What You Should Know About Ontario Child Support Guidelines

One of the key rules of law that applies when a couple separates is the legal right of children from the marriage to be supported by one or both of the parents. It is also the responsibility of both parents to ensure that children from their marriage are appropriately supported. Ontario Child Support Guidelines provide instructions on how child support is determined.

How Ontario Child Support Guidelines Work

The current version of Ontario child support guidelines went into effect on January 1, 2012 to update the 1997 version. Under these guidelines, the parents can come to agreement on the proper amount of child support or the court can automatically calculate the appropriate amount of child support based on financial documents provided by the parent who will be providing child support. The calculations are done using Child Support Tables by inputting the payor’s annual gross income, the province where payments will be made and the number of children involved. Typically, the supporting parent’s child support payment is around 10 percent of his or her income. However, the amount can be more depending on the number of children being supported and other circumstances.

Additional Considerations in Determining Child Support

Under Canada’s Family Law Act and Ontario Regulation 391/37 the parenting arrangement in a separation and divorce is important in determining child support. There are three recognized parenting arrangements: shared, split and sole. Each arrangement is determined by the percentage of time the children spend with each parent.

Special Expenses

Special expenses are another determinant in calculating child support. Special expenses are considered to be expenses that are necessary and in the child’s best interest, reasonable to the payor’s means, and consistent with the family’s spending patterns before the separation. In many cases, the parents mutually agree on how to divide these expenses in addition to basic child support. Special expenses can include child care, insurance premiums, and education.

If the parents cannot agree on special expenses, the issue can be resolved by a judge or the couple can meet with a mediator to reach an agreement. There may also be extenuating hardship circumstances that make it extremely difficult for the payor to meet the child support mandate. Financial circumstances and the payor’s reduced standard of living are recurring examples that arise.

In most cases, these issues are resolved by comparing households. Under the Divorce Act, when agreement is unreachable by the parties, the matter is resolved through a judge’s review and a court order. In these cases, the judge has considerable discretion in determining the proper amount of child support. Once the Ontario Child Support Guidelines are met, the final agreement or court order  is detailed in a Child Support Order that specifies how often, when and how much child support the payor is required to provide.

When your kids are affected by the divorce law process, you need a well experienced family law lawyer to ensure the best result for your family.