Child support info for parents getting a divorce in Canada
Author: HowardMacKinnon Total views: 7 Word Count: 498
Anyone with children who is contemplating a divorce in Canada needs to be aware of the federal child support guidelines. The guidelines add some measure of certainty and objectivity to what was previously a rather chaotic process for determining the appropriate amount of child maintenance which should be paid. Under the guidelines parents and judges are able to quickly calculate the right amount. The result is far less courtroom contention over the issue of child support.
The core component to the guidelines is the child support tables. There is an individual table for each province, and the province used is the one where the parent who pays support resides. For parents who live outside the country, the residence for the custodial parent is used to decide on the table. To determine the amount of child support, all you need to do is to refer to the appropriate table.
In order to figure out the proper amount of monthly child support you should pay, you should first choose the correct provincial table. After you have done this all you have to do is cross index the number of children you have with your individual gross annual income. This total is what the court will expect you to pay, unless you can prove that another amount is suitable. Just having both parents agree to a different amount will not be enough, you have the burden of proving this is acceptable using the rest of the guidelines. If the court does not agree with you, you will be required to pay whatever the court thinks is correct.
Among the most common reasons for veering from the guideline table amount have to do with cases in which the child care set-up is much more complex than normal. Generally, one parent would be the main caregiver, while the other parent would have access visits with the kids on a fixed schedule or by some other, more flexible arrangement. The guideline table amount is most appropriate for such common situations.
But when the kids spend more or less an equal amount of time with each parent, or if some kids live mainly with Mom while others live mainly with Dad, then departing from the table amount is called for. In these cases, it's normal to determine what each parent ought to pay the other in accordance with the tables and then subtracting these amounts. One parent will then pay the difference to the other parent.
There are specific incidences where exceptions should be made to the table, especially when visitation by the access parent would incur great costs that would be easier for the other parent to afford.
Typically the number of children for whom child support is payable includes all children under the age of majority plus any children enrolled in university full time whom the parents have agreed to support.
So, the guidelines, and especially the tables, have made it easier to determine the appropriate amount of child support. However, special circumstances still require a bit of fine tuning.
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Howard is an seasoned Canadian divorce lawyer who has created and operates an Internet-based do-it-yourself divorce website. Howard invites you to check out his site and would be pleased to assist you with your divorce. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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