The custody of the child is given to the one of the parents in the case of sole custody and the non-custodial parent is obliged to pay some amount for the child support.
In the case of joint custody, the parent who spends 40% of the time with the child need not pay the child support. The amount the payer has to pay is determined by the guidelines formulated by the justice department. The Canadian child support law guidelines are mainly formulated to protect the best interests of the children. These Canadian child support guidelines will reduce the conflicts between the parents on the issue of providing financial support to the child.
The Canadian child support guidelines will help you arrive at an amount that the judge will ask you to pay for child support. Generally, the payer will be entitled to pay more than the amount specified in the guidelines as additional special expenses are also added. On certain circumstances, you will be allowed to pay a lesser amount with the clause of special circumstances. When you have benefited the child in some other means such as transferring the interest to the other parent, you will be allowed to pay a lesser amount as it will be fair.
The Canadian child support guidelines are framed by the federal government but the provinces are given powers to frame their own guidelines for child support. Thus if the parents of the child after separation or divorce live in provinces that have specific guidelines, such Canadian child support guidelines will be followed to arrive at the child support amount bypassing the federal guidelines. This is to ensure that the child living in the province is benefited by the cost of living in that province.
The Canadian child support guidelines take the age of the children that are to be supported to determine the amount of money to be paid. If your child is less than 18 or 19 years old, you have to pay for the child support as it is specified in the guidelines. The number of children to be supported is also considered by the Canadian child support and custody guidelines to provide child support. If the child has taken up a full time educational course even after crossing the age of majority, then the support has to be provided to the child. Other reasons that entitle the payer top pay for child support after reaching majority age are sickness, illness, diseases and other inabilities that restrict the child to meet its won expenses.
The Canadian child support guidelines determine the child support based on the custody that is provided for the child. The amount to be paid and the payer who has to pay the support differ with different types of custody. Also, the time for which the child lives with a parent is determined by the type of custody granted. In the case of sole custody, the child will live for over 60% of the time with the custodial parent. Split and shared custody requires the child to live with each of the parents for atleast 40% of the time.
The proof of income should be submitted to the court to determine the child support according to the guidelines. The annual income of the payer is considered while determining child support in the case of sole custody. When the custody is split or shared custody, the annual income of both the parents are considered. If the child requires special expenses, then such proofs must also be submitted to calculate the child support according to the Canadian child support guidelines.
While calculating child support for shared or split custody, the income of both the parents is considered and child support is collocated for each of them, the one with the highest amount entitled becomes the payer and pays the difference in the amount to the receiver. In the case of sole custody, the non-custodial parent as to take the responsibility of providing the entire child support. Any additional special or extraordinary expenses must be added to the child support and should be paid in full by the payer. If the amount calculated by the Canadian child support guidelines causes undue hardship then you can approach the court to allow you to pay a lesser amount. To get this approval, you should substantiate your request with the required proof.
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