Child Support and Special and Extraordinary Expenses

Services » Children’s Family Law Issues » Child Support and Special and Extraordinary Expenses

Child Support And Special And Extraordinary Expenses

Child support is the right of the child, so upon separation, your child is entitled to financial support from both parents, commensurate with each parent’s ability to earn an income. This means that your financial ability to provide support will be considered along with the legislated child support guidelines to determine a fair payment amount. If your child resides primarily with you, the child support guidelines presume that you are contributing directly to the cost of maintenance of your child by providing that child with a home and necessities.

At Henderson Heinrichs LLP, our family lawyers will help you obtain the necessary financial disclosure information needed to calculate child support payments, whether you are the payor or the recipient of support. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, we ensure that the needs of your child are protected.

Obtaining Financial Disclosure

We show parents a big-picture perspective of how support payments affect their children. A crucial component of our role in your case is to help you understand how child support payments are determined.

Generally speaking, child support payments are determined using mathematical formulas set out in the Federal Child Support Guidelines, which is a legislated guide to calculating child support. These formulas take into account the amount of income earned by the payor spouse and the number of children. Every province and territory has a slightly different formula, to take into consideration the different tax rates and benefits available in each province or territory. Judges and lawyers all rely on the Federal Child Support Guidelines to determine the appropriate amount of support, and they usually use software or online calculators to compute the correct numbers. You can find calculators online for free, although there can be factors that can, in certain circumstances, make the formulas not applicable. Our legal team has extensive experience determining what is considered applicable income, and what financial information can be excluded from the child support payment calculations.

Determining Special and Extraordinary Expenses

Sometimes, there are additional costs that are necessary to provide a healthy, positive environment for children. These could be medical costs, educational costs or other extra-curricular activities.

Our lawyers understand that special and extraordinary costs can vary from family to family. We will explore each issue and associated cost with you to determine what qualifies as a special expense, what you and your spouse can reasonably be expected to pay, and how it will affect your support obligations.

Have More Questions? Arrange a Free, 30-Minute Consultation Now

Find out how our family lawyers can help you with negotiating child support payments. Call our firm toll-free at 1-844-669-3500 to arrange a free half-hour consultation or fill out our online enquiry form.

Related Insights

You thought you were done? Supreme Court of Canada Orders that Historical Child Support is Payable for Independent Adult Child

FAQS

Do you always have to pay child support?
The short answer is yes.

Child support is mandatory and it is the right of the child, not the parent, to receive support. It is imposed by the court to ensure that children are economically support by both their parents. Even if your spouse agrees to not ask for child support, that arrangement will not be upheld by the court.
What happens if you refuse to pay child support in BC?
Refusing to pay child support will likely result in your spouse registering with the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program. Once registered, they will take over enforcement of any child support order or agreement. Enforcement steps can include garnishment of wages, garnishment of your tax refunds, suspension of your driver’s licence and passport, and in serious cases, it can include being put in jail.
The kids live with each of us 50% of the time. Who pays child support?
If you have your children an equal amount of time as your spouse, you have a shared parenting regime. Generally, in that case, the child support payable is determined on a set off basis. The person with the higher income will pay a top up amount of support to the lower income parent. In some cases, the set off approach will not operate fairly and child support will be determined taking into account other factors such as a comparison of each household’s expenses as it pertains to the children.
Do you have to pay child support if you weren’t married?
Child support is the right of the child and is payable regardless of whether the parents were married, common law, or were dating at the time the child was born.
What happens to child support if you lose your job?
In most cases, losing your job will allow you to apply to vary your child support. The loss of income will need to be long lasting. Generally, if you are able to get new employment within 3 months of losing your last job, a court will not vary support for that short period of time.
My kids are at university, do I still have to pay child support?
Generally speaking, you will have to pay some amount of child support while your children are at University. If your child is living at home with a parent, then child support will be payable. If your child is away at school, child support may not be payable while they are away but may be payable when they are home during the summer.
How long do you have to pay child support in BC?
Child support is payable until your child turns 19 years of age unless they go to school after high school. In that case, if they are living at home with a parent, child support will be payable for the duration of their first degree or diploma. Usually, this is 4 years.
How much child support do you have to pay in Canada?
How much child support you have to pay will depend on a number of factors:
- Your income
- How many children you have
- Your parenting arrangements (if you have more than 40% time with your children your support may be adjusted)
- The province where the person paying support lives
Child support is calculated using the Federal Child Support Guidelines based on your income and number of children and the province where the person paying lives.

Click to view the Child Support Table Look-up.

Note, there are different tables depending on the time period involved.
How is child support calculated in British Columbia?
Child support is calculated using your income and the number of children that you have. It is determined using the Federal Child Support Guidelines for British Columbia.

Click to view the Child Support Table Look-up.

More Faqs