Supporting your child’s needs during and after separation

Children deserve and are entitled to receive the continued support of their parents, especially after a separation. The goals of the Child Support Guidelines are:

1. to establish a fair standard of support for children that ensures that they continue to benefit from the financial means of both spouses after separation;
2. to reduce conflict and tension between spouses by making the calculation of child support orders more objective;
3. to improve the efficiency of the legal process by giving courts and spouses guidance in setting the levels of child support orders and encouraging settlement; and
4. to ensure consistent treatment of spouses and children who are in similar circumstances.

It is critical to design a support arrangement that considers the unique needs of your children and the provisions of the Child Support Guidelines to promote these objectives.

To ensure that child support arrangements are fair and in line with the Guidelines, it is important to work with a licensed family law lawyer. Simple online calculators can be helpful to estimate the monthly child support owing, but many factors can impact these calculations, including tax issues, the parenting schedule, additional expenses like childcare, extracurricular activities, post-secondary education, health care costs, and more. Assumptions made about a parent’s income and other particulars in the calculation can also affect the final calculations. Tailored legal advice based on your particular circumstance is essential to ensure that your child support agreement is appropriate.

In addition to monthly child support as per the Child Support Guidelines Table, children may have the right to contributions from their parents towards any special or extraordinary expenses of the child. These expenses are often referred to as Section 7 expenses because they fall under that section of the Child Support Guidelines.

Monthly table support and section 7 expense contribution obligations may need to be adjusted if circumstances change, such as a parent’s income increasing or decreasing, or changes to the parenting-time regime, type of income earned by a parent, and the child’s obligation to contribute to their own education and attendance at post-secondary education.

If you need help establishing a new child support agreement with your former spouse or co-parent or changing an existing arrangement, our dedicated team is committed to guiding you through the process. We work with you to arrive at child support arrangements that are fair and meet your family’s evolving needs while reflecting the objectives of the Child Support Guidelines.