Get your order
Once you've gone through the family court process, you will have an order, usually written out in an that decides the issues in your case.
You or your partner should now get a formal signed order from the court. You must fill out Form 25: Order listing all the orders in the endorsement. This must be sent to the other partner because you must both agree with the wording of the orders. In some cases, the will prepare the order for you.
Once you have your order, it's up to you and your partner to respect the order and follow it.
Here's what you have to do if you need to change or enforce your order.
Changing orders
How you change your order depends on the terms you want to change. Before going to court to change an order, you should try talking to your partner and see if you can agree on the changes. You can also get help from a family law professional. The Step Get help from a family law professional gives you more information on this.
Support orders
You ask a judge to change support by bringing a . The Step Change your order gives you more information about this.
Or, if you and your partner agree, you can agree to the changes by making a . The Step Bring a regular motion has information on how to make a consent order.
Other orders
You can ask a judge to change orders that don't deal with support by asking for a of the by bringing a to change. The Step Change your order gives you more information about this.
To bring a motion to change, you must show a material change in circumstances. This means you have to show that there has been a major change to your situation such that your order needs to be revised to deal with those changes.
Or, if you and your partner agree, you can agree to the changes by making a consent order. The Step Bring a regular motion has information on how to make a consent order.
Enforcing orders
Sometimes one won't follow the order. You may need the court's help to enforce the order by having the court order your partner to follow it.
Support orders
Most support orders are enforced by the (FRO).
The FRO is a government agency that collects support payments from the person who has to pay them, sends the payments to the person who has to get it, and makes sure and payments are made.
If your partner misses payments, the FRO can take action to enforce the order or agreement. For example, if your partner doesn't pay support, the FRO can order their employer to deduct money from their wages, suspend their driver's licence, or start a court case that can result in jail time.
If you have a court order that deals with child support or spousal support, the court sends the Support Deduction Order Information form and the Support Deduction Order to the FRO who will enforce the support order.
If you did not go to court but have a , you can the agreement with the court if you want the FRO to enforce support payments. The Step File your separation agreement with the court gives you more information about how to do this.
Other orders
If your order is about or , you may have to go back to court if your partner isn't following the court order. You go to court to change the order or to ask the court to find your partner in contempt.
A contempt order means asking the judge to decide that your partner knew about the order and did not follow it on purpose. This is a complicated court process and is not used often. If your partner is found in contempt for not following the order, they can be fined or jailed.
Next steps:
Previous step:
