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Ensuring Child Support With FMEP Family Maintenance

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Published by:

Omar Glenn

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Reviewed by:

Alistair Vigier

Last Modified: 2024-05-22

You can use the FMEP Family Maintenance to collect child support in British Columbia. The organization that handles support order enforcement is the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program.

It’s part of the Ministry Of Attorney General.

Child support and spousal support are very stressful legal issues to deal with.

It is even more stressful when the government comes after you for support payments.

But if you are on the other side and desperately need child support, the FMEP can be a helpful tool.

This article will teach you all you need to know about a government organization.

Knowing about the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program will make your discussions more productive.

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Monitoring support orders

The BC Family Maintenance Enforcement Program is a government initiative that ensures that child and spousal support payments are made on time and in full for separated or divorced parents.

FMEP registers and monitors support orders and agreements to ensure compliance, offers services, including direct deposit of support payments, and legally assists with enforcing support orders.

If payments are not made, the program will take steps to enforce the support order or agreement, such as garnishing wages or seizing assets. The FMEP program is free for recipients and available to anyone with a support order or agreement in BC, regardless of whether they live in the province.

The program is a crucial resource for families relying on child and spousal support payments to meet their needs, ensuring they receive the financial support they need to thrive.

How much can FMEP garnish?

The British Columbia Family Maintenance Enforcement Program uses a formula based on the Federal Child Support Guidelines and the payor’s income to determine the amount of support owed.

Depending on the payor’s income, the program can garnish up to 50% of their net income for child support and up to 50% of their gross income for spousal support. However, the amount garnished will vary based on factors such as the amount owing and the number of dependents.

It’s important to note that the FMEP is only authorized to garnish the amount owed under the support order or agreement and will not exceed that amount.

The program can also seize assets such as bank accounts and vehicles to recover arrears, but it will typically attempt to establish a payment plan with the payor before taking such measures.

Can FMEP take my passport?

FMEP has the authority to take various enforcement actions to ensure that child and spousal support orders are followed, including garnishing wages, seizing assets, and restricting or suspending licenses.

Suppose a payor owes significant arrears in support payments and is uncooperative in developing a payment plan. In that case, the FMEP may apply to the federal government to have the payor’s passport restricted or revoked.

This is a severe consequence that can limit the payor’s international travel. However, such measures are usually considered a last resort after other attempts to collect payments have failed.

The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program generally works with payors who are willing to develop a payment plan and make regular payments.

FMEP Family Maintenance BC

The government is the most aggressive debt collector, and it has a massive amount of power.

Don’t you agree with the amount the FMEP requests from you?

Do you want a written statement that you don’t owe FMEP money? Then, get a family lawyer on your side.

The FMEP can either work for you or against you.

If you are looking for child support, they can be your sword.

If you are the one that the court ordered to pay child support, then they will be the army you are fighting with.

The BC Government Is Very Powerful

When the BC government is coming after you for child support, it can be super stressful. You should instantly reach out to law firms to get a lawyer.

Once you have a family lawyer, then you can tell the FMEP Family Maintenance Enforcement Program to speak to your law firm instead of you.

It takes you out of the equation and buys you time to deal with requests or demands.

Law firms can buy you more time to deal with requests in many ways. A lawyer can say they are on trial for a few weeks. Or maybe they are going on vacation.

There are many other tricks that some lawyers use to buy their clients more time.

The FMEP BC enforces child support AND spousal support orders. These orders are often called maintenance orders.

When someone has a court order from a judge in BC, they can file the court order with the Family Maintenance Enforcement BC Program.

The FMEP might then try to collect the judgment on the person’s behalf.

What Kinds Of Powers Does the FMEP BC Have?

The organization has a lot of power. Below are some of the things they can do.

  • Enforce the court judgment on the title of the property of the person who owes child or spousal support
  • Take a percentage of the income of the person who owes money
  • The FMEP can also take some of a tax return
  • Tell the Driver License Office and Passport Office not to issue documents (means no driving or travelling until support is paid)

These are powers that the average person in BC doesn’t have. So it makes a ton of sense to work with the Family Maintenance Enforcement of BC if you are owed maintenance.

But when you are the one the FMEP is chasing, you should know that the government isn’t perfect.

They don’t check things, make mistakes, or are lied to.

There are other times when the court order was unfair, and you should hire a family lawyer to dispute it. You shouldn’t be put into poverty because of a court order.

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Securing Child Support Through FMEP Family Maintenance

We wanted to look into the Act and highlight a few things you should consider.

All the laws in BC and Canada can be found via an internet search. The Act is here to make it easy for you.

But while it’s easy to find, it’s hard to read. As you will note, there are tons of words. It’s important to note that knowing the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act is not essential.

It’s about knowing which parts of the Act the judges care about and which they don’t enforce.

Only someone who has been to many hearings will know this. Some people make the mistake of memorizing the law and reading it to a judge.

You Need to Get The Judge To Believe Your Story

It’s the application of the laws of BC that matters. It’s about getting a judge to believe your story.

Let’s examine one section of the Act. You might have to Zoom in since the font is small and it’s a screenshot.

Above you can see how the government will search for ways to pay the debtor.

FMEP might look at your address or try to find your employer. They will also try to locate where you get your income.

Expect them to also look for your assets, including your property, mutual funds, or car.

They will immediately move on to that income or assets once they find things they can sell or grab.

You can see some other powers under the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act above. They can garnish your wages. They can also summon you for a hearing.

Or they can push for a warrant for arrest, although the courts rarely approve of this.

Most judges are very careful when sentencing people to jail.

Guaranteeing Child Support with FMEP’s Assistance

Let the lawyer communicate with FMEP. A favourable maintenance order or agreement can usually be reached. Further, it’s less stressful for you to have a lawyer deal with the issues.

On the other hand, are you taking care of payments and the children who desperately need money?

If your spouse isn’t supporting you and you are entitled to support, you should book a free consultation with a family law firm. Further, it’s important to determine how much spousal and child support you might be entitled to.

The maintenance enforcement program is complicated, so it’s best to get the help of a lawyer.

The FMEP is free to use and collects over $200M per year. Its website claims it works for 45,000 families.

The program was designed by the BC Attorney General’s office to collect and enforce court orders regarding spousal or child support.

Further, the office collects payments from the person who owes it and then sends the money to the person who is owed support. FMEP has a lot of power to collect and can do aggressive things.

Achieving Child Support Compliance with FMEP

Family lawyers can help you get a maintenance order. This court order says you are owed child support and/or spousal support payments.

FMEP will collect the money for you if needed. If you hire a private law firm, expect to spend at least $2000 to get a maintenance order, sometimes much more.

The first step should be to book a free consultation with one of our separation lawyers to determine how much support you might be entitled to.

Read more: What Divorce or Separation Paperwork Can You Do Yourself?

Further, speak to one of the lawyers about relocating with a child, property division, and getting a maintenance order.

Contact us if the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (Ministry Of Attorney General) requests large payments from you and you need help fighting it.

How do I apply for family maintenance in BC?

1. First, you need to get a court order
2. Serve the opposing party
3. Further, if no payment, get the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program involved.

How do I get a maintenance order?

  1. Contact a family lawyer (ideally use our free connection service!)
  2. Apply for maintenance in your local court
  3. Submit the Application for a maintenance order

How do I collect child support in BC using the FMEP?

  1. Contact a family lawyer
  2. Complete an Application with the Provincial Court;
  3. Write a Financial Statement and file it with the courts
  4. Serve it to the other parent

Learn more about how to deal with separation by speaking to a lawyer in BC. Speak to them about the particulars of your case.

How does the FMEP Family Maintenance Enforcement Program Work?

The FMEP is available to help people who are owed spousal or child support receive payments. You need a court order or an agreement for the FMEP to work.

Therefore, you can hire a lawyer to help you get an agreement with your spouse. Also, a lawyer can help you go to court.

We found some case laws about FMEP enforcement; you can see a screenshot below.

FMEP went after someone called “B.B.” This person had been ordered to pay child support. They were meant to pay $670/per month.

Over 16 years, there was little success in collecting child support.

Income and Child Support

Over the 16 years, BB did not earn $48,000 very often. Most of the time he was in jail.

Most of the money that the mother got for the child support was money that was garnished from third parties.

One of these third parties was the Canadian federal government.

Many hearings about the FMEP program going after BB over many years.

BB had many issues. These included health problems, going to jail, and being an addict.

Reliable Child Support Solutions with FMEP Family Maintenance

He was a welder but needed surgery before returning to work. He also somehow owed ICBC $120,000. Not sure how that happened.

He had issues with alcohol, cocaine, and heroin. He also had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

BB’s only source of income was income assistance from the Federal Government.

BB owed $37,000 in child support. The FMEP was trying to get a court order to lower the monthly payments to a lower amount that BB could actually pay.

The amount requested was $400/month. But it was also requested that if BB didn’t make the payment, he would be sentenced to jail.

For each payment missed, he would go to jail for five days.

BB could not pay. The judge said the Criminal Code needed to be examined since jail was being requested.

The Judge didn’t want to make things impossible for BB. $100/month was ordered.

FMEP sign in

If you are looking for the FMEP sign-in, we have added the instructions on how to log into the account below.

You can see a screenshot of it below.

You can find the login at this link. Just enter your password and email!

There is also a way to create a new account on the website.

FMEP contact information

If you are looking for the FMEP BC contact information, it’s below.

Metro Vancouver: 604-775-0796

Greater Victoria: 250-356-5995

Elsewhere in BC: 1-800-668-3637

We suggest you read this article before you contact them. You don’t want them using things against you. Education is very important when dealing with a legal issue.

A lot of people also want to know the FMEP contact information. You can see the screenshot below.

You will notice above that there are different numbers for the Lower Mainland, Victoria, and, I guess, the rest of BC.

There might also be a way to use a contact form if you log into your FMEP online account.

The main office is in downtown Vancouver. So it might make sense to hire a family lawyer in Vancouver to deal with FMEP issues.

Work With a Law Firm For FMEP Family Maintenance Issues

Sometimes, it’s nice to have a lawyer walk over to the office and personally deliver court documents.

Waiting for something to arrive in the mail can take a while. And using process servers can be expensive.

Most of the time, a law firm sends an administrative assistant to a government office to hand them documents.

Speak to a lawyer near you if you need legal advice. Also, you can search for lawyers on our website and rate them. You can also read others’ reviews.

We hope you found this guide on the FMEP Family Maintenance program in BC helpful.

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