In Ontario the majority of child support payments are enforced by the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) if the payments are made pursuant to a court order or a registered domestic contact, unless the parties have withdrawn their file from the FRO.

When a support payor wishes to terminate the child support obligation, however, he or she should not contact the FRO because the FRO’s jurisdiction only concerns the enforcement of the support obligation and not its termination.

Instead, the support payor must bring a motion to change before the court that granted the child support payments in the first place.*

It’s perhaps a good idea to discuss the proposed termination with the recipient to find out whether a consent order to terminate child support could be a possibility. If so, the support payments may be terminated without the parties’ attending the court by way of a consent motion. If not, the support payor will have to ask the court to change or terminate the support.

*Family Law Rules O. Reg. 114/99, R. 15