Click here for a list of various types of services available in New Brunswick that can help with family law matters.

If even after trying these services you still can’t reach an agreement, you will have to go to court.

Parenting After Separation Program

For the Sake of the Children is a free six-hour program divided into two sessions of three hours each. It is designed to provide the type of information parents need. The program covers:

• Adults’ experience of separation
• Children’s experience of separation;
• Children’s needs at different ages;
• Planning parenting after separation;
• Alternatives to Court;
• Reorganizing;
• Legal issues;
• The costs of conflict and the benefits of keeping conflict low;
• New partner issues;
• Communicating with your child’s other parent;
• Communication with your child;
• Effects of conflict on children.

Sessions are held in the following locations:

• Bathurst
• Campbellton
• Caraquet
• Edmundston
• Fredericton
• Grand Falls
• Miramichi
• Moncton
• Saint John
• St. Stephen
• Sussex
• Woodstock

How to register for a FREE session:

Call toll-free at 1-888-236-2444

(Fredericton region: 506-444-3855)

For further information, take a look at the program’s pamphlet online or these videos.

Mediation

In mediation, you and the other parent will work with someone who is specially trained to help you reach an agreement. A mediator will:

• Provide a neutral place for you and the other parent to meet
• Help define the issues you need to resolve
• Keep the discussions on track
• Help you maintain a working relationship with the other parent

A mediator will not make decisions for you, but can help you and the other parent communicate with each other about all of the issues involved in your separation. Mediation is a voluntary process, so both parents also have to agree to mediation for it to work.

Mediation gives you more control over what happens. It allows for more creative and flexible arrangements that suit your particular circumstances. If you go to court, the judge will decide for you, using the limited range of options available under a court order.

People who use mediation are usually more satisfied with the outcome than those who don’t. This means they are more likely to follow the terms of the agreement.

It is informal and private. While a lawyer can attend mediation with you, there is usually no one else there but you, the other parent, and the mediator. No one else has to know the details of your agreement. Both parties must be willing to participate. The mediator does not offer legal advice.

When you choose a mediator, you may want to make sure the mediator you choose has professional accreditations with, for example, Family Mediation Canada, the Law Society of New Brunswick, or the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers. Check in the yellow pages under mediation services.

* Family Advice Lawyers may be able to review your agreement. They are part of a province-wide service of the Department of Justice in collaboration with the NB Legal Aid Service Commission (NBLSC). Through this service, lawyers provide free general legal information for up to two hours on family law matters. They can also explain what to expect from the court process and help you understand court forms. To book an appointment with an advice lawyer, call toll free: 1-855-266-0266.

If you have to go to court

It is a lot less stressful if parents can work out a child support agreement on their own, but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes court is the only option left available to ensure that children get the financial support they need when their parents separate.

If you are not represented by a private lawyer or legal aid, you may want to become familiar with how to present your case at family court hearing. If you do this, you are called a Self-Represented litigant. You can check out the Family Law NB website for information on going to court or watch the video on this topic. You can also check out the “Family Law Workshops Schedule” to see if there is a workshop called “Preparing for a family court hearing” being offered in your region.

You may also look for direction from a Family Advice Lawyer. This service is provided province-wide by the Department of Justice in collaboration with the NB Legal Aid Service Commission (NBLSC). Lawyers provide free general legal information for up to two hours on family law matters. They can explain what to expect from the court process and help you understand court forms. To book an appointment, call toll free: 1-855-266-0266.

In New Brunswick, support orders are issued by the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench, Family Division under the Family Services Act or the Divorce Act. These are automatically filed with the Family Support Orders Service (FSOS) of New Brunswick.

If you live in New Brunswick and have a Canadian court order, you can opt into FSOS. To do so, you must file a Notice to File a Support Order Form. This is also possible for orders from American States or some other countries.

If the beneficiary (the person receiving the support) lives outside of New Brunswick, he or she should contact the office responsible for enforcement of support in his or her area.

• Note: Courts treat access and support as separate legal issues. Denying the payer access to the children in violation of a custody/access order does NOT help FSOS collect your support.
• Opting Out: The person receiving support (the beneficiary) may choose to receive payment directly from the payer instead of using FSOS to collect their support. To ensure the support order will NOT be filed with FSOS, the beneficiary must file a Notice Not to File a Support Order Form.

The paying parent will be required by the court to provide proof of their present income, together with their recent income tax returns, and other financial documents that may be important. In most cases, such as when the parents are paying for special expenses, or when the parenting arrangement is shared, the receiving parent will also be required to provide financial documents. Click here to get instructions for completing a financial statement and your income information, as well as a link to form you will need to fill out.

The judge will make a child support order based on the Child Support Guidelines. The judge will make a decision about how much child support should be paid, who should pay it, and how often. Parents have to obey court orders.

You may qualify for Family Legal Aid, a service that helps low income individuals deal with certain family law matters. Click here for more on how to obtain Legal Aid and what services are offered.

What if a parent doesn’t pay the child support set out in an order or agreement?

The Family Support Orders Service (FSOS) is a part of the New Brunswick Department of Justice. Its goal is to promote a dependable flow of support payments. FSOS focuses on helping parents support their children. FSOS monitors and has the authority under federal and provincial laws to use various methods to collect overdue payments.

FSOS can usually try to collect support payment by doing the following (but they are not limited to this list):

• Initiate a Payment Order
  
  • This is known as garnishment. Some examples of monies that can be garnished include: wages, pensions, income tax refunds, GST credits, workers’ compensation benefits, and bank accounts, including jointly held bank accounts
• Demand information about a payer’s location, contact information, salary, employment, assets, or any other information that is considered necessary to enforce the order. Information demanded must be provided within 14 days
• Report a payer to a credit bureau where the payer owes an amount greater than 3 months of support payments
• Suspend or revoke a payer’s drivers licence if the payer owes an amount greater than 4 months of support payments
• Make corporations liable for support owed by a payer where the payer or the payer’s family owns the corporation
• Ask the federal government to suspend, refuse to issue, or refuse to renew the payer’s passport and/or federal aviation or marine license if the payer owes an amount greater than 3 months of support payments
• Bring the case to Court for a Judge or Court Administrator to decide on additional enforcement action. This is called an enforcement hearing.

For further information on FSOS, please take a look at PLEIS-NB’s information pamphlet here.