Child Support

Child Support is mandated and legislated by the law. Child support is determined by the number of child(ren), the parents’ incomes, and where the child(ren) live.

The two usual outcomes for child support based on where the child(ren) live are:

• If the child(ren) live primarily with one parent, the table Child Support Guidelines [1] determines the child support amount; and
• If the child(ren) have two primary homes, the set-off/differential of the parents’ respective table Child Support Guidelines [1] is the starting point for the child support amount.

The Department of Justice offers a child support calculator [1] to calculate a parent’s Table Guideline amount of child support.

There are nuances to calculating the child support especially if there are union dues, a self-employed parent, dividends, corporation, undeclared/hidden income, undue hardship, etc.

In addition to the Table Guideline amount of child support, parents are expected to contribute to special or extraordinary (section 7) expenses. There are many issues that arise around section 7 expenses and legal assistance is recommended.

[1] The Government of Canada does not endorse and is not affiliated with OWFL.