If you cannot come to an agreement on your own, the following services may be able to help you. There is no charge for these services:

• Family Court Counsellors (assessment and mediation): 902-368-6928
• Child Support Guidelines Office: 902-368-6220 ou 902-888-8188
• Maintenance Enforcement: 902-894-0383
• Positive Parenting From Two Homes (free): 902-368-4333 ou 1-877-203-8828

If even after trying these services you still can’t reach an agreement, you will have to go to court.

Family Court Counsellors

Family Court Counsellors are government employees who work at the Family Law Centre in Charlottetown. Family Court Counsellors help people work out custody, access and support arrangements and conduct home studies. They also provide mediation services. However, Family Court Counsellors are not lawyers. They cannot help you get a divorce.

To contact a Family Court Counsellor, the Child Support Guidelines Office, or Mainenance Enforcement, call the PEI Familly Law Centre:

• PEI Family Law Centre in Charlottetown: 902-368-6292
• Mediation: 902-368-6928 (Charlottetown)
• Child Support Guidelines: 902-368-6220 (Charlottetown), 902-888-8188 (Summerside)

Child Support Guidelines Officers

Child Support Guidelines Officers are available at the Family Law Centre in Charlottetown, and also in Summerside. Child Support Guidelines Officers will help you understand the federal child support guidelines and calculate what you should receive or what you should pay under those guidelines. They will also refer you to other professionals, such as the Maintenance Enforcement Program or Family Legal Aid, or to programs and services, such as Positive Parenting From Two Homes, Victim Services, and Community Legal Information Association of PEI.

To contact a Child Support Guidelines Officer, call:

• 902-368-6220 (Charlottetown)
• 902-888-8188 (Summerside)

Positive Parenting From Two Homes

Positive Parenting From Two Homes is a free program presented in two, three-hour information sessions one week apart for PEI parents who are dealing with the issues of separation and divorce. The session is intended to help parents avoid the long-term problems that are caused by continuous fighting by the parents, and putting the children in the middle of conflict.

Call the Family Law Centre at 902-368-6292 to learn more. There is also a resource for the school system called Positive Parenting from Two Homes for Kids. School Guidance Counsellors decide on the participants and are responsible for registration.

Mediation

In mediation, you and the other parent will work with someone who is specially trained to help you reach an agreement. A mediator will:

• Provide a neutral place for you and the other parent to meet
• Help define the issues you need to resolve
• Keep the discussions on track
• Help you maintain a working relationship with the other parent

A mediator will not make decisions for you, but can help you and the other parent communicate with each other about all of the issues involved in your separation. Both parents also have to agree to mediation for it to work.

Mediation gives you more control over what happens. It allows for more creative and flexible arrangements that suit your particular circumstances. If you go to court, the judge will decide for you, using the limited range of options available under a court order.

People who use mediation are usually more satisfied with the outcome than those who don’t. This means they are more likely to follow the terms of the agreement.

Mediation is informal and private. While a lawyer can attend mediation with you, there is usually no one else there but you, the other parent, and the mediator. No one else has to know the details of your agreement.

A Family Court Counsellor may be able to provide you with mediation services at no charge. Call 902-368-6928

A list of private mediators is available by calling Community Legal Information Association at 902-892-0853 or 1-800-240-9798. You can also check the Yellow Pages. However, private mediators will charge a fee.

If you have to go to court

It is a lot less stressful if parents can work out a child support agreement on their own, but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes court is the only option left available to ensure that children get the financial support they need when their parents separate.

Parents can apply for a child support order in the Family Court Division of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. This court hears family law matters relating to divorce, custody and access, child support, division of property upon marriage breakdown and maintenance enforcement.

The paying parent will be required by the court to provide proof of their present income, together with their recent income tax returns, and other financial documents that may be important. In most cases, such as when the parents are paying for special or extraordinary expenses, or when the parenting arrangement is shared, the receiving parent will also be required to provide financial documents. The judge will make a child support order based on the Child Support Guidelines.

The judge will make a decision about how much child support should be paid, who should pay it, and how often. Parents have to obey court orders.

A Child Support Guidelines Officer can give you information about going to court. It is also a good idea to get legal advice before going to court. You may be eligible for Family Legal Aid. You can also call the Lawyer Referral Service 902-892-0853 or toll-free 1-800-240-9798. The Lawyer Referral Service allows you to speak to a lawyer for up to 45 minutes for a small fee to ask questions and get legal advice.

Family Legal Aid

You may be eligible for Prince Edward Island Legal Aid. If your family situation has become abusive or violent you should call Family Legal Aid to get legal assistance with custody, access and child support.

If you have a low income and require legal assistance to meet the needs of dependant children you are given priority. Legal needs in this category include: custody, access, financial support, and housing. Due to the high demand for those services, only very limited resources remain available to assist applicants with legal needs that do not relate directly to the support of dependant children. Phone: 902-368-6540 or 902-888-8066.

What if a parent doesn’t pay child support?

The Prince Edward Island Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) is a service established by the provincial government to help parents receive their child support payments (Phone: 902-894-0383). “Maintenance” is another term used to describe support.

If you enroll in the program, staff at MEP will monitor your child support order and enforce it if payments are late or unpaid. The Mainenance Enforcement staff will contact the non-paying parent and arrange for payment to be made. There is no cost to enroll and there is no time limit when a parent can file their child support agreement or order.

Some parents enroll in the program because it is easier to have MEP collect payments than it is to do it themselves. When necessary, however, Maintenance Enforcement has the power to take wages, make financial agreements that can’t be broken (“binding” agreements), and take other legal action to get payments on behalf of the children.

It is better to pay child support when your children need it. If parents don’t pay child support and get behind in their payments (are “in arrears”), their Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan benefits can also be taken (“garnished”) to pay the debt.