Key Takeaway

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Child Support helps ensure your kid’s basic needs are met even after separation. It provides financial stability that contributes to the overall wellbeing and development. It is each parent’s responsibility to support their kids financially.

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Resources

Fact Sheet Child Support

Child support agreements and orders

It is not always possible to avoid court, especially if someone is hiding financial information, or if there is family violence or a significant power imbalance between parents. You should seek legal help if this is your situation or if you can’t agree on a child support amount. 

Otherwise, it is usually better if you can work out an agreement, because court is 

  • expensive, 
  • stressful and 
  • time consuming. 

 

Most people are able to work out their child support agreement without going to court. See Child support agreements and orders  for more information.

  • A judge might change an agreement if they find out one of you did not fully disclose your sources of income
  • Financial disclosure is an ongoing obligation, this means you have to keep the other parent updated on changes to your finances

  • Find out which guidelines apply to you, Federal or Provincial/Territorial
  • Judges will not go below guidelines unless there is and exception such as undue hardship or you’ve made alternative reasonable arrangements

Try to work out how you will decide what extra expense are reasonable and how you will divide them

It is best to have a written agreement so everyone is clear on what was agreed to. You can get professional help to negotiate and write your agreement.

Get independent legal advice from a lawyer or other qualified legal professional, this is to make sure your agreement is legal and fair, and to check that you fully understand the agreement

  • Child support agreement can have tax implications
  • You can also ask an accountant to go through the paying parent’s finances to check they are complete

These agencies can collect the support on your behalf and take action to encourage parents to pay the support they owe

  • If child support is based off your income, and your income changes, you should update your agreement or order to reflect that change
  • If your kids living arrangements change, such as if you go from one parent having most of the parenting time to parents having roughly equal time, you will have to reassess child support
Exceptions to child support guidelines

These are some cases when you can go below the guideline amounts. 

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