Child Support
Children need financial support from their parents – and they have a legal right to it. When parents separate or divorce, child support is money that one parent pays to the other parent to cover the costs of raising a child. The primary parent can apply to the Provincial Court of Alberta or the Court of Queen's Bench for child maintenance payments.
The child support payments are usually paid biweekly or monthly. To determine the Child Support payment amount, the court will rely on statutory guidelines and the primary factors examined to calculated child support include:
1) Parenting arrangement with respect to the children: For instance, a child that primarily resides with one parent vs. a child resides with both parent, will have varying child support responsibility;
2) Parents annual income: Both parents annual income is considered by the court, especially when calculating section 7, also known as special expenses, for the child.
3) Number of children: The number of dependent children that the paying parent has to pay child support.
4) Location of the paying parent: the paying parent is typically considered while determining child support.
5) Basic child support vs. extraordinary expenses: If the parties are getting divorced then the federal guidelines child support calculations are always considered. Further, special expense for the child are also considered, such as daycare costs, medical costs, etc and if such expenses are reasonable in relation to the parent’s financial circumstances and the child’s needs.
There can be numerous factors affecting the amount of child support you can be required to pay or receive. Further, a child support order can be modified if there is a substantial change in circumstances for either parent, which is why we recommend the clients to meet with our lawyers to discuss in details what their situation entails.
