How FMEP Collects Support Through Garnishment in British Columbia

If you are owed support, or you owe it and have fallen behind, you may have heard that the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP), now operated as the BC Family Maintenance Agency, can take money straight from wages. It can, and it has other tools too. Knowing how they work helps you plan, whichever side of the order you are on.

This article explains the main collection steps under British Columbia's Family Maintenance Enforcement Act, how federal money and licences fit in, and what a payor can do if their situation has genuinely changed.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Why enforcement starts with the order itself

Every parent and guardian has a duty to provide support for a child. When there is an order, that obligation continues until a court changes, suspends or terminates it, and the payor cannot end it by their own decision.

Unpaid amounts are called arrears. Arrears under a maintenance order bear simple interest at a rate set by regulation, and the court cannot reduce or cancel them except as the Act allows.

Garnishing wages and other money owed

The main tool is a notice of attachment. The director may serve one on a person who owes money to the debtor, such as an employer. That person, called the attachee, must deduct the required amount and send it to the director within 5 days. The court must make an attachment order unless doing so would be unfair to the debtor.

Employers have obligations too. An employer may not dismiss, discipline or otherwise penalize an employee because of a notice of attachment or a related order, and the court may order reinstatement or damages if they do.

Tax refunds, federal money and licences

Federal law allows federal Crown money that is designated by regulation to be garnished for support enforcement, and service of a garnishee summons binds the Crown for five years for garnishable moneys. Whether a particular payment, such as a tax refund, is covered depends on what the regulations designate, so confirm that with the enforcement program or a lawyer rather than assuming.

Licences are another lever. When arrears reach $3,000 or more, then after 30 days' notice the director can have ICBC cancel the debtor's driver's licence and refuse a licence and number plates for a motor vehicle or trailer the debtor owns. Federally, persistent arrears (arrears in any three payment periods, or accumulated arrears of $3,000 or more) can lead to a federal licence, including a passport, being suspended or refused, and no appeal lies from that action.

When the court gets involved

At a default hearing, the court may order the debtor to report, to pay immediately, or may order imprisonment of up to 30 days. At a committal hearing the debtor may be imprisoned, but not for consecutive periods totalling more than 90 days.

An enforcement proceeding is not itself a way to change support. Appeals from Provincial Court orders under the Act go to the Supreme Court.

If your circumstances have changed

A payor who cannot keep up should not simply stop paying. Under the Act, a court may reduce or cancel arrears when they are reduced or cancelled in a proceeding to change the order, so applying promptly may lead to a retroactive reduction, while waiting risks arrears and interest continuing to accumulate. A court may also vary an order without reducing the total of the arrears.

Child support can be changed where there has been a change in circumstances as provided for in the child support guidelines, or on substantial new evidence.

What to do next

• Gather the order or agreement, payment records and any notices you have received.
• If you are the recipient, keep a record of what has been paid and what has not.
• If you are the payor, note exactly when your income or situation changed and collect proof.
• Speak to a lawyer promptly about applying to change the order before arrears grow.
• Ask whether any specific federal payment, such as a refund, can actually be reached.

Frequently asked questions