Government of New Brunswick

Lawyer’s Guide

 

Who We Are and What We Do

The role of the Office of Support Enforcement (OSE) is to collect and enforce family support orders and agreements. The goal is to see that child support and spousal support is paid on time, in full, and on a regular basis.

The OSE’s ability to effectively collect support depends heavily on the clarity of the order. Orders with ambiguous clauses or those missing key elements may not be enforceable. In these instances, the OSE will apply existing policies in deciding how to enforce the order. Orders that contain clear, workable clauses will be enforced as they are written.

 

Enforceable Orders and Agreements

To ensure that a support order or agreement is enforceable by the OSE, it should clearly state the following:

  • That one party is to pay the other party;
  • The amount of the support payment;
  • The date the payments are due (otherwise, the OSE will use the order effective date as the start date);
  • Any conditions of eligibility or terminating events, if applicable. If none are given, the OSE will stop enforcing when the youngest child reaches the age of majority (19 in New Brunswick) is not attending a full-time post-secondary education or has obtained a first post-secondary degree or is married/common-law; and
  • The statute under which the order or agreement is being made.

The OSE is not responsible for fact finding with respect to support provisions. The facts must be set out in the order or agreement, otherwise, it is unenforceable.

 

Considerations


Special and Extraordinary Expenses:

Section 7 of the Child Support Guidelines (CSG) allows for the contribution to certain expenses for the child, over and above the regular child support amount.  Here is the Special Expenses policy.

Special note: Lawyers should be careful in how they describe the special and extraordinary expenses. A balance must be struck between being too restrictive and too general. For example, allowing an expense for “tap dance” versus “dance” would preclude a change to “ballet” later. Simply ordering “extra-curricular” activities without detailing the type of activity under consideration is unenforceable.  

 

Financial Disclosure and Recalculation:

The OSE does not have authority under the Support Enforcement Act to recalculate support when a Payer’s income changes or to set an amount once a previously unemployed Payer obtains employment.

Similarly, although the Support Enforcement Act allows the OSE to demand certain financial information from the payer for the purpose of enforcing child support, it does not allow for the enforcement of a financial disclosure clause in a support order.

There is a Child Support Recalculation Service where you may be eligible to have your child support adjusted.  You can access their website at www.gnb.ca/CSRS, contact them by phone at (833) 224-2224 or by email at [email protected].

 

Legislation