When the parents
of a child separate, the payment of financial support for the child becomes an
issue. Basically, if one parent is not
going to be living with the child full time, he or she is obligated to pay
support to the other parent. The support
is not only for such direct items as clothing, school supplies, toys, diapers
but also for indirect items such as housing, utilities, transportation etc.
How much should be
paid?
In 1997 the
Federal Government introduced Child Support Guidelines. They are available from the Department of
Justice Canada website.
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-97-175/index.html
Step one is to determine the payor parent's income. The Guidelines are based upon gross income, before tax and deductions. The income is to include
monies earned from self-employment, investments, government benefits,
commissions, and bonuses although some deductions are allowed.
The Guidelines also set out situations when a Judge might "impute" or add non-existent income to the payor, such as if someone is intentionally underemployed or earns non-taxable income.
Once the income is decided the parents can look at the tables or use the online calculator. The amount depends upon the number of children. For example, a parent earning $40,000 per
year with two children would be required to pay $568 each month. A non-custodial parent earning $25,000 would
pay $166 per month for one child.
The
Child Support Guidelines were meant to make the calculation of child support
predictable and consistent.
Generally, the
custodial parent’s income is not relevant to a determination of the child
support amount. The Government Tables
are based on an amount that the payor spouse can afford to pay for the care of
their children.
On top of the
table amount of support, there can be an additional support amount for daycare,
prescription medication, dental bills, tuition or some extraordinary extracurricular
expenses.
The parent
receiving the child support is not required to provide any sort of receipts or
to justify how they have spent the money.
It is expected to be added into their monthly household income with
which they must pay all of their expenses.
The payor parent must pay for the whole year, even if they have the child for several weeks in the summer.
Since 1997, child support is not taxable for the person receiving it,
and it is not a tax deduction for the payor.
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if the parents each have the child at least 40%
of the time, the income of both parents will need to be reviewed to see if child support should be payable.
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In cases of split custody, each parent will have
at least one child in his or her custody.
Again, the couple would compare their incomes and determine whether any
support would be payable.
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If a child is over the age of 18 years but not
self-sufficient by reason of being in post-secondary studies or disabled, the child support can continue but will need to be reviewed.
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There are also exceptions for payors who will
find the Guideline amount of support creates “undue hardship” and they will not
be able to pay for their basic necessities.
There are however specific reasons as to why the undue hardship exists, such as having a second family, responsibility for a disabled dependent,
or unusually high costs of visiting the child.
The spouse
receiving support has the option of signing up with the Maintenance Enforcement Program through the Department of Justice.
The child support is sent by bank transfer to the Maintenance Enforcement Program for recording and then sent on to the recipient. Maintenance Enforcement has legislative
authority to take collection action such as garnishing wages, suspending
drivers’ licences, or summoning non-payors to Court.
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