Manitoba

Canada – Manitoba

Contact
Manitoba Justice
Family Law Branch
1230 -405 Broadway
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R3C 3L6
Tel: 204-945-5471
Fax: 204-948-2004
ISOQuestions@gov.mb.ca

Family Law Branch General Number: 204-945-0268

Overview
U.S. Federally Declared Foreign Reciprocating Country – Effective July 10, 2000

Web Links to Guides and Forms

http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/choosing_your_forms.pdf
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/

Relevant Laws
Age of majority in Manitoba: 18 years.

Q: If not stated in the order, at what age is child support automatically terminated as a matter of State law? Qualify, if necessary
A: No automatic termination. If a termination date is not stated in the order and the parties do not agree that support is to terminate, there must be a court order determining the issue.

Q: Does child support end if the child leaves the household but does not emancipate?
A: Not necessarily, but it depends on the facts.

Q: Does MANITOBA allow support to be paid beyond the age of majority under any circumstances (for example, the child is handicapped or in post-secondary education)?
A: Yes. A child support obligation is in effect for a child over the age of 18 where the child is unable by reason of illness, disability or other cause, to withdraw from the charge of his or her parents or to obtain the necessaries of life. “Other cause” can include attendance in post-secondary education.

SERVICE OF PROCESS
Check which of the following methods are used to serve process on an individual:

_____ personal service

_____ regular mail (no receipt)

_____ registered mail (receipted by addressee only)

_____ registered mail (receipted by anyone at the address)

_____ publication (example: in a legal journal, newspaper, public posting)

*these methods may only be used if so ordered by the Manitoba court

Q: How is a non-resident or person whose whereabouts are not known, notified of proceedings?
A: Private individual petitioners may serve notice of Manitoba court proceedings on a non-resident by personal service or by an alternative method if so ordered by the Manitoba court. It is rare for the Manitoba Maintenance Enforcement Program or the Designated Authority pursuant to The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act to initiate proceedings that would require direct notification to a non-resident. If necessary, Manitoba would likely send notice through the central authority or support enforcement agency of the jurisdiction where the non-resident resides. If the whereabouts of a Manitoba resident are not known, but it is known that he/she reside in Manitoba, an application can be made to the Manitoba court for an order of substitutional service.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Q: Is there a statute of limitations for past due support? If yes, describe.
A: No

Q: Is there a statute of limitations for establishing paternity? If yes describe
A: No

Q: Will MANITOBA accept a petition if the only issue is support for a prior period, that is, no child is currently entitled to support?
A: Yes

AMOUNT OF SUPPORT
Q: In setting the amount of support, whose income is considered in addition to the income of the non-custodial parent? (for example: custodial parent’s, custodial parent’s new spouse, child’s, etc)
A: For a basic Child Support Table amount of support, only the non-custodial parent’s income is considered. If additional amounts (“special expenses”) such as childcare/daycare contributions are requested, both the income of the non-custodial and the custodial parent are considered. If one of the parents seeks to have an order made in an amount that is different than the Child Support Table amount (based on a claim of “undue hardship”), the income of all persons in each of the households will be considered.

Q: How is the amount of support determined? (examples; by formula, % of income, tribunal discretion, etc).

Child Support Guidelines which include:

• Tables which set the amount based on the non-custodial parent’s income and the number of children;
• Provisions that state that special expense amounts in addition to the Table amount are to be shared proportionately between the parents.
• Provisions for amounts higher or lower than the Table amount to be ordered if the court finds that payment of the Table amount would cause undue hardship to either parent.

Q: Does MANITOBA allow for support for a period before the parent applied? If yes, what is the period allowed (for example, from the birth of the child, from date of separation, retroactivity support is limited to X years, etc)
A: Yes. This is left to the court’s discretion with no fixed maximum period.

MODIFICATION OF ORDERS

Q: May either party request a review for modification?
A: Yes.

Q: Will MANITOBA modify its existing domestic judgment when one of the parties resides in the USA and will not return for — or refuses to participate in — the proceedings?
A: It depends. If the judgment was made pursuant to the Divorce Act of Canada, the Manitoba court will consider modification of the order on notice to the party residing in the USA whether the US resident participates or not. If the judgment was made pursuant to Manitoba provincial law, the Manitoba court may consider modification of the order if the US party refuses to participate in the proceedings, but would more likely direct the Manitoba party to submit a modification request through the inter-jurisdictional application forms process (i.e., ISO/UIFSA)

Q: Does MANITOBA law require automatic adjustments? (for example, based on changes in the cost of living, or X% every 3 years, etc)
A: No

Q: If yes, are the automatic adjustments considered to be modifications of the order?
A: N/A

Q: Is a new order issued as a result of an automatic adjustment?
A: N/A

Q: Is there a minimum or threshold amount of change that must occur before a modification is made? (for example, the order would need to change by 25 dollars or more, or at least 10% change in order.)
A: No

COST RECOVERY
Q: What costs, if any, are recovered from the custodial parent?
A: None

Q: What costs, if any, are recovered from the non-custodial parent?
A: At this time, costs of enforcement are only recovered from the debtor when the enforcement agency garnishes federal funds owing to the debtor. A fixed amount is added on to the total amount of the debt owing and is collected from the federal funds after the maintenance arrears are collected.

Court ordered costs are not collected by the enforcement agency.

FORMS AND PROCEDURES

U.S. Federally Declared Foreign Reciprocating Country Effective July 10, 2000

IF the person in the US wants to….

THEN complete these forms and documents….

Establish a new (initial) support assessment/order in MANITOBA including the establishment of paternity

Transmittal & Acknowledgement

Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act (ISO) forms located at http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/chooseisoforms.html

Forms A-O are available, but not all are applicable in every case. The website explains the purpose of each form.? If these forms are used, Forms A, B & C are required and whichever of the other forms are applicable.

OR

UIFSA Petition, General Testimony, and Affidavit in Support of Establishing Paternity (where applicable).

*All documents must be sworn/affirmed before a notary public

Register and enforce an existing US order in MANITOBA

Transmittal & Acknowledgment
3 certified copies of the US order
Statement of Arrears

Register & modify an existing US order in MANITOBA because the order is not modifiable in the US

Transmittal & Acknowledgment
Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act (ISO) forms located at http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/chooseisoforms.html

Forms A-O are available, but not all are applicable in every case. The website explains the purpose of each form.? If these forms are used, Forms A, B & M are required in all modification cases.

OR

Uniform Support Petition
General Testimony
1 certified copy of the US Order

Enforce an existing Manitoba Order or Agreement in Manitoba

Transmittal & Acknowledgment
Copy of the Order or Agreement
Statement of Arrears

Modify an existing Manitoba Order or Agreement through the Designated Authority in accordance with The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act.

Transmittal & Acknowledgement
Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act (ISO) forms located at http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/chooseisoforms.html

*Forms A-O are available, but not all are applicable in every case. The website explains the purpose of each form.? If these forms are used, Forms A, B & C are required in all child support cases.

OR

Uniform Support Petition
General Testimony
Copy of Manitoba order or agreement

Locate a person or provide leads to assets in MANITOBA

Transmittal & Acknowledgement
Locate Person/Assets

Request status, assistance, or information (ex: requesting income information for a modification, service of process, etc.)

Transmittal & Acknowledgement for status request
Manitoba’s Maintenance Enforcement Program and the Designated Authority for transmittal of establishment & modification applications are normally not involved in obtaining income information for modification proceedings in other jurisdictions or for service of process relating to proceedings in other jurisdictions.

Requests for service of process can be made in accordance with the Hague Convention on Service Abroad