In the first two blogs of our wage garnishment series we discussed how wage garnishments work when you owe money to the Canada Revenue Agency or to a creditor. While these are two very common forms of wage garnishments, there are other forms of wage garnishments that can quickly become severe financial burdens.

A very common ‘other’ form of wage garnishment is a wage garnishment related to unpaid child support. In Ontario, if you fail to pay child support, your wages can be garnished. The typical process is as follows: once your spouse has given you notice, their lawyer or the Family Responsibility Office will make an application to the court to garnish your wages, and once approved, your employer will receive notice and be legally required to do so. If there is back child support your wages can be garnished up to 50%.

Getting your wages garnished by Family Responsibility should never come as a surprise and you should always ensure that your child is financially cared for. When it comes to a wage garnishment from Family Responsibility, there is nothing you can do to reduce or stop this, other than going to court. These types of garnishments are unforgiving, and even if you are financially strapped and finding it incredibly difficult to pay, they will often throw you further into financial turmoil.

So, if you are having your wages garnished as a result of unpaid child support, are you then stuck between a rock and a hard place? Are there really no options to help you pull yourself out of a financial hole? No, you do have options, but these may mean looking at dealing with your other debts as quickly as possible to free up the cash to finally settle up those Family Responsibility payments.

What options are available? If you struggle with what seems like a mountain of debt, including debts for child support payments, a viable option may be a debt consolidation or a consumer proposal. Both of these may represent significant relief, as well as a single monthly payment. Just remember, if you are approved for a consumer proposal, payments to Family Responsibility cannot be included, but the proposal can free up potential monies to pay that debt and lift a wage garnishment.

If you are facing a wage garnishment of any kind, DebtCare Canada is here to help. For information about the many different options that may be available, please contact us today by calling 1-888-890-0888.