Child support: the table amount
Every parent has a duty to support their child, married or not. In BC the amount comes from the Federal Child Support Guidelines. The base figure is read off the British Columbia table in the Guidelines, by the payor’s yearly earnings and how many children are being supported. Income starts from the “total income” line of the parent’s tax return, with adjustments the Guidelines set out; it can be averaged over three years where income swings, and it can be imputed where a parent is deliberately under-employed, has unreasonable business deductions, or earns money that does not show up on a return.
A parent who applies for support must give full income information: tax returns and notices of assessment for the last three years, and a current pay statement or, for the self-employed, business financial statements. Both parents are obliged to make that disclosure, and a parent who does not can have income attributed to them.
The extras: special and extraordinary expenses
On top of the table amount, either parent can ask for a share of certain costs. Section 7 of the Guidelines lists them:
- child care costs incurred because the parent with most of the parenting time is working, ill, disabled or in school or training;
- the child’s share of medical and dental insurance premiums;
- health costs not covered by insurance, above $100 a year, including orthodontic treatment, counselling, physiotherapy, speech therapy, prescription drugs, glasses and hearing aids;
- extraordinary school expenses, or programs for the child’s particular needs;
- post-secondary education costs; and
- extraordinary costs of extracurricular activities.
Each expense must be necessary in the child’s best interests and reasonable given the parents’ means and the family’s spending before separation. The starting principle is that the parents share it in proportion to their incomes, after any contribution from the child. Whether hockey, music lessons or a private school qualifies turns on the family’s own history and means. Our article on post-separation expenses covers related costs.
When the children divide their time
The ordinary table calculation assumes one parent has the children most of the time. Two situations change it:
- Shared parenting time. Once both parents reach the 40% mark across the year, the court weighs both parents’ table amounts, the extra cost of running two homes, and each household’s circumstances. It is not a simple subtraction.
- Split parenting time. Where each parent has one or more of the children most of the time, each owes the table amount for the children living with the other, and the difference is paid.
Support can continue past 19 for a child who cannot become independent because of illness, disability or another reason.
Spousal support: entitlement first
Spousal support works differently. There is no table. The first question is whether a spouse is entitled at all, judged against the objectives in the Family Law Act (and, in a divorce, the Divorce Act): recognising economic advantages and disadvantages arising from the relationship or its breakdown, sharing the financial consequences of caring for children, relieving hardship, and promoting self-sufficiency within a reasonable time. Unmarried spouses who lived together for two years or more, or who have a child together, can claim under the Family Law Act.
Only once entitlement is shown do amount and duration come in. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines produce a range for each, using one formula where there are dependent children and another where there are not. They are not law, though Justice Canada’s own guidance says “judges often base their decisions about spousal support on the guidelines”. Where in the range a case lands depends on the length of the relationship, each spouse’s income and prospects, and the care of the children. Our spousal support calculator gives a first estimate, and our spousal support page explains entitlement in more detail.
Support while the case is running
A support case does not have to wait for a trial before money moves. Under both the Family Law Act and the Divorce Act, once an application for support has been made the court can make an interim order for the support applied for, and the Guidelines apply to interim child support just as they do to a final order. Interim spousal support matters most to a spouse who left the paid workforce to care for children; it is assessed against the same objectives, on the information available at the time, and can be revisited when the final order is made.
Before any order, keep a simple record from the date of separation: who pays the mortgage or rent, the children’s expenses and receipts, transfers between the two of you, and each person’s income. Those records decide what the court treats as already paid, and they make an interim application easier to prepare.
Making the arrangement stick
Support can be settled by agreement. Filing a signed support agreement in the court registry gives it the same enforceability as an order. Once there is a filed agreement or an order, the payee can enrol with the BC Family Maintenance Agency, which collects support from the payor and passes it on, and can take enforcement steps if payments stop. An agreement or order can later be changed if circumstances change, for example a significant change in income or in where the children live.
Spousal support agreements need more care than child support agreements. A spouse can agree to release the other from spousal support, but a court can set aside or replace an agreement in some circumstances, so it should be negotiated with full disclosure and with each spouse independently advised. See Is Family Property Divided Equally After Separation? for how support and property interact.
When circumstances change
Support orders are not fixed for ever. A court can change, suspend or end a child support order, going forward or back in time, if there has been a change in circumstances as the Guidelines define it, if substantial new evidence has come to light, or if a party is found to have hidden financial information. Spousal support orders can be varied on the same kind of grounds: a change in either spouse’s condition, means, needs or other circumstances, new evidence, or a lack of disclosure. A new job, a job loss, a child moving to the other parent’s home or turning 19, or a spouse remarrying are the kinds of events that prompt an application. Until an order is changed, it must be followed; stopping payments without an agreement or order puts the payor in arrears, and arrears enrolled with the BC Family Maintenance Agency can be collected through its enforcement tools.
Where a Marpole support case is started
When support cannot be agreed, there are two courts.
The Supreme Court sits downtown at 800 Smithe Street. A support claim goes there when it is joined to a divorce or a property division, matters no other court can decide.
The Provincial Court can decide child support and spousal support under the Family Law Act (along with parenting) without a divorce or property claim. The Provincial Court Family Rules fix the registry for a fresh case by geography: whichever registry lies nearest the child’s main residence, or, in a spousal-support-only case, nearest the first applicant’s home. Measured that way, a Marpole family’s registry may well be Richmond, not downtown. As the crow flies, the Marpole library on Granville Street is roughly 4.2 km from the Richmond courthouse on Elmbridge Way and 8.0 km from Robson Square; Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre is roughly 4.8 and 7.4 km from them. Driving distances show much the same gap. Because the rules never define “closest”, households near the north or east edge of Marpole should ask the registry which one applies before filing anything.
Richmond is an early resolution registry, so before most applications the person starting the case files a notice to resolve, then completes a needs assessment, a parenting education program and at least one dispute resolution session. The Richmond Family Justice Centre provides those services for the Richmond registry, virtually and by appointment only. Applications only for a consent order or enforcement are exempt.
Our family lawyers
Support files run through the whole family team under Judith A. Janzen, a lawyer since 2000 and co-founder of Onyx with Candace Cho, KC in 2012. The team includes Susan Kim, whose background includes business studies, Rupinder Shoker, Rasjovan Dale, Louisa Ledesma, Shivleen Sidhu and Mason Heller. Katya Richardson can help on a limited-scope basis if you are running your own case. Everyone’s background is on the team page. For divorce itself and property, see our divorce lawyers and property division pages, and for wills and estates our Marpole estate lawyers.
Common questions
Does braces treatment count as an extra in child support?
Orthodontic treatment is listed among health expenses that can be shared, for the part not covered by insurance above $100 a year, if it is necessary and reasonable for the family’s means.
We each have the kids about half the time. Does anyone pay?
Possibly. With at least 40% each, the court starts from both parents’ table amounts and adjusts for the cost of two homes and each household’s circumstances. The higher earner may still pay something.
Am I entitled to spousal support just because I earn less?
No. Entitlement depends on the objectives in the Act, such as disadvantage from the relationship, child care or hardship. If entitlement is shown, the advisory guidelines suggest a range.
Which courthouse handles a support case if we live in Marpole?
In the Provincial Court, the registry closest to where the child lives. For much of Marpole that may be Richmond; confirm with the registry. Combined with divorce or property, it is the Supreme Court.
What will it cost?
Onyx charges hourly on family matters; rates and retainers are discussed by phone at (604) 900-2538.
