There are some who decide to quit, others who develop schemes to reduce their official salary and some who start working on the black market. When a separation occurs in the context of domestic violence, the payment of child support often becomes a minefield, where power dynamics continue to operate. Ex-spouses sometimes get creative to avoid paying money to the mother of their children. And their remedies are often limited.
In January 2021, a Superior Court judgment recognized that, in Laura’s file (we call the interveners by a fictitious first name for security and confidentiality reasons), “the evidence reveals that [son ex-conjoint] quit several jobs to evade child support”.
In the judgment, the magistrate adds that Laura’s ex-husband and father of their three children “even responded to an order for the payment of alimony by quitting his job within hours of this order”. Extreme behavior which, coupled with legal fees of more than $75,000 paid by Laura, compromised the financial and psychological health of the lady, as reported The duty in June.
“I let go”
A case of post-separation economic violence that is far from isolated. Ten years ago, Audrey divorced. While the legal process for the determination of child support was underway, her ex-husband left the jobs he held three times for reasons described, in two of the cases, as “nebulous” by a Superior Court judge. In the judgment, the magistrate noted that the man had “great difficulty” in accepting that he had a financial responsibility for his children.
When money comes in, I’m happy. I see it as a nice surprise and that’s it.
Before each termination, Audrey received a text message, she confided to the Duty. “It was each time a few days before we went to court, or for example upon receipt of a subpoena who said I was asking for child support, reports Audrey, who at the time was earning about $30,000 a year. He told me: “I’m going to arrive at the court and I won’t have any job.” » The duty was able to consult text messages exchanged on this subject.
Her ex-husband then decided to go into business. A “surprising” and risky decision, noted the judge, given the possibility that the man had to have a stable and higher income by keeping his old job. “As he had become self-employed, the government could not make deductions directly from his salary [pour percevoir la pension alimentaire], indignant Audrey. In court he said he would make about $10,000 a year [alors qu’il gagnait cinq fois plus dans ces précédents emplois]. »
Even today, while her ex-husband now has a stable job, several thousand dollars in child support are still owed to her. “I fought so hard, she breathes. But there, I completely let go. When money comes in, I’m happy. I see it as a nice surprise and that’s it. »
“I didn’t have the energy for it”
Simone went through a similar situation, but with an ex-spouse who left the country. After being physically abused, she took refuge in a safe house. “I didn’t want him to be able to track me down,” she says. But since she was receiving social assistance at the time, the government asked her to claim child support from her ex-husband, paying the costs of legal aid.
This approach enabled her to receive alimony for her daughter, aged eight months at the time of the separation, deducted directly from the source, on the salary of her ex-spouse. But not for very long. Some time later, “he resigned from the position he had held for 10 years, saying that he could not give all that money,” Simone laments. Her ex-husband also had to pay child support for two children he had with another woman, she reports, and he led a high lifestyle that included drug and alcohol abuse.
A few months later, the man returned to France, where he started working again. To enforce the judgment concerning the payment of alimony, Simone should have taken steps internationally. “But I didn’t have the energy for that,” she says today, several years after the events. “I was more in the reconstruction of my life. »
“It’s shocking and frustrating”
For Françoise — who received child support for her daughter for several years — her recourses disappeared when her ex-spouse, who owns a business, began declaring a salary of $7,000 as a self-employed worker. According to the lady, it is clear that her ex-husband earns more than he declares. “Just by putting gas in his vehicle and eating, he wouldn’t be able to do it [avec 7000 $], she points. It is [bien en dessous] of the poverty line. »
I fought so hard. But there, I completely let go.
“It’s revolting and frustrating, but we can’t do anything,” laments Françoise, whose daughter attends university. We have no recourse because he is self-employed. I don’t understand why it can be done so easily. »
Need help ? If you are a victim of domestic violence, you can call the SOS violence conjugale hotline at 1 800 363-9010. If you are a perpetrator of domestic violence, you can contact the organization À coeur d’homme at 1 877 660-7799.