"I am confused about child support...."

Child support is an area of Family Law on which were receive most questions. There is much confusion on what child support is, who gets it, why and for how long?

Why is there so much confusion? We cannot come up with a definitive answer but we suspect that "popular culture" and "urban legend" have contributed to the formulation of a number of myths and misconceptions about this issue.

This post is designed to give you only the basics of child support in Ontario - this information is NOT sufficient to enable you to deal with child support on your own as "one-size-does-not-fit-all" - the specific facts of your case may lead to a specific result, not addressed here - see a Family Law lawyer for advice on how the law of child support applies to your case.

We have seen many cases in which some element of child support was misunderstood by either the payor or the recipient for years at a time - this misunderstanding led to unfair results.....do not let that happen to you.

Question 1: what is child support?

Answer: at the most basic level, child support is financial assistance with a child's expenses.

Question 2: what kind of "expenses"?

Answer: it means all expenses, as long as the child remains eligible to receive child support.

Question 3: you mean food, clothing AND even college?

Answer: yes - the cost of college/university does fit into the definition of "child support"

Question 4: what forms can child support take?

Answer: many forms. For example:

(a) the table amount of child support, paid monthly to the other parent;
(b) contribution to special or extraordinary expenses, like ballet, camp or braces - payment directly to the other parent;
(c) contributions to the cost of college, with tuition payments for example being paid directly to the college;
(d) monthly payments to a university student to assist with his or her "room and board" while at school;

-the list goes on.

Question 5: when does child support end? - is it then a child turns 18?

Answer: no - child support continues after the age of 18 in situations where the young person is unable to become financially independent, generally for the following reasons:

(a) they are attending school OR
(b) they have health issues which prevent them from completing schooling and/or becoming financially self-sufficient.

Question 6: does the child over 18 have to attend school full-time in order to qualify?

Answer: not necessarily - you need to get advice from a lawyer on the specifics of your case to have a specific answer to this question.

Question 7: who pays child support to whom?

Answer: generally speaking, the parent with who a child or children live most of the time receives child support from the other parent. The calculation of child support becomes more complex when a child or children live with one parent at least 40% of the time - you need to see a family law lawyer to assist you with this situation.

If you need further answers to child support-related questions, we have them. Again, it is not wise to deal with your family law case simply by relying on information you find on a internet - we provide free consults. Many other lawyers do as well. Get legal advice. It's important.

The child support "grid"...

I recently heard a radio talk show host refer to a "child support grid". I have heard this phrase used in other contexts as well. What does it mean?

The "grid", otherwise known as a "table", is a tool which assists us in calculating the first of the two components of child support, commonly known as the "table amount".

Child support in Canada is generally calculated using both federal and provincial legislation (depending on whether the parents of the child were married or not) called the Child Support Guidelines. This legislation includes a series of tables which set out monthly amounts payable by the parent with whom the child or children in question do not live primarily, in different Provinces and based on different income levels. 

These tables are sometimes referred to as "grids" because they actually look like grids. On the left hand side of each table, there is a column with incremental income amounts and to the right are corresponding table child support amounts, depending on the number of children involved.

There is a separate table for each Province because the cost of raising children varies from location to location. 

The child support amounts set out in the grid represent the monthly amount to be paid by the non-residential parent to the primary residential parent, on a monthly and repeating basis - the tables do not provide for an automatic terminating event or date - that is a question which depends on the facts of each particular case.

The amounts provided for in the tables are "net" to the recipient parent. This means that no tax is paid by that parent on the table amount received. Correspondingly, the payor parent does not have an opportunity to deduct these amounts for tax purposes (this is different than the tax treatment of periodic spousal support).