Children have a legal right to financial support from both parents. Child support helps ensure that each parent contributes financially to the child’s well-being when parents separate or get divorced. Often, child support is one of the most critical aspects of a divorce matter, and support orders must stay in place throughout the recipient’s childhood. For these reasons, it is important to ensure that your child support order is fair and accurate.
Calculating child support in Ottawa follows guidelines that apply to all child support claims. At The Riley Divorce & Family Law Firm, we understand the emotional and financial issues involved in child maintenance, and a child support lawyer could help you work toward a fair calculation.
In Ottawa, courts follow the Ontario Child Support Guidelines and Federal Child Support Guidelines to set a proper amount of child support. The guidelines include tables that take a payor’s pre-tax annual income and number of children into account to set a basic formula for child support. The tables will also factor in a payor parent’s province or territory and tax rules that might apply.
Essentially, your child support amount will reflect what parents with similar incomes would normally pay. The government updates the guidelines based on economic studies and changes to the cost of living in the province.
Child support payments must help address your child’s daily needs and basic costs for housing, utilities, transportation and food. Other costs such as medical expenses, child care and college education might fall outside the scope of child support coverage. One of our experienced child support lawyers could help you understand your options, whether you are the payor parent or the recipient parent.
Regardless of whether you are a payor or recipient of child maintenance in Ottawa, you may have questions about how the court calculates it, when it ends, and more.
Yes, in some situations. Equal parenting time does not automatically eliminate child support. The province follows a 40 percent rule, which means parents qualify for shared parenting time if their annual overnights with a child exceed 40 percent of total overnights.
In these situations, courts can still apply for child support, but it will not follow the standard table formula. If your parenting time is near 40 percent, one of our lawyers could help you understand how this may affect child support.
Child support generally continues until a child’s 18th birthday. It may continue beyond that point if your child remains enrolled in full-time studies or requires ongoing parental care due to a health condition or disability.
A child support review may take place when there is a material change in the payor parent’s financial circumstances. Job loss, disability, or unplanned career changes could also necessitate review and modification of child support.
The province’s Family Responsibility Office (FRO) collects and enforces child support payments. For recipient parents, this means they do not have to enforce support themselves. The FRO can garnish wages, intercept tax refunds, suspend driver’s licences and take other actions to ensure support payments are made.
Calculating child support in Ottawa follows standard guidelines designed to help ensure your child’s well-being. Our dedicated lawyers could help you understand your rights and obligations when a child support review becomes necessary. Our legal team at The Riley Divorce & Family Law Firm is available 24 hours a day. Contact us today to discuss your situation.
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