What Happens If My Ex Breaks the Separation Agreement in Ontario?

You generally have two routes: use the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) for support terms, or go to court to enforce the agreement directly. For FRO to enforce support, the agreement must first be filed with the Ontario Court of Justice or the Family Court branch of the Superior Court of Justice, and then registered with FRO. The registration package includes a copy of the agreement, Form 26B and a completed FRO registration package.

Once support is registered, the payor pays FRO, whose enforcement tools include taking money from the payor's bank account, suspending a driver's licence and starting a court case. Using FRO costs the recipient nothing. FRO enforces only the support provisions of an agreement.

For other terms, the Ontario Court of Justice enforces properly filed domestic contracts, and its processes include default hearings. You can also ask the court to enforce parenting arrangements made in a separation agreement. A court may still disregard a term about children if that is in the child's best interests. Which step fits depends on the term that was broken, so a lawyer can confirm.