The searches that bring Enderby readers to this page are led by child and spousal support, and support is the part of a separation that affects a household’s budget from the first month. Money for the children and money for a spouse follow different rules, so they are set out separately below.
Child support: how the amount is worked out
| Step | What happens | Guidelines |
|---|
| 1. Find the paying parent’s income | Start with “Total income” on the tax return, then adjust; a court can attribute income to someone who is under-employed or who has unreasonably reduced their income | ss.16, 17, 19 |
| 2. Read the table | The provincial table gives a monthly amount for that income and the number of children | s.3 |
| 3. Add special expenses | Costs such as child care, health expenses beyond insurance, and some school and activity costs are shared in proportion to income | s.7 |
| 4. Adjust for the parenting schedule | If each parent has at least 40% of the time over a year, both parents’ table amounts and the cost of two homes are weighed; if each parent has at least one child, the amounts are offset | ss.8, 9 |
An application for child support must include the last three years’ tax returns and notices of assessment and current proof of income (section 21). Support can continue past 19 for a child who cannot become independent because of illness, disability or another reason, such as full-time study. Our child support page has more on special expenses and adult children.
Spousal support: entitlement before amount
The amount and duration then depend on each spouse’s means, needs and circumstances, including how long they lived together and the roles each took on (section 162).
Unmarried partners can claim too. For support, a “spouse” includes someone who lived in a marriage-like relationship for two continuous years, or for a shorter time if the couple had a child together (section 3). Lawyers and judges in BC work out amount and duration with the help of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines, which produce a range rather than a single number and are not themselves law. A claim must be started within two years after a divorce order, or two years after separation if you were not married (section 198(2)). More on our spousal support page.
When income is hard to pin down
The table only works once there is an income figure, and for some payors that is the hardest part. The Guidelines give the court tools. If one year’s return would not be fair, because income rises and falls or a one-off amount came in, the court can look at the last three years and set a fair figure from the pattern (section 17). For a shareholder, director or officer of a company, part or all of the company’s pre-tax income can be counted (section 18). And income can be imputed to a parent who is intentionally under-employed, has property not reasonably used to earn income, or deducts unreasonable expenses (section 19).
Each side must give the other full and true information for resolving the dispute (FLA section 5). In practice that means tax returns, notices of assessment, pay records, and for the self-employed, financial statements and a breakdown of business expenses. A parent who will not disclose risks having income imputed.
Support while the case is under way
You do not have to wait for a trial. When an application for support has been made, the court can make an interim order for the support claimed (FLA section 216), and it must, as far as practicable, apply the same rules it would apply at the end. An interim order can later be changed. Where the other parent has stopped contributing altogether, asking early for an interim order can be the practical first step.
Applying from Enderby: Salmon Arm or Vernon
Enderby has no courthouse. Support claims are decided in the Provincial Court or the Supreme Court, and the two nearest courthouses, in Salmon Arm (550 2nd Avenue NE) and Vernon (3001 27 Street), both house both levels.
In the Provincial Court, Rule 7 of the Provincial Court Family Rules sends a case to the registry closest to where the child lives most of the time, or, if there is no child issue, closest to the home of the person who files first. From Enderby City Hall the Salmon Arm courthouse is about 22 km by road and 19 km in a straight line, against about 36 km and 33 km to Vernon. That may make Salmon Arm the registry for families in town, but the rule does not say how “closest” is measured, and for homes south of Enderby toward Armstrong the answer may be Vernon. Confirm with the registry before filing, and use the existing file if there already is one.
Whichever registry applies, the early resolution services come from the same place: the Vernon Family Justice Centre provides them for both the Salmon Arm and Vernon registries, by phone and video and in person from Tuesday to Thursday. Before filing, an applicant serves a Notice to Resolve, has a needs assessment, completes parenting education and attends at least one dispute resolution session, subject to the exemptions in Rules 17 and 18 (Rule 10). A support-only application by someone whose support rights have been assigned to the government is exempt (Rule 12). The Centre’s counsellors can also help both parents reach a support figure without court.
In the Supreme Court, where support can be claimed alongside a divorce or property division, the notice of family claim names the place of trial and the court can change it (Supreme Court Family Rule 14-2).
Collecting support that is not paid
A support order, or a written support agreement filed with the court, can be enrolled with the BC Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA), which collects and enforces support for families in BC with a valid order or agreement. A filed written agreement on child or spousal support is enforceable as if it were a court order (FLA sections 148(2) and 163(3)); in the Provincial Court the agreement is filed with Form 26 (Rule 132). An agreement that has never been filed cannot be enforced in this way, so filing it is worth doing as soon as it is signed.
When circumstances change
Support is not fixed for life. A court can change, suspend or end a child support order when circumstances change as the Guidelines describe, or when important evidence comes to light (section 152); spousal support can be varied for a change in either spouse’s condition, means, needs or circumstances (section 167). A job loss, a new parenting schedule or a child finishing school can each justify an application. Until a court changes the order, the old amount stays payable, and arrears can build quickly.
Other parts of a separation
Parenting arrangements are decided on the child’s best interests only. We work with child experts, physicians and therapists where that helps; see our co-parenting page.
Enderby support questions
How much child support will I pay or receive?
Start with the paying parent’s income and the number of children in the Guidelines table, then add a share of special expenses. Shared or split parenting changes the calculation.
My partner and I were never married. Can I get spousal support?
Possibly. You qualify as a spouse after two years of living together in a marriage-like relationship, or sooner if you have a child together, and then entitlement must be shown.
Will my case be in Salmon Arm or Vernon?
It depends on where the child lives most of the time, or who files first if there is no child issue. From the town itself Salmon Arm is nearer, but check with the registry.
The other parent stopped paying. What can I do?
If you have a court order or a filed written agreement, enrol it with the BC Family Maintenance Agency, which can take enforcement steps.
