Avoid a default hearing or driver’s licence suspension

If you're the support payor and you're behind on your spousal support payments, the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) may start a default hearing or ask the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to suspend your driver's licence.

You can avoid this by contacting the FRO right away with your 7-digit FRO case number. You can either:

• Bring your payments up to date.
• Work out a voluntary payment plan where you agree to a payment schedule you can afford. The FRO usually requires that you make your monthly support payments plus an additional amount toward the support owing.

Default hearing

If you get a notice of a default hearing, you must go to court on that date. You have to explain to a judge why you're behind in your payments. The judge makes a decision called a default order. It can make you:

• Pay all or part of the money you owe through regular payments over time.
• Pay all of the money you owe by a certain date.
• Start a motion to change your agreement or court order.
• Go to jail for up to 180 days.

If you do not go to your court date, the court can have you arrested. Or, the court can make a default order against you.

Driver’s licence suspension

The FRO will mail you a document called a First Notice of Driver's Licence Suspension. Your driver's licence will be suspended 30 days after the date in the notice. The deadline date to respond is set out in the notice.

You can respond by asking the court for a refraining order. A refraining order is a court order that stops the FRO from having your driver’s licence suspended for a short period of time.

You cannot get a refraining order after the deadline in the First Notice has expired.