In a move that will significantly affect BC residents who pay/are owed child and spousal support, the province has submitted two amendments to the existing Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP).
The first and most substantial recommended change is to allow ICBC to immediately cancel the driver’s licenses of anyone who owes more than $3,000 in child and/or spousal support.
At the moment, the organization can only refuse to issue or renew licenses to those with such sizeable arrears at the time of renewal.
This change, if approved, would make it easier for the FMEP to take immediate, tangible action against people who owe family maintenance, and is intended to bring about a quicker resolution of payment arrangements.
The second suggested amendment is to only require the submission of relevant information about child or spousal support to the Land Titles Registry. The current laws require the submission of all information regarding family maintenance to the registry, making the process slow and forcing families to divulge sensitive information into the public record.
If these legislative amendments are passed, the changes will take effect within 60 to 90 days.
