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:
  1. Response by Attachee form, and
  2. 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.