Using the child support tables in your divorce

December 11th, 2008

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by Howard MacKinnon
Anyone with children who is contemplating a divorce in Canada needs to be aware of the federal child support guidelines. The guidelines add some measure of certainty and objectivity to what was previously a rather unpredictable process for determining the appropriate amount of child maintenance which should be paid. Under the guidelines parents and judges are able to quickly calculate the correct amount. The result is far less courtroom contention over the issue of child support. The most crucial and most helpful aspects of the guidelines are child support tables. Usually, all you have to do is to consult these tables to figure out just what the child support ought to be. Each province has a separate table. The one that you use will be determined by the residenceof the parent that is going to pay the support. If that parent happens to live in another country, you must use the provincial table that is based upon the residence of the parent who has custody. In order to figure out the proper amount of monthly child support you should pay, you should first choose the correct provincial table. After you have done this all you have to do is cross index the number of children you have with your individual gross annual income. This total is what the court will expect you to pay, unless you can prove that another amount is suitable. Just having both parents agree to a different amount will not be enough, you have the burden of proving this is acceptable using the rest of the guidelines. If the court does not agree with you, you will be required to pay whatever the court thinks is appropriate. Some of the recurring justifications for deviating from the guideline table amount include instances with an unusually more complex child care arrangement. For the most part, one parent is the primary caretaker, while the other one gets to visit the children based on a fixed schedule or based on an arrangement which fluctuates from time to time. In cases like these, it is appropriate to use the guideline table amount. The exception is made when there is shared parenting, the children spend approximately the same amount of time with each parent, or when the kids are split between the two parents. In these situations the most common thing to do is to figure out what each parent should pay the other according to the tables and then subtract the two figures with the parent owing the most paying the difference to the other. There are specific incidences where exceptions should be made to the table, especially when visitation by the access parent would incur great costs that would be easier for the other parent to afford. Typically the number of children for whom child support is payable includes all children under the age of majority plus any children enrolled in university full time whom the parents have agreed to support. So, the guidelines, and especially the tables, have made it easier to determine the appropriate amount of child support. However, special circumstances still require a bit of fine tuning.
About the Author:
Howard is an seasoned Canadian divorce lawyer who has designed and operates an online do-it-yourself divorce website. Howard invites you to check out his site and would be pleased to help you with your divorce.

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