How the Maintenance Enforcement Program Works in Nova Scotia

If you pay or receive court-ordered support, tracking payments and chasing missed ones can strain an already tense relationship. The Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) exists to take on part of that burden.

This article explains what MEP does, who it serves, how money moves through it, and what enforcement tools it has.

This article covers the law of Nova Scotia.

What MEP is and who it serves

MEP is a free Nova Scotia service that helps people pay or receive court-ordered maintenance, meaning child or spousal support. It serves both payors and recipients. It keeps a record of payments, protects personal information, and acts as a buffer between the parties.

MEP also works with other provinces' programs when one party lives outside Nova Scotia.

MEP deals with support once a court has ordered it. In Nova Scotia, child support and divorce are heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division). Think of the court as the place where the order is made, and MEP as the service that helps the payments actually move.

How payments flow

The payor sends money to MEP, which passes it to the recipient. This means the two of you do not have to deal with each other about payments, and there is a record of what was paid and when.

• The court order sets the support amount, and for children under the age of majority the amount is generally the table amount plus any section 7 amount.
• Table support is based on the payor's annual income.
• Section 7 amounts can include child care, medical and dental insurance premiums, certain health costs, school costs, post-secondary education and extraordinary extracurricular activities.
• Section 7 expenses are shared by the parents in proportion to their incomes, after deducting any contribution from the child.

How the support amount is set

MEP does not decide how much support is owed. That comes from the order. For a child under the age of majority, the amount is the table amount for the payor's province plus any section 7 amount. Nova Scotia's Provincial Child Support Guidelines adopt Schedule I of the federal Guidelines, using the table of the province where the payor ordinarily lives.

Table support starts from the payor's annual income, which is worked out from the T1 General "Total income" line. The court may look at income over the last three years and may impute income it considers appropriate.

Some situations are treated differently. The Guidelines give the court these special rules:

Spousal support works differently. Under the Divorce Act, the court considers the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse, including the length of cohabitation and the functions each performed. Fault is not considered. Which of these rules applies to your order depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Is enrolment required?

Enrolling an order with MEP is optional. That choice has a real consequence: MEP cannot enforce an order that is not enrolled. If you are owed support and want MEP's enforcement tools available, enrolment matters. A lawyer can help you weigh your options.

If you are not sure whether your order is enrolled, start with the order itself and any letters you have received about it. MEP can tell you how enrolment works in your case.

Enforcement tools

When payments are missed, MEP's enforcement tools include:

• Garnishing wages, benefits, and bank and investment accounts, including joint accounts.
• Requesting suspension of a motor vehicle licence or a hunting and fishing licence.
• Requesting revocation of a passport.

These tools are only available for an order that is enrolled, because MEP cannot enforce an order that is not enrolled.

What to do next

Start by gathering your court order, recent income information and any records of payments made or received. Having these in one place makes every later conversation easier, whether it is with MEP or a lawyer.

• Find your court order and check whether it is enrolled with MEP.
• If you are the payor, keep your income information current, since support is based on income.
• If your circumstances change, how that affects your order depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.
• If you are the recipient and the order is not enrolled, ask MEP how to enrol it.
• If you live outside Nova Scotia, ask how MEP works with your province's program.

Frequently asked questions