For child support claims made under the Divorce Act, there are the Child Support Guidelines published by the Federal Government. These guidelines are called the Federal Child Support Guidelines. All provinces and territories have their own version of the child support tables. But these factors generally determine child support:
- Age of the child;
- Physical custody; and
- The income of the payor, or with shared or split custody, both parties.
Even with guidelines in place, determining child support can be complex. Determining the income of an entrepreneur or a self-employed person is difficult. This is because they control their wages. In this situation, you can easily get help by employing the services of an expert. Experts such as a CDFA or a Business Valuator who will follow the Child Support Guidelines to establish the real income aka Guideline Income to base the child support calculation on.
Child Support is made up of two components;
The first component is Table Amount Support for the basics like Food, Housing and Clothing.
The second component is the extra’s like Daycare, extracurricular activities. post-secondary education expenses, medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance, private school and so on, these expenses are known as “Section7 expenses”