Enforcement in Northern IrelandThe action we can take
If the non-payer lives in Northern Ireland the first thing we do is apply to the magistrates’ court for a Liability Order. This legally recognises there is a debt to be paid and allows us to take further action.
Once the Liability Order is granted, it is then registered with the Enforcement of Judgments Office to enforce payment of the Liability Order.
The action taken by the Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO) will depend on each case. They have a number of powers to get parents to pay the child maintenance they owe.
They can:
Register in the Stubbs’ Gazette
Register the non-resident parent’s name in the Stubbs’ Gazette, which may affect their credit rating or membership of a professional body.
Make an Instalment Order
Agree an Instalment Order with the non-resident parent. If the non-resident parent does not keep to this arrangement the creditor may apply to the court for committal proceedings.
Order Charging Land
An order can be made for registration in the Land Registry or the Registry of Deeds against any of the non-resident parent’s land or property. This makes sure the non-resident parent cannot sell their land or property unless they pay their debt out of the money they make from the sale.
Seizure Order
Issue an order of seizure against the parent’s goods.
Garnishee Order/Attachment of Debt Order
This order gives the EJO the power to freeze a parents’ bank account. This includes stopping them from using their bank account. Once the money is frozen, we can ask for the child maintenance to be paid.
Order Appointing Receiver
Where the EJO obtains information that the non-resident parent is about to receive monies from a third party (for instance a claim, criminal injury awards or proceeds of house sale) the office can make a Receiver Order. This means the person who is due to pay the non-resident parent must instead pay the amount to the Receiver for the purpose of satisfying the debt.
Where the Liability Order amount, or any part of it remains unpaid we can:
Apply to the court to take away the non-resident parent’s driving licence or send them to prison
If we can prove to a magistrate that the parent has refused to pay the child maintenance they owe, we can apply to have their driving licence taken away, or prevent them from getting one for up to two years. We can also apply to the courts for a warrant of commitment – to send a non-resident parent to prison for up to six weeks.
Even if the parent is disqualified from driving or sent to prison, they will still have to pay all the money they owe.
How to pay your child maintenance - read our Pay now page |
