Calculating Child Support in Ontario
It’s really easy… If you have a child, you are responsible for paying Child Support.
Support is based on the total gross annual income you earn before paying taxes, less some deductions like union dues.
No matter how you proceed, whether through the court system or by mediation, you must have a plan for child support if you have kids.
In shared parenting, both parents now have an obligation to pay child support.
Table Support covers essential expenses like food, shelter and clothing.
There are specific rules in Ontario that provide for who should pay child support and how much they must pay.
There are also section 7 expenses to be added to the table amount.
Support Amount issues are not left solely to the discretion of you and the other parent.
What is child support?
Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian, or province) following the dissolution of a marriage or other relationship in family law and public policy. Child support is money paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children from a previous relationship.
How much is child support?
After deciding to separate or divorce, there are many legal issues that will need to be resolved between the parties. If the marriage produced a child (or children), then one of these issues will be child support.
All provinces in Canada, including Ontario, have definite laws that provide for child support. No matter how you intend your divorce to proceed, whether through the court system or by mediation, you must have a plan for child support if you have kids.
Your plan for child support should include the amount of child support, who should pay and how it should be paid. But these issues will not be left solely to the discretion of you and the other parent.
There are specific rules in Ontario that provide for who should pay child support and how much they must pay. In order to determine the amount of child support in your divorce, you will need to do the calculation based on these rules, and this may require the use of a child support calculator.
In this article, we will explain how child support is calculated in Ontario aka “how much is child support” and the factors you should keep in mind.
How to calculate child support in Ontario
Child support in Ontario is a reasonable amount that will be sufficient to maintain a reasonable standard of living for a child.
It is payable every month and is determined based on the government’s projection for what is reasonable for a child to live on considering their parents’ income. In addition, the amount of child support may include special monthly expenses such as special classes or activities for a child.
As a result, there is no specific figure for how much child support should be paid each month. It depends on several factors including:
- Gross Income of each Parent
- Table Amount Support
- Special or extraordinary expenses
- Parenting arrangement
The parent who has the children most of the time receives child support, while the other parent, has the responsibility to pay. This is a general rule though. To determine how much should be paid as child support (and who should pay), follow these steps.
Step 1: Determining the Table Amount
The Child Support Guidelines contain a Child Support Table for each province in Canada. This table shows how much the government considers reasonable to cover essential expenses like food, shelter and clothing.
The amounts in the table are basic monthly amounts and they correlate to how much a parent earns per year. This basic amount is called the table amount and it is determined by:
- The province or territory where you live
- The number of children in your marriage
- Your gross annual income
This gross annual income is the total income you earn before paying taxes and making other deductions (apart from union dues). You should find the amount on line 15000 (before 2018 it is line 150) of your income tax return. Another way you can determine this amount is by adding up the amounts on your monthly pay stubs (pre-tax) for a full year.
Using the Federal Child Support Guidelines, whatever amount is opposite the figure you arrive at for your gross annual income will be your table amount. If you have more than one child, just follow the table to see how much child support should be paid for more than one child.
Child Support Table sample
Based on the Child Support Tables, if your gross annual income is $20,000 and you have 2 children, your table amount will be $311.
Another easy way to calculate the table amount is to the child support calculator available at the Child Support Lookup. This Lookup is based on the Federal Child Support Guidelines and is simple to use.
| 1 Child | 2 Children | 3 Children | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income Per Year | Support Payment Per Month | Support Payment Per Month | Support Payment Per Month |
| $20,000 | $161 | $311 | $360 |
| $30,000 | $256 | $459 | $621 |
Child Support Online Lookup
How to I calculate support if I am paid in cash?
There are various calculator options with mysupportcalculator. With so many categories to choose from, you can select the right calculator to obtain the most accurate results for your unique incomes.
OTHER INCOME – Calculate support from different sources of income, such as:
- Self-employment income;
- Tips and gratuities;
- Director’s fees;
- Some royalties;
- RRSP income
- Workers’ compensation benefits;
- Other taxable income, such as rental income
Fortunately, as the paying parent, you have various options from mysupportcalculator to choose from that fits your current financial reality. For parents that are either paying or receiving child support payments, it is important to have an idea of what you may have to pay or receive. My support calculator can serve as a guideline and help you adjust your expenses according to your legal obligations.
Step 2: Adding Section 7 Expenses
The next step will be to determine if any special or extraordinary expenses apply in your case. These are also called section 7 expenses and may be added to the table amount. Expenses that fall within this category include:
- The part of medical and dental insurance premiums that the other parent pays to cover the children
- Child care needs that a parent living with the child would face due to their job such as daycare expenses, illness etc.
- Children’s healthcare needs, over that covered by insurance such as eye care, counselling, hearing aids etc.
- Expenses for extra-curricular activities such as music lessons or sports
- Expenses for post-secondary education
- Expenses for primary and secondary education
Not all expenses will make this list though. To be considered special or extraordinary expenses, they must be necessary and reasonable. Being necessary means they are required for the child’s best interests and being reasonable means they are within the family’s financial means.
Here’s how you can calculate these expenses, either manually or with a child support calculator. If you have one child who has basketball at a cost of $200 monthly, this amount may be added to your table amount. If the table amount was $311, then it means your child support payment is now $511.
There is no set provision for who must pay these special or extraordinary expenses. You may agree to have one parent pay the whole amount, split them equally or in relation to how much each parent earns.
If you agree to split 50-50, it means the paying parent only pays 50% of the special expenses plus the table amount. Here’s how that works: if the special expense is $200 and you agree to split half and half, then that leave $100 for each of you. Add this $100 to the $311 table amount, and the child support will be $411.
Step 3: Is There a Reason to Depart from this Amount?
Not all the time. There are certain specific circumstances where this may be the case though. For instance, where there is shared custody or split custody between the parents, the amount may change.
Shared custody is what happens when the child spends more than 40% of his or her time with each parent. In this case, both parents now have an obligation to pay child support. So, you’ll have to calculate each parent’s annual income to arrive at the table amount and determine special or extraordinary expenses. Remember that in this case, you’re both treated as if you have 1 child living with you.
Once you determine how much each parent should pay, then the parent who has to pay more only pays the difference between the two amounts. Assume John and Sarah go through the calculation and determine their amounts are $300 and $500 respectively. It means, in this case, Sarah pays John the difference between $500 and $300 in child support. That’s $200.
Split custody is similar to shared custody. Only now, there are two or more children and each parent has at least one child that lives with them most of the time. In this case, both will also have to pay child support. Likewise, when they determine how much each should pay, the parent who has to pay more only pays the difference.
Keep in mind that in calculating child support for split custody, you should pick the table amount that applies to how many children live with you.
Scheduling Payment of Child Support
When all the details are agreed upon, you should think about how you want to arrange and schedule child support. This may be in one of three ways:
- Online, through the official Ontario portal
- By written agreement
- In court
If you choose to go by a written agreement, a mediator can help you take care of all the details. If you would like to have the agreement enrolled with the Family Responsibility Office, you can enroll an agreement in the court as well.
Keep in mind that your agreement should contain enough details on when payment should be made and how.
Get a head start on your child support arrangements
A mediator can help you understand more about how to calculate child support in Ontario and come to a mutually satisfactory agreement with the other parent. Call us at Divorce the Smartway to learn more.
Child Support – Frequent Questions and Answers
Why do I have to pay child support if I can't see my child?
You’re still responsible for child support whether you haven’t seen your children in a year or five years. Because your ex refuses to let you see your children, the family court will not lessen the amount of child support you owe. Paying child support late, on the other hand, can backfire.
How does claiming bankruptcy affect child support?
Bankruptcy does not relieve you of your need to pay court-ordered spousal support, or child support. This includes both past-due and current payments. Furthermore, you will be required to continue making regular payments.
Can child support be adjusted?
Yes. Child support is usually determined annually based on your income, as stated in your separation agreement/parenting plan. If there has been a major change in circumstances, either parent can request that child support be increased, lowered, or even cancelled.
What happens if you don't pay Child support Ontario?
Failing to pay child support can result in serious consequences such as wage garnishment, unemployment benefit withholding, tax refunds, asset seizure, credit bureau reporting, or even the suspension or rejection of your driver’s licence or passport.
How does the Family Responsibility Office work?
The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is a provincial organization in charge of enforcing child and spousal support obligations. The FRO collects support directly from the person who is responsible for paying it, keeps track of the amounts paid, and then pays it to the person who is responsible for receiving it.
How do I register with the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) for Child Support?
You can register your separation agreement with the FRO by filing a copy of the separation agreement, the affidavit for filing, and a completed FRO registration package with the Ontario Court of Justice or Superior Court of Justice, and then mailing a copy of the separation agreement, the affidavit for filing, and a completed FRO registration package to the FRO.
How do you calculate self employed income?
When a spouse is self-employed, the situation becomes much more complicated because their genuine earnings are likely not reflected in their tax returns due to write-offs, deductions, and exemptions. The real income will then be negotiated between you and your spouse. This can be accomplished easily through mediation or a collaborative process, but if required, you can take the matter to court, where a judge will determine (make a decision) about your actual income.
Are sports included in child support?
Such expenses aren’t usually included in child support, therefore you may both be forced to make additional payments, known as exceptional and extraordinary expenses (also called Section 7 expenses). These unusual and extraordinary expenses must be essential and reasonable, according to the rules. They are necessary in the sense that they are in the best interests of the child, and they are reasonable in light of the parent’s financial resources and the family’s spending habits previous to the separation.
How is child support supposed to be spent?
There is no necessity that the spouse receiving Child Support spend the money on the children because it is thought that the parent who lives with the child on a daily basis is responsible for their financial well-being, thus flexibility and discretion are granted accordingly. Child Support, to put it another way, is supposed to help with household expenses and basic requirements as if the paying parent lived with the child.
Is it possible to pay my child directly?
Child Support is usually paid directly to the other parent.
Can you avoid child support with a prenup?
You are not permitted to enter into any agreement that is in violation of the laws of Ontario. You or your spouse cannot contract out of Child Support since it is a right of the child rather than a right of one of the parents.
Can a I be forced to pay child support for a child that is not mine?
If you have “taken the position of a parent,” you may be compelled to pay Child Support. The adult cannot unilaterally break such a link once it has been created.
Do I declare child support on taxes?
Child support is not tax-deductible for the paying parent and is not added to the income of the receiving parent.
What is the formula for calculating child support?
The Ontario Child Support Table Guidelines must be used to calculate child support in Ontario. You will have to pay child support if you are a parent. Both parents are financially responsible for their children, and that support is determined by your income and the number of children involved.
Support will be provided until your children reach the age of 18 or complete their post-secondary education.
What Happens If I Fail to Pay Child Support?
The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) was established by the Ontario government to enforce support payments (support orders) if necessary. The FRO will require all support payments to be made to the FRO, who will then transmit the payment to the other parent.
If payments are not made, the Family Responsibility Office may garnish earnings, place a lien on a property, seize money from a bank account, order a collection, cancel a passport, or suspend a driver’s licence in order to execute the order or agreement.
Will I still owe Child Support if my ex remarries?
Yes, because it makes no difference if one of you remarries.
Child Support payments are unaffected by changes in your ex’s living arrangements. Both parents are responsible for child support, which remains independent of any subsequent partnerships.
Do I have to pay Child Support because we never married?
and haven’t lived together long enough to be deemed Common-Law partners?
It’s really easy… If you have a child, you are responsible for paying Child Support.
Have Any Questions?
Book a Call
Talk to Ken S. Maynard CDFA, a Soft Landing expert to come up with a strategy that works best for you and your family for free!
Contact Information
Ken S, Maynard CDFA
1.855.731.3500
647.360.3200
Child Support in Ontario – Settlement Options
Ontario Child Support By Agreement
Who pays what and when for child support in Ontario? It’s one of the biggest questions separating couples face. Many are content (or are advised by their lawyers) to leave it to the courts to decide.
Is that good advice? What if both of you could agree on the nature of child support between yourselves, in an informal way? Surely that would be better than relying on a court judge who hardly knows either of you?
This article considers your child care expenses and support options, giving you different ways to reach your ultimate goal, which has to be to see your kids supported in a way that’s fair to both parents.
As well as the court-based route to this outcome, there are two informal ways parents can come to an agreement about child support:
- Informal Settlement Negotiations
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) which includes processes such as mediation and collaborative family law
How to get child support without family lawyers or court
How does child support work in Canada
Child Support Mediation
This approach can be worth its weight in gold in helping spouses reach agreement over child support issues. Its effectiveness depends on how deep the divisions and disputes are between former partners, and how willing each parent is to work with the other to find a solution.
Child Support Mediation aka ADR is characterized by its more casual and less adversarial approach. Many believe it’s these factors that contribute to its success in facilitating early settlements. Mediation and collaborative family law permit parents to play an active role in suggesting ways to resolve their disagreements. This is seen as preferable to leaving the decision in the hands of a third party (Family Court Judge) which is often the outcome when the issue is dragged through the courts.
Aside from mediation, arbitration is another, more structured ADR option, during which a neutral third-party will hear the arguments of and study the evidence provided by each spouse and then come to a decision based on the facts.
Child support by informal settlement negotiations
For this to work, parents need to be willing and able to work together to resolve all the issues relating to child support. These will include:
- Payment amounts
- Frequency of payments
- Duration of payments
It’s possible to get to an agreement without a lawyer present or providing assistance. Some spouses, when faced with a dispute over a child support issue will direct an lawyer to negotiate on their behalf, but most times, parents are able to handle negotiations themselves. And, vitally, this agreement should be written down.
Child Support Mediation: Alternate Arrangements
In Child Support Mediation parents can agree to alternate child support arrangements:
The court has a limited ability to make a court order for child support in amounts different than what would normally be required by the Child Support Guidelines tables. aka table amount of child support.
The same rules apply to parents and guardians who are making agreements about child support. Without one of the Guidelines exceptions, the court is unlikely to uphold an agreement that provides for a child support payment that significantly departs from the Guideline amount.
This section talks about the most common exceptions to the Guidelines tables:
- where the payor earns more than $150,000 per year,
- where the parents have split or shared custody of the children,
- where a minor child has become financially independent,
- where undue hardship is claimed, and
- where other arrangements have been made for the direct or indirect benefit of the children.
With alternate child support arrangements, the parents must show that they made reasonable financial arrangements for the children. An example would be where the parents decide that one parent takes less than half the value of the house and gives the house to the other parent who continues to live in the house with the children. This is unusual, but how Soft Landings are created in Child Support Mediation.
When couples split, and the thorny question of child support has to be tackled, expect disagreement. Very few spouses are able to sail through the process and agree on everything. More often than not, there will be disputes, and that’s when you need to call in third-party help in the form of mediators or lawyers, preferably mediators.
But in this situation, another option is often laid on the table by one of the spouses, and at the time it seems appealing because it presents a way past the stresses and expense of a court hearing,
Usually, it will be the parent who is due to pay guideline child support who will suggest another option. It could be:
- An agreement to split expenses 50/50
- An offer of payments towards the house or car instead of child support
- An offer to split expenses on mutually agreed terms
Often, there is no malice intended with these suggestions. It’s just one spouse hoping to find an alternative to the cold and calculated guideline child support. They may not fancy the idea of fixed monthly payments, preferring a more meaningful role in the raising of their children. Or they may be seeking a more flexible arrangement that would allow both parents to help out as and when they can, and to respond to any unexpected requirements without involving lawyers and judges.
Do you have to pay child support?
These are all plausible reasons for seeking alternatives to guideline child support. However, in my experience, there’s a more subtle and perhaps more sinister reason why a parent will suggest an alternative. And that’s because they want to continue to control their spouse, and pay less money to do so.
Good parents pay!
This is why I encourage custodial parents to treat such suggestions with great suspicion and to resist these alternatives to child support. I’ve seen too many cases of parents taking advantage of such arrangements. Here are just a few examples:
ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT: The parents plan to let their children spend equal time with each parent.
ACTUAL REALITY: One parent ends up being more flexible and responsible, spending more time with the children, leading to increased expenses for this parent with no child support to cover them.
ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT: The parents sign a mutual agreement covering expenses for their kids. One parent routinely objects to expenses that the other parent deems important.
ACTUAL REALITY: The other parent is left with the unenviable choice of having to pay for these disputed expenses, or depriving their child of something they think is essential.
ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT: The parents come to a mutual agreement over child custody and payments.
ACTUAL REALITY: One of the parents frequently has to ask the other for money, giving the parent who’s being asked for this money inappropriate control over the life of their former spouse.
ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT: The parents agree that one of them should pay a fixed expense towards the house or car for the other.
ACTUAL REALITY: The parent supposed to be paying doesn’t always make the payment, leaving the other parent with the asset at risk and no child support.
ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT: The parents plan to share expenses for their children.
ACTUAL REALITY: One parent always seems to be short of cash, leaving the other to make up the shortfall with no easy way of recording the other’s failure to pay.
Conclusion
These scenarios are all too common. Thankfully, when it becomes obvious that these alternative arrangements just aren’t working out, most judges will order guideline child support. But often by then, much damage has been done to the relationship between the spouses, with one feeling used by the other. This often results in the children losing out and begs the question of why bother even considering these alternative arrangements in the first place?
Are you having trouble reaching an agreement on your Child Support arrangements? Do you want to avoid going before the judge and asking for help? Consider working with a family mediator who can help you end your marriage in a way that is peaceful, cost-effective, and child-focused.
Would you like to learn more? Get in touch for a Get Acquainted Call to learn more about finding a separation agreement with a soft landing.
Articles that may interest You!
Why Guideline Child Support is the Best
It’s remarkably consistent – calculating child support varies little from case-to-case and province-to-province, so there are seldom any shocks or surprises for either spouse.
It’s easy to manage – with whoever pays the support seeing the amount deducted from their paycheck, just like taxes. It’s something people quickly get used to and it makes things simple and predictable. Each parent knows what to expect and there’s no need for any negotiations.
It’s easy to collect – and if the parent who’s due to pay it is late, every state has procedures in place to ensure they stick to the agreed payment schedule, with many charging interest on late payments.
It’s popular with judges – just as the old business saying went: ‘nobody got fired for buying IBM,’ it’s just as true to say: ‘no judge ever got reversed for ordering guideline child support.” They’re a safe haven for judges who want a quick and effective way to lift some of their administrative burden, which is why so many of them default to the guideline option when they can.
How does child support work in Ontario
How to Calculate Ontario Child Support
When couples with children decide to part ways, one of the issues that is always at top of mind is support. Who pays it, how much will it be per month, etc. So, how do you calculate Ontario child support payments? Link to child support tables for Ontario and other provinces in Canada
How is Child Support Calculated?
In cases where both partners have reached an agreement with regards to where the child will be living, you will need to start working out a child support payment that is fair. If a child is spending all (or the majority) of their time with one parent, the child support will be received by that parent.
In order to determine the amount of child support, the annual earnings of both parents will be considered. This means total annual income, prior to the deduction of taxes. In many cases, this simply means looking at the amount on your income tax return. However, in cases where your job situation seems very complicated, you own your own business for example, getting legal advice or assistance from a Divorce Financial Analyst is never a bad idea.
Once you have established the annual earnings of the paying parent, it’s fairly easy to determine child support using the Ontario child support guidelines calculator on the Federal Department of Justice website. You can find this tool under the Child Support Table Look-up for the province or territory where the paying parent lives.
Fill out the boxes to get a general idea of the amount of child support that will be required each month.
This tool has been designed to be in line with Child Support Guidelines to ensure that children are receiving adequate care and that the amount fairly reflects parental income. Keep in mind, however, that this amount is just a guideline. Separated parents will need to take other expenses into consideration, and there may be extraordinary circumstances or special expenses that will also be taken into account.
If you happen to be a parent who is receiving some form of income assistance, be sure to get some professional advice from anyone at child support services. This will ensure every arrangement pertaining to child support accurately reflects your income situation.
Do you pay child support if you have 50/50 custody Ontario?
Why do I have to pay child support with joint custody?
With shared parenting, when children are spending an equal amount of time (or at least 40%) with both of their parents, child support is calculated differently, child support is based on household income. Unless the separation agreement stipulates otherwise, child support will still be paid, even though the parenting is shared. In most cases, the amount is, as with sole custody cases, calculated depending on annual household income.
To calculate Ontario child support in these cases, follow the same steps as you would with a sole custody case (use the Ontario child support guidelines calculator), but do it for both parents.
Once you’ve arrived at the monthly payments for child support, calculate the difference. The parent who earns more pays child support to the other parent using an offsetting calculation. Here’s an example.
Joseph and Emily have 2 children, and are sharing the parenting responsibilities. Their children will spend half their time with Joseph and half their time with Emily.
Emily earns $67,000 a year, which, according to the child support calculator, means an estimated monthly payment of $1021. Joseph earns $59,000 annually. This results in an estimated payment of $899 per month.
If this were a sole custody case, those amounts would have to be paid to the parent with whom the children are spending their time. However, because this is a shared parenting case, you calculate the difference ($1021 – $899 = $122), and the parent who earns more pays the parent who earns less. So, in this example, Emily would have to pay Joseph $122 per month.
Determining Child Support Amounts When Parenting Has Been Split
A split parenting arrangement is when there are 2 or more children and each parent will be taking care of one (or more) of the children most of the time. For example, there are 2 children, and each parent has 1 of the children the majority of the time (or at least 60% of the time)
Again we turn to the Ontario child support calculator. In this case, both parties input annual earnings as well as how many children are living with the other person (rather than how many children there are in total).
The amount of child support paid in a split parenting situation is the difference between both amounts. Here’s an example:
Helen and Mark have 3 children. After the separation, the parents have decided that the two oldest children are going to live primarily with Mark, while the youngest child will be staying primarily with Helen.
Mark inputs his earnings ($73,000) and enters one child. That is the child who isn’t staying with him. The calculator says Mark’s payment is $681 per month.
Helen inputs her own earnings ($48,000) and enters 2 children. Those are the 2 children she isn’t living with. Her total payment is $725 per month.
To determine the amount to be paid, and to whom, calculate the difference. Based on this, Helen will have to pay Mark $44 per month.
Is Child Care part of Child Support
Before reaching a final child support amount, you will also need to consider any additional/extraordinary costs/expenses (Section 7 Expenses). These are paid by each parent, in proportion to their annual income, in addition to the regular child support amounts discussed above. Extra expenses like child care, tutoring, post-secondary education and dental & medical not covered by a plan are known as extraordinary/special expenses, and are often referred to as “section 7 expenses.” These costs will need to be included in your agreement for child support.
Extraordinary & Special Expenses - aka Section 7 Expenses
The Federal Government defines “special or extraordinary expenses” also known as Section 7 Expenses as expenses that are:
- necessary because they are in the child’s best interests; and
- reasonable given the means of the parents and the child and in light of the family’s spending patterns before the separation.
Section 7 expenses may include things like:
- medical or dental insurance premiums
- health expenses not covered by insurance
- post-secondary education
- expenses for extracurricular activities
You, as the separating parents, will determine if these expenses are reasonable and necessary. Once you’ve reached that decision, certain factors are examined to establish amounts payable, such as:
- income
- the nature and number of the programs and extracurricular activities
- the overall cost of the programs and activities
Once this has been done, both of you will reach a decision on how much will be paid for such expenses over time. Typically the amounts will be in proportion to income. Here’s an example:
Candice and Peter have reached an agreement about sharing their son’s soccer expenses. Candice earns $60,000 per year, while Peter earns $40,000. This means they are both earning a total of $100,000, with Peter earning around 40% and Candice 60%. According to the “proportion rule,” Peter will cover 40% of the soccer expenses. The remaining 60% will be covered by Candice. If the soccer expenses happen to be $100 per year, Peter is expected to pay $40 while the remaining $60 will be covered by Candice.
Conclusion
Are you having trouble reaching an agreement on your finances? Do you want to avoid going before the judge and asking for help? Consider working with a family mediator who can help you end your marriage in a way that is peaceful, cost-effective, and child-focused.
Would you like to learn more? Get in touch for a Get Acquainted Call to learn more about finding a separation agreement with a soft landing.
If you feel my Soft Landing Divorce Settlement Method is not a good fit for you or my location is not convenient (and Virtual or Remote Location Mediation is not an option.) It is still vital that you mediate your separation and divorce. You can find a Mediator listed at following organizations:
- Ontario Association for Family Mediation
- Family Mediation Canada
- ADR Institute of Ontario
- Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO)
Other Professionals working as Neutrals
Articles that may interest You!
Have Any Questions?
Book a Call
Talk to Ken S. Maynard CDFA, a Soft Landing expert to come up with a strategy that works best for you and your family for free!
Contact Information
Ken S, Maynard CDFA
1.855.731.3500
647.360.3200
Federal Child Support Guidelines – Issues no-one talks about
What are the child support guidelines in Canada?
Child support and custody are two very important issues that come up in every divorce. Parents, either together in agreement or by order of a family court, are expected to make adequate provision for the living arrangements and expenses of a child after divorce.
Due to the relative importance of these issues, the Canadian government has made a concerted effort to develop rules and regulations on these issues. These resulted in the development of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.
Despite the important considerations that underlie the guidelines though, there have been complaints that they have been inadequate. Experts have pointed out multiple unsatisfactory parts of the guidelines and how they may, in fact, be contributing to an unfair child support administration.
Here, we explain what parents should know about the guidelines and how they may likely affect your physical and financial relationship with your child after divorce.
What are the Federal Child Support Guidelines?
The Federal Child Support Guidelines are rules that determine how much child support parents must pay to help support their child or children. The guidelines involve several tables and rules that generally must be taken into consideration in calculating the amount of child support.
The guidelines were created in 1997, based largely on the recommendations of the Family Law Committee. The committee was set up in 1990, in response to the problem of inconsistent child support awards in courts and the prevalence of child poverty after divorce. They were to make recommendations on an objective set of rules that courts, parents and lawyers could use to determine child support in a fair and adequate manner.
The child support guidelines, though termed guidelines, are essentially mandatory. In virtually all cases, it is mandatory for courts to follow the guidelines when making orders relating to the amount of child support. Also, families who make private separation agreements must take the guidelines into consideration before their agreement will be sanctioned by a court. Although, there are ways they can agree to adjust their responsibilities, giving them flexibility in setting child support.
The child support guidelines work by taking all of the income of each parent into consideration and then subtracting necessary deductions to arrive at net income. This is the income that each parent will have as disposable income. Based on this amount, the guidelines stipulate specific amounts that a parent will be expected to pay. This is equally based on whether they are the custodial or non-custodial parent, and how many children the marriage produced.
The guidelines were created to play an influential, and positive, role in how child support is determined. The next section includes an explanation of this role and what was intended.
The role of Child Support Guidelines
The purpose of the Federal Child Support Guidelines, among others, was to create a consistent basis for child support payments. With the rules in the guidelines, it was intended to give parents an easily determinable basis by which they can provide adequate support for their children.
At the beginning of the guidelines, there are several objectives that are laid out as the basis for the rules. These include:
- To establish a fair standard of child support that ensures children benefit from the financial means of both parents
- To improve the efficiency of the courts and parents in setting child support amounts
- To ensure consistent treatment of parents and spouses in similar circumstances, as far as child support awards are concerned
- To reduce conflict between parents by making child support calculation more objective
The guidelines were also intended to maintain the spending of parents on their children at levels equal to or close to what they were pre-divorce. This way, it was reasoned that children would not suffer unduly because of divorce.
In addition, the guidelines were meant to equalize the financial circumstances of both parents after divorce. It was observed that in many divorces, one parent often ends up in a worse financial situation than the other. So, the guidelines achieve an equalization in their financial circumstances by requiring a higher contribution from the higher earning parent – which is often the non-custodial parent.
Despite the aims of the guidelines, or perhaps because of those aims, the guidelines have failed in their most basic premise – ensuring fair child support payments based on the relative ability of each child to pay. Due to this, there have been multiple complaints regarding the operation of the guidelines in reality.
Problems of the Federal Child Support Guidelines
The primary indictment that experts lay against the Federal Child Support Guidelines is that it was not based on any satisfactory scientific or empirical research. According to the Fraser Institute, in its mammoth report on the failings of the guidelines, “The Guidelines claim to be based on studies of the actual expenditures on children and claim to be equitable to both the paying and recipient parents. A close examination of the Guidelines, and the formula used to create the child support payments, demonstrates that neither claim is true. Rather, the Guideline table amounts are based on a formula, which uses an arbitrary equivalence scale and a number of unrealistic assumptions that make them unfair.”
The guidelines incorrectly calculate the cost of a child. They peg the incremental cost of a child at about 30% of the expenses of a household before having a child. However, the Fraser Institute points out that this amount is excessively high and overcompensates. This in result leads to excessive payments which are typically borne to a larger extent by the non-custodial parent. In addition to this, considering the already high sums required for base child support payments, they argue that it was unnecessary and irresponsible to further include section 7 extraordinary payments in the guidelines. This essentially amounts to double counting and a disproportionate burden on the non-custodial parent.
The guidelines ignore the scientifically proved fact that the cost of children differs at different ages. Older children tend to cost more, especially where day care is not included in the cost of caring for younger children. The guidelines fail to take the child costs of non-custodial parents into consideration, since it does not provide allowance for child costs unless a parent has custody or access to a child at least 40% of the time. Yet, many non-custodial parents with 25% to 35% time have to incur permanent child costs to make their home comfortable for a child. These are not factored into the guidelines.
Another important failing of the guidelines is they do not make allowance for government-sponsored child benefits that custodial parents enjoy. This includes tax credits and other taxable and non-taxable government benefits. The resultant effect is the custodial parent actually has more to spend than the guidelines recognize. Yet, the financial burden of the non-custodial parent does not change in response.
The guidelines fail to factor the all too likely event that each parent may have a new romantic partner. In the non-custodial parent’s household, this may lead to increased financial means, while in the non-custodial parent’s household, the effect may be more mouths to feed, and effectively less means overall.
Sadly, the failings pointed out by the Fraser Institute indicate that, far from being objective, the guidelines are unfair, and in many cases, gender-biased. Due to the fact that statistics indicate women get custody 90% of the time in contested cases, the terrible effect is that men suffer the effects of the failings in the guidelines the overwhelming majority of the time.
Conclusion
Child Support Guidelines Alternatives
Quite simply, families that are interested in creating fair and mutually beneficial child support arrangements would do better than look to the Federal Child Support Guidelines. The unnecessarily high payments required by the guidelines can be a source of terrible friction, subjecting you and your spouse to bitter litigation over issues that can be resolved more amicably.
Families can instead explore the benefits of mediation to create arrangements that are equitable and that truly consider the best interests of their children.
Are you having trouble reaching a Child Support agreement? Do you want to avoid going before the judge and asking for help? Consider working with a family mediator who can help you end your marriage in a way that is peaceful, cost-effective, and child-focused.
Would you like to learn more? Get in touch for a Get Acquainted Call to learn more about finding a separation agreement with a soft landing.
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