In 1995, the Quebec government adopted a law making Revenu Québec a go-between that collects support payments and pays them to people who are supposed to get them. Revenu Québec can collect both support payments for an ex-spouse and support payments for a child.
However, in some situations, this law does not apply. Also, some people can ask a court for permission to make support payments without going through Revenu Québec.
People Not Covered by the Collection System
The law creating the collection system was created on December 1, 1995.
Therefore, Revenu Québec is not automatically involved in distributing support payments ordered in court decisions made before December 1, 1995. In these cases, the person who owes support makes payments directly to the person who is supposed to get them.
However, the person receiving the support payments can ask Revenu Québec to become involved in these situations:
- The support payments are late.
OR - The person receiving and the person paying make a request together.
A person who wants to ask for Revenu Québec’s involvement in the distribution of support payments must go to a courthouse and fill out a form called Application to the Court Clerk Concerning Section 99, Paragraph (1) or (2), of the Act to Facilitate Payment of Support (SJ-765A).
Person Paying Asks for an Exception
Since December 1, 1995, the collection system has applied automatically to all people required to pay support under
- a court decision, or
- an agreement approved by a special clerk or judge.
Anyone who wants to pay support directly to the recipient must apply to the court for permission and meet the requirements for one of the two exceptions listed below. These exceptions are called “exemptions”.
1. Both People Ask for an Exception
- The person paying and the person receiving make a request to a court together for Revenu Québec not to be involved in distributing the support payments.
- The court decides whether this is what both people really want and makes sure they understand the consequences.
- The person paying must provide a guarantee, called “security”, equal to one month of support.
2. Creation of a Trust
- With a judge’s permission, the person paying creates a legal mechanism called a trust, which guarantees that the support payments will be made.
- To do this, neither the person paying nor the judge needs the agreement of the person receiving.
Even if a court accepts the request for an exception, Revenu Québec can become involved if the person paying
- skips a support payment and the person receiving notifies Revenu Québec,
- makes a request, together with the person receiving, for Revenu Québec to become involved,
- does not provide or maintain security, or
- does not create a trust to guarantee that the support payments will be made.
If Revenu Québec becomes involved, the person paying cannot later go back to court to ask for Revenu Québec to stay out of it. In other words, a person can only get an exception from the law once.