How to Enrol a Support Order With Maintenance Enforcement in Nova Scotia

If you are owed child or spousal support, chasing payments yourself can be stressful and awkward. Nova Scotia's Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) exists to take that burden off you.

This article explains who MEP helps, what to gather before enrolling, and what happens after your order is enrolled. The exact forms and steps are set by MEP, so confirm them with the program directly.

This article covers the law of Nova Scotia.

What the Maintenance Enforcement Program does

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

When an order is enrolled, the payor sends money to MEP, which passes it to the recipient. An order that is not enrolled cannot be enforced by MEP, so you may still need to deal with the other person about payment yourself.

Is your order eligible?

MEP helps with court-ordered support. Enrolling an order with MEP is optional, but MEP cannot enforce an order that is not enrolled.

If you have a separation agreement but no court order, whether and how it can be enrolled depends on the details, so ask MEP or a lawyer before assuming. How this applies depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

If the payor lives outside Nova Scotia, MEP also works with other provinces' programs.

What to gather before you enrol

MEP sets its own enrolment forms and requirements, so check with the program for the current list. In general, you will want to have these ready:

• A copy of the court order, or the order and any later changes to it
• Your full contact and banking details
• The payor's name, address, employer and any other contact details you know
• A record of any payments already missed or made directly
• Any information about where the payor lives, especially if outside Nova Scotia

Check that the amount in the order is right before you enrol. Child support is generally the table amount for the payor's province plus any section 7 amount. Table support is based on the payor's annual income. Section 7 can add costs such as child care, health costs above insurance of $100 or more a year, and extraordinary school or activity costs, shared in proportion to the parents' incomes. If the order is out of date, a lawyer can explain your options for changing it.

The table amount is not the whole story in every case. Where each parent has the child at least 40% of the time over a year, the court sets support by considering the table amount for each parent, the increased costs of shared parenting, and each parent's and the child's circumstances, and this is not an automatic set-off. Where there are two or more children and each parent has the majority of time with at least one child, the order is the difference between the amounts each parent would otherwise pay. A court can also set a different amount to avoid undue hardship, but that claim fails if the claiming household would have a higher standard of living than the other. For a child who has reached the age of majority, the court may apply the Guidelines as if the child were a minor, or set an amount based on the child's condition, means and needs and each parent's ability to contribute.

If your order is for spousal support under the Divorce Act, the court must consider the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse, including the length of cohabitation and the functions each performed, and fault is not considered.

What happens after enrolment

Once your order is enrolled, payments run through MEP, which keeps the payment record. If payments stop, MEP has enforcement tools, including garnishing wages, benefits, and bank and investment accounts (including joint accounts). It can also request suspension of a motor vehicle or hunting and fishing licence, or revocation of a passport.

Which tool is used, and how fast, depends on the facts. MEP does not promise a particular result, so keep your own notes of any problems.

What to do next

• Find your current court order and confirm the amounts are correct
• Gather the payor's details and your own banking details
• Contact MEP and ask for its current enrolment forms and steps
• Keep copies of everything you send
• Get legal advice if your order is out of date or you only have an agreement

If cost is a concern, Nova Scotia Legal Aid covers family matters under the Parenting and Support Act and Divorce Act, among others, for those who are financially eligible.

You are financially eligible if you qualify for benefits under the Social Assistance Act or the Employment Support and Income Assistance Act, or if obtaining services outside the plan would reduce your income enough to qualify, and the Commission may require a contribution. The Commission can also find you eligible even if your income is above those amounts, where retaining a lawyer would cause undue financial hardship. If legal aid is refused, suspended or withdrawn, you can appeal to the Commission by written request for review.

Frequently asked questions