Child support is an important matter to resolve. Having a skilled family lawyer on your side helps you preserve your child’s rights.
When you and your former spouse or partner have settled the access/parenting issues, the next step is to establish the amount payable for child support. Most often, the parent who is has primary physical residence of the child(ren) is the one who will be incurring the daily expenses. This parent receives compensation to lessen the burden of these expenses. Whether you are required to pay or entitled to receive child support, we can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Child Support guidelines?
The Canadian Federal and the Ontario Provincial Child Support Guidelines set out the rules and tables that govern how much support should be paid for the benefit of the child(ren).
The Canadian Federal Child Support Guidelines are regulations made under the Divorce Act and are applicable to couples who were legally married. The Provincial Child Support Guidelines are regulations made under the Family Law Act. The provincial Guidelines apply to couples who were not married.
What is the goal of these guidelines?
The goal of the Guidelines is to set a fair standard of support for children that ensure that they continue to benefit from the financial means of both parents after separation. The Guidelines have been shown to reduce conflict and tension between parents because they make child support calculations fair, objective, and predictable. They can also help parents come to an agreement about support by themselves.
What is table support?
The Guidelines provide Child Support Tables that determine how much a parent will pay on a monthly basis for child support. The amount of support payable each month is determined by the province you live in, the number of children eligible for support, and the payor’s income. The amounts in the tables are based on economic studies of average spending on children in families at different income levels in Canada.
How often does child support change?
Generally, the table amount of child support is adjusted on an annual basis. The adjustment to the table amount of support will vary depending on whether there have been changes to the payor’s income. The table amount of support may increase or decrease annually based on the changes in the payor’s income.
What are the special or extraordinary expenses?
Section 7 of the Guidelines delineates the “special” or “extraordinary” expenses that are paid for the children. These expenses include items such as:
- Childcare or daycare
- Medical and dental expenses
- Health related expenses (i.e. orthodontics, professional counselling, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, prescription drugs, hearing aids, glasses and contact lenses)
- Extraordinary expenses for primary or secondary school education or for any other education programs
- Expenses for post-secondary education
- Extraordinary expenses for extracurricular activities (rep. level sports, competitive teams, etc.)
These expenses are shared by the spouses in proportion to their respective incomes after deducting from the expense, the contribution, if any, from the child.
Is child support taxable?
Child support payments are not taxable in the hands of the recipient and are not deductible by the payor.