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20 Facts about Child Support You Need to Know

1. Child support is paid by the parent who does not have primary care of the children to the other parent on a monthly basis. It is intended to share the costs of raising the children between both parents.

2. The Federal Child Support Guidelines determines the amount of child support to be paid. All you do is look it up on a chart based on the province the payor lives in, the payor’s income and the number of children. Here is an easy calculator instead of using the chart.

3. The payor’s income is their total income as indicated in their tax return at line 150.

4. If the children are with each parent more than 40% of the time, an adjustment to the amount of child support is possible. Your lawyer can help you with the calculation.

5. In split custody situations (some kids living primarily with you and other children living primarily with your spouse) “set off child support” is paid. That is, you pay your spouse according to the number of children in your spouse’s care and your spouse pays you according to the number of children in your care.

6. In rare cases, it is possible to seek a reduction in child support if paying according to the Guidelines would be an “undue hardship”. This is very difficult to prove. Your lawyer can assess your case and explain what you have to prove.

7. Self-employed people may have some adjustments made to their income for determining the proper amount of child support. For example, personal expenses written off by the business may be added to their income for determining child support. We have an article focusing on this issue.

8. Child support is not tax deductible by the payor and does not have to be claimed as income for tax purposes by the recipient.

9. Child support can be adjusted whenever there is a material change in circumstances such as an increase in income.

10. Each parent has the right to see proof of the other’s income once a year to determine whether there should be any changes to the amount of child support being paid.

11. Child support terminates when a child reaches age 18 unless the child is unable to become economically self-sufficient due to health issues or they are attending school on a full time basis. An exception may be a child taking a “gap year”.

12. Child support usually ends when a child has completed their first four years of post-secondary education.

13. Post-secondary education costs are usually shared in proportion to your income and your spouse’s income but can be shared equally. In most cases, the child is required to share in the costs too.

14. The cost of extra curricular activities are usually only shared if they are extraordinary such as being on a rep hockey team or a competitive swim team or on another team involving a lot of travel and expenses. Extraordinary extra curricular costs are shared in proportion to incomes but some clients agree to share the cost equally.

15. The after-tax cost of daycare, summer camps and before and after-school care, is usually shared in proportion to incomes but can be shared equally. Our lawyers have a computer program to help determine the “after-tax cost”. It deducts any government subsidies and benefits being received.

16. Medical and health care costs (for example, dental, orthodontic, chiropractic, eye glasses) that are not covered by an extended health care insurance plan or OHIP are usually shared in proportion to incomes or shared equally.

17. To get a divorce, the proper amount of child support must be paid according to the Federal Child Support Guidelines unless there are special benefits being received in lieu of proper child support. For example, if the payor is taking extra debts or has given an asset to the other parent, lesser child support is possible.

18. Child Support is usually paid by post-dated cheques or electronic transfers according to the payor’s paydays.

19. It is possible to seek child support from a step-parent who has been like a parent. The biological parents continue to be primarily responsible to pay child support.

20. The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) will collect child support but we suggest you use FRO only if necessary. It is a government agency that is understaffed and is often frustrating to work with. If enforcement is necessary, the FRO can suspend the payor’s driver’s license or put the payor in jail, if approved by the court, so it is sometimes helpful. Your lawyer will explain all of the details of the law and how it applies to your case so that you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family.