Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. If you need legal advice with respect to child support or determining child support payments, you should seek professional assistance (e.g. make a post on Dynamic Lawyers). We have family law lawyers registered on Dynamic Lawyers who can offer information, advice, and assistance with respect to your child support matters.
Often people don’t know how their child support obligations are determined. Fortunately, if the Federal Child Support Guidelines apply to the particular situation, then you can go to this Department of Justice Canada website and plug in your income into a free child support calculator for it to spit out what your monthly obligations would be. The key thing to keep in mind is trying to figure out what your income would be for the purposes of determining child support. It’s not as easy or straightforward as one might think. There are a number of steps that begin with looking at your last income tax return and making adjustments according to the Federal Child Support Guidelines.
The Federal Child Support Guidelines are regulations made under the Canada Divorce Act. The latter applies when parents are married and are now divorcing or formerly married and making a claim for child support. If the parents are not divorcing or were not married at all, then child support would have to be calculated by the provincial jurisdiction’s relevant family law legislation. In Ontario, for example, child suppport is determined according to the Family Law Act and the Ontario Child Support Guidelines. The latter also has a table (as does the Federal Child Support Guidelines) that allows users to pinpoint what their child support obligations would be based on their income.
Again, it is encouraged to consult with a family law lawyer (e.g. by making a post on Dynamic Lawyers) before simply assuming that you know what your income would be under the applicable child support guidelines (and possibly relying on a free child support calculator to your detriment).
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