Family Law
Child Support
Child support is the right of the child. After separation, parents need to understand how support is calculated, what income information is required, and how special or extraordinary expenses should be shared.
Devgun Family Law helps parents in Edmonton with child support agreements, reviews, recalculations, enforcement issues, and court applications.
How Child Support Is Usually Calculated
Child support is commonly based on the payor parent’s income, the number of children, the province or territory, and the parenting arrangement. The Federal Child Support Tables provide basic monthly amounts. Additional expenses may also be payable for items such as childcare, medical costs, health-related expenses, education, or certain extracurricular activities.
Disclosure Is Essential
Child support cannot be calculated properly without reliable income information. Depending on the circumstances, disclosure may include tax returns, notices of assessment, pay stubs, corporate records, business income documents, or information about other sources of income.
Self-employment, fluctuating income, bonuses, overtime, underemployment, or corporate income can make support more complicated.
Changing Child Support
Child support may need to be updated when income changes, parenting arrangements change, a child’s circumstances change, or the applicable table amounts change. Parents should avoid relying on informal assumptions when support needs to be adjusted.