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 November 9, 2009 Your opinion matters... Find Out What's New... 
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 Home > Resources > Glossary of FMEP Terms A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z Account Statement The Account Statement is the FMEP record of the financial transactions related to the maintenance order or agreement for a specific period. FMEP clients may request a copy of their Account Statement - either the complete record, or just a part of it (the past three to six months, for example, or the last year or two) - at any time. Similar to a credit card or bank statement, the account statement shows what, according to our records, has been paid and when, as well as what - if anything - is now owed. It displays information about the payments that were made to the FMEP and it shows the:
Administrative Enforcement Administrative enforcement is any non-court action we might take to try to make sure the terms of a maintenance order or agreement are met (we try to reserve court enforcement for a last resort). Administrative enforcement includes restricting a payor's driver's licence, attaching a payor's income, and placing a lien on a payor's land or personal property. Application to Change An application to change (vary) a maintenance order is an application made to the court – by either the payor or the recipient – asking the court to either:
Arrears Maintenance that has not been paid (the payor has fallen behind in making his or her payments). Assigned Case/Assignment of Maintenance Rights The BC Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance is authorized by law to require maintenance recipients to "assign" their maintenance rights to the government as a condition for receiving income assistance. Assignment generally includes enrollment in the FMEP. Attachee Someone - either an individual, a company or financial institution - who owes the payor money; the person or company named in a Notice of Attachment Attachment We may require anyone who owes the payor money to pay it directly to the FMEP. This is called "attaching" (also known as "garnishing") income, and may be applied to virtually any income, including wages, pensions, workers' compensation benefits, bank accounts, rental income or other assets. If a payor falls into arrears, and does not contact us to make payment arrangements, we will review the payor's file and may decide to send the payor's employer – or any other source of income – a Notice of Attachment. (We will also send a copy of the notice to payor. The Notice of Attachment requires the "attachee" to deduct a specific amount from the payor's wages or other income, and send that amount – either in a lump sum or in regular payments, depending on the source – directly to us within five days of making the deduction. We will then forward the payment(s) to the recipient. Child Support/Child Support Order or Agreement Child support is money that a non-custodial parent (the parent who does not have custody of the child) pays to the custodial parent to help support the child. A child support order or agreement specifies how much one or both parents will need to pay in child support. It may be a separate order or agreement, or may form part of a larger divorce order or separation agreement. Child Support Guidelines The child support guidelines are the rules for calculating the amount of child support one parent must pay to the other parent to help support their child or children. The guidelines apply to all child support orders or agreements, whether they are made by or filed in Supreme Court or Provincial Court. For child support orders made as part of a divorce, the guidelines came into effect May 1, 1997. For all other child support orders, the guidelines came into effect April 14, 1998. Committal Hearing If a payor fails to comply with the order to pay arrears made by the court at a default hearing, he or she can be required to appear at a committal hearing. At the committal hearing, the payor will be asked to explain – under oath – why he or she has not complied with the payment order. The judge may then decide:
Court Enforcement Court enforcement means taking a payor to court for non-payment of maintenance. Credit Report If the payor owes $2,000.00 or more in maintenance, we may report the payor to a credit reporting agency (also known as a credit bureau). Once it receives a credit report, the credit reporting agency will inform potential credit grantors – and anyone else authorized to ask about the payor's credit history – of the amount the payor owes in arrears. Default A default is a missed or late payment. Default Fee Whenever a payor misses or is late on two payments within the same calendar year, we will automatically charge that payor a Default Fee. The Default Fee is equal to one month's maintenance, to a maximum of $400.00. The fee goes to the BC government, not to the recipient, to help the government cover the costs of operating this program. Default Hearing If a payor does not pay the maintenance he or she owes, we can bring the case to court for a Default Hearing. In court, the payor will be required to explain to a judge why payments are in arrears, and the court can decide to take additional action to enforce payment of the arrears – up to and including a jail sentence in some cases. Direct Payment A direct payment is a payment made directly by the payor to the recipient, instead of through the FMEP. To keep our records accurate and up-to-date, we prefer payors to send their payments to us. We will then forward them on to the recipient, usually the same day. Driver’s Licence Withholding If a payor owes more than $3,000.00 in maintenance, we may direct ICBC to refuse to issue or renew the payor's driver's licence until the arrears are paid. Enforcement Against Corporations For payors who own all or a major part of a corporation, we can make the payor's corporation liable for the payor's maintenance payments – which means the corporation, as well as the payor, can be held responsible both for making the payor's regular maintenance payments and for paying any arrears. Enrollment Package This is the FMEP's enrollment package, containing an Application Form, List of Payments Form (listing all payments made since the maintenance order or agreement was made, or since the date arrears were fixed by the court), and a Payment History Form (to be filled out only if the payor is in arrears and the recipient is claiming unpaid maintenance). Family Support Another term for maintenance; what is owed for the support of a spouse and/or children under a maintenance order or agreement. Federal Licence/Passport Denial If a payor owes more than $3,000.00 in maintenance, we may request the federal government to suspend, refuse to issue or renew the payor's passport and/or federal aviation or marine licence until the payor has made an arrangement with us to pay the arrears. Federal Interception We have the authority to "intercept" money owed by the federal government to any payor who falls behind in his or her scheduled maintenance payments, and have it paid directly to the FMEP instead of the payor. We can intercept income from one or more sources, including:
FMEP Case Number This is the number we use to track a particular case; it will appear on all correspondence we have with both the recipient and the payor. Garnishment We may require anyone who owes the payor money to pay it directly to the FMEP. This is called "attaching" (also known as "garnishing") income, and may be applied to virtually any income, including wages, pensions, workers' compensation benefits, bank accounts, rental income or other assets. If a payor falls into arrears, and does not contact us to make payment arrangements, we will review the payor's file and may decide to send the payor's employer – or any other source of income – a Notice of Attachment. (We will also send a copy of the notice to payor. The Notice of Attachment requires the "attachee" to deduct a specific amount from the payor's wages or other income, and send that amount – either in a lump sum or in regular payments, depending on the source – directly to us within five days of making the deduction. We will then forward the payment(s) to the recipient. InfoLine InfoLine is the FMEP's automated telephone system. Through InfoLine, payors and recipients may request a statement listing all payments made to date, find out when the most recent payment was received, and how much the payor may owe in missed payments. Recipients may also use InfoLine to report a direct payment, and to check the status of any enforcement action. InfoLine also offers detailed, recorded information on all aspects of the FMEP in general, including the various enforcement actions we have the authority to take. In the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria, InfoLine is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Elsewhere in BC, the 1-800 InfoLine is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. InfoLine Numbers Greater Vancouver 604-775-0796 Greater Victoria 250-356-5995 Elsewhere in BC 1-800-668-3637 Interjurisdictional Supports Orders Act (ISO) All provinces and territories in Canada and several other foreign countries have agreed to recognize the family support (maintenance) orders and agreements made in other places. This allows a person (the applicant) to apply for or change a support order in a reciprocating jurisdiction without having to go to that jurisdiction. The person in the reciprocating jurisdiction (the respondent) goes to court to respond to the application. More information about ISO is available from the ISO Forms website. Land Registration We may register a lien against land the payor may own. A lien against land secures all amounts due under a maintenance order, including future payments, so it may remain in place until the end of the maintenance order. That means the payor must use all or part of the proceeds from the sale of the land to help pay the maintenance debt before selling or transferring ownership of the land. Maintenance Agreement A written agreement signed by the payor and the recipient and filed with a court, setting out maintenance payments. Maintenance Lien We may register a lien against any personal property (including a car, boat, trailer or manufactured home) a payor may own. The lien gives the FMEP a claim against that property until the payor has paid all the arrears. In the case of a manufactured home, it also means the payor cannot move the home from one location to another without FMEP approval. Maintenance Order Court order that says the payor must make child and/or spousal support payments to the recipient. Notice of Attachment We may require anyone who owes the payor money to pay it directly to the FMEP. This is called "attaching" (also known as "garnishing") income, and may be applied to virtually any income, including wages, pensions, workers' compensation benefits, bank accounts, rental income or other assets. If a payor falls into arrears, and does not contact us to make payment arrangements, we will review the payor's file and may decide to send the payor's employer – or any other source of income – a Notice of Attachment. (We will also send a copy of the notice to payor. The Notice of Attachment requires the "attachee" to deduct a specific amount from the payor's wages or other income, and send that amount – either in a lump sum or in regular payments, depending on the source – directly to us within five days of making the deduction. We will then forward the payment(s) to the recipient. Notice of Filing We send out a Notice of Filing to both the recipient and the payor that states their case is now enrolled with us, and that we are now responsible for monitoring and enforcing the maintenance order or agreement. The Notice of Filing also outlines the payment schedule – what the regular maintenance payments are and when they are due (once or twice a month, for example). If the payor fell behind in maintenance payments at some time in the past, and the court has ordered the payor to pay arrears, the schedule will also indicate how much the payor needs to make up in missed payments. Notice of Intention We issue a Notice of Intention to any payor who misses (defaults) on a payment. The notice lets the payor know what will happen if she or he misses a second payment within one calendar year. Notice of Motion Court document that can be used to ask the court to change a maintenance order or remove an attachment. Payor The person paying maintenance. (In legal documents, called the "debtor.") Personal Identification Number This is the private number we give each client (the payor and recipient will have the same case number, but different personal identification numbers). For security, all callers to InfoLine and our regional offices will be asked for their personal identification numbers. Personal Property Registry Where we register a maintenance lien (see above) against a payor's personal property; also includes the Manufactured Homes Registry. Recipient The person receiving maintenance. (In legal documents, called the "creditor.") Reciprocal Agreement/Reciprocating Jurisdictions We have reciprocal agreements with all Canadian provinces, the United States and several other countries (these are known as reciprocating jurisdictions). This means we can ask another province, territory, state or country to take enforcement action on our behalf, and the reverse – they can ask us to take enforcement action for one of their clients. Spousal Support Sometimes called alimony, spousal support is financial support paid to a former spouse. Statement of Finances A Statement of Finances is a legal document that must be completed by the payor. The statement lists the payor's assets, income sources and expenses. We use the statement to assess the payor's financial situation, and as a basis for enforcement decisions. Statement of Payments Disbursed The Statement of Payments Disbursed is the FMEP record of the financial transactions related to the maintenance order or agreement for a specific period. FMEP clients may request a copy of their Statement of Payments Disbursed - either the complete record, or just a part of it (the past three to six months, for example, or the last year or two) - at any time. Similar to a credit card or bank statement, the statement of payment disbursed shows what, according to our records, has been paid and when, as well as what - if anything - is now owed. It displays information about the payments that were sent from the FMEP and it shows the:
Voluntary Payment Arrangement A voluntary payment arrangement is a plan – developed in cooperation between the payor and the FMEP – for the payor to pay back what he or she owes in arrears in addition to making regular, ongoing maintenance payments. Warrant of Execution We may obtain a Warrant of Execution (a court document) that authorizes the sheriff or bailiff to seize a payor's personal property – such as a car or boat – and sell it to help pay off any arrears. A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
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