Notices of Attachment
What is a NOA
A Notice of Attachment (NOA) is issued when the payor is behind on his or her maintenance payments. Sometimes called a garnishment, the attachment requires anyone who owes the payor money to pay all or a portion of the money to FMEP.
We can attach income from one or more sources, including:
- wages, salaries and/or commissions
- pensions and workers’ compensation benefits
- long- or short-term disability payments
- rental income
- bank accounts
- ICBC claims
The attachee is required to respond to the Notice of Attachment and send payments to FMEP for the recipient.
The Notice of Attachment can remain in place for 5 years and will be renewed if the payor is still behind in his or her maintenance payments.
What are an Attachee’s obligations
An Attachee must:
- Respond within 10 days by completing:
- Response by Attachee form, and
- Wage Information form, if the payor is an employee.
- Calculate and deduct payments from money owing to the payor.
- Send payments to FMEP within 5 days after deduction.
- Contact FMEP to let us know if payments will stop.
An Attachee should not:
- Dismiss, discipline, or discriminate against the payor because of the NOA. It’s against the law.
- Take instructions from the payor. Only the FMEP can change or cancel the obligations under the NOA.
Need to send a Notice of Attachment payment?
There are two options for sending payments:
- Mail cheques, or
- Send payments using online banking.
Go to Sending NOA Payments to find out more.