Wife to sue Ontario Family Responsibility Office for suicide of man who couldn’t pay child support

New Ontario child support enforcement is a Catch-22

The Government of Ontario has taken new steps to enforcing child support payments, namely the most recent: driver’s licenses can be suspended for not paying child support, and cars can now be impounded – removing the ability for payers to get to work at all to earn the money to make payments.

In late August, a London, Ontario man committed suicide by laying down on nearby train tracks. His common-law wife is planning on launching a lawsuit against the Ontario Family Responsibility Office, whom she holds responsible for his death.

The man’s ex-wife and mother of his two now-adult children (ages 18 and 21) owns a home, a car, and has a job, and the man had been paying child support since 1996. A truck driver, the man had recently become unemployed and missed two support payments, which began a downward spiral of events that prevented him from ever catching up.

License suspended for not paying child support

Work soon became available, but the man’s commercial license was suspended by the Ontario Family Responsibility Office, who demanded a $1,500 payment to reinstate the license. Without a license, he could not earn the money to get his license back and no negotiating with the Family Responsibility Office got him anywhere – not even when it was done on his behalf by an MPP or an ombudsman.

Eventually, he represented himself when the Family Responsibility Office took him to court and demanded $10,000 or almost 200 days in jail – both options that would severely impede his ability to get his license back and continue making child support payments – all for $4,000 in child support payments.

Facing child support payment problems in Ontario?

The Ontario Family Law system is notoriously slow to recognize changes in income for child support-paying parents. Now that the stakes are even higher and a missed payment can result in loss of income, consult a family lawyer to discuss your child support options.

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By heather - Last updated: Monday, December 6, 2010
Filed in Child Support, Enforcement, Family Law Changes Ontario, Family Responsibility Office, Motion to Change, Support Orders, Variation •


Ontario parents who do not pay child support could be taking the bus this winter

A new law goes into effect on December 1st allowing for the removal of vehicles from people who commit certain offences. The punishment is expected for the majority of the offences, including driving with a suspended licence, driving with high blood-alcohol levels or not using court-mandated in-car breathalyzers.

However, people who fail to meet their child support obligations will now be treated the same as people driving while intoxicated: their car can be taken away.

While this punishment might make some people think twice about skipping a child support payment, there are sometimes legitimate reasons for falling behind. A divorced dads advocacy group founder commented in the National Post on the new law this week saying that, “There seems to be an idea that these parents don’t care or are hiding and they have all this money. It’s the exact opposite.”

In some cases the courts can be slow at recognizing changes in income or job situations, and parents might not be able to make those payments. As well, taking their car away can result in a chain reaction of not being able to get to work, not being able to make any money and not being able to make support payments.

Currently, a person who doesn’t pay their child support can have their licence suspended. As of December 1st, people who do not pay child support and have their licence suspended and are caught driving will lose their car for a week.

Another very important issue with this new law is that drivers are informed their licence is suspended by mail, meaning they could be driving while being completely unaware their licence is suspended and have their car taken; unable to get to work and make future payments.

Those who do not or cannot pay their child support may be in for a long, cold winter this year. If you have recently lost your job or have a reduced income, you may be facing problems in the future, and it would be wise to talk to a family lawyer.

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By heather - Last updated: Saturday, November 13, 2010
Filed in Child Support, Enforcement, Provincial legislation, Support Orders •