Can You Withhold Child Support If Parenting Time Is Denied in Ontario?

Being kept from your child is painful, and when you are also expected to keep paying support, it can feel deeply unfair. Many parents ask whether they can hold back payments until the other parent follows the parenting arrangement.

In Ontario, the short answer is that the two issues are handled through different routes. This article explains what the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) tells payors, what can happen if you stop paying, and what you can do instead to protect your time with your child.

Why you generally cannot stop paying

FRO states that denied parenting time does not suspend support, and it tells payors to keep paying until FRO says in writing that they can stop. FRO also says only a judge can change the amount in a support order. FRO does not get involved in custody or access issues.

The reason is that child support is the child's right. Every parent must support a child who is a minor, to the extent the parent is capable of paying. That duty does not depend on whether the parents were married. How far case law adds to this in your situation is something a lawyer can confirm.

What can happen if you stop anyway

Arrears build up, and for orders filed with FRO the enforcement tools include suspending the driver's licence, suspending federal licences including the passport, deducting from federal government payments, reporting to the credit bureau, placing liens on property, and default hearings. Orders made in court are automatically filed with FRO.

While a case is registered with FRO, the payor must make all payments through FRO. FRO warns payors not to pay the recipient directly, and it charges $100 every time it has to adjust the account. That charge is administrative and can change.

Reducing arrears afterwards is not simple. A court may relieve a payor from paying part or all of the arrears or interest where there has been a change in circumstances under the guidelines, or new evidence is available. Being denied parenting time is not listed there as a reason on its own.

What you can do about denied parenting time

If a court-ordered parenting or contact arrangement is not being obeyed, a parent can ask the court to enforce the order. That is the remedy FRO points to as well.

If the order is not being followed by the other parent, the court's powers where someone disobeys an order in a case can include costs, dismissing a claim, or striking out an application, answer or other document. Which of these might apply depends on the case.

• Keep a dated record of each missed or refused visit.
• Save messages in which you asked for time and were refused.
• Keep paying support while you pursue enforcement.
• Ask a lawyer whether to apply to enforce your parenting order.

When the amount of support really can change

There are lawful ways to ask for a different amount. Under the Family Law Act, a court may discharge, vary or suspend child support where there has been a change in circumstances under the guidelines, or new evidence is available. A motion to change support must include a current schedule of arrears from FRO.

Some circumstances can also support a different amount, such as undue hardship. These include a legal duty to support another child, or unusually high costs of exercising parenting time. Even then, the court must deny the claim if the household claiming hardship would, after the reduction, have a higher standard of living than the other household.

If you do fall behind, FRO can agree a voluntary arrears payment schedule with a payor. Contacting FRO early is better than letting arrears grow.

What to do next

• Keep paying through FRO unless FRO confirms in writing that you can stop.
• Do not pay the other parent directly if your case is registered with FRO.
• Gather your parenting order, support order and FRO statements.
• Write down each time parenting time was denied.
• Speak with a lawyer about enforcing the parenting order or changing support.

Frequently asked questions