What is the Family Responsibility Office (FRO)?

The Family Responsibility Office (often referred to as the ‘FRO’) is an agency that has the authority to enforce support payments from a payor to a recipient. In other words, when a spousal support order or child support order is filed with the FRO, the onus to collect and distribute the support is then shifted from the parties onto the FRO.

The FRO does not deal with issues such as custody, access, and orders with respect to equalization payments. Instead, the goal of the FRO is to collect, distribute, and enforce both child and spousal support orders.

The FRO may sanction the payor if he or she does not pay the person who is supposed to receive support. The powers that it may use in order to enforce support, include, but are not limited to:

• Taking the support payments directly from the payor’s employer;
• Suspending a payor’s driver’s license;
• Garnishing a payor’s bank accounts, investments accounts, RRSP’s, etc.; and,
• Suspending a payor’s passport.

For more information on the FRO, contact Krol & Krol at 905.707.3370.