Child Support
Guidelines
The Federal Child Support Guidelines require the court to fix a base amount of child
support according to income for (s)he who pays. Usually "he". In
exceptional cases of "undue hardship", the court has the power to lower that
amount. In other situations, there can be some adjustments (eg. approximately equal
parenting time starting at 60/40, "children" over the age of majority, 'split' custody
cases). Sometimes, the paying parent is required to pay for a portion of the "special
or extraordinary expenses". Not every "extra" qualifies as
"special". Some of my articles re child support can be accessed below.
The Ontario Court of Appeal's interpretation
of section 9 (the 40% section) of the guidelines could amount to
discrimination against support payors. [This article was written
specifically for lawyers and judges. Others may find it of interest as
well.]
Child
Support Guidelines - New
Laws, New Challenges
Here is an outline of the overall structure of
the Federal Child Support Guidelines. This article was written in 1996. The basic
structure of the Guidelines remains the same but some of the details have been amended.
In this thoughtful critique of the Child
Support Guidelines back in 1997, we benefit from the insights of a British lawyer who was then
articling at a local law firm. Great Britain brought in child support
guidelines. Can we learn from the experience of other jurisdictions?
- Case law across Canada appears to be
producing conflicting results. Is there a gender bias in the courts when
it comes to applying the "undue hardship" test? This article was written in
1998.
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- The coming into force of the Guidelines was
thought to be sufficient reason to found a variation of child support. The
legislation makes it appear to be pretty well automatic. 'Not So!' ,
declares the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Are other factors at work
here? Could there be gender bias in the manner in which the courts apply
the Guidelines? When can the court stray from the standard table amount?
-
- Gene
Colman calls for reform in the treatment of children of second or subsequent
families under the Child Support Guidelines. (December 2000)
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