Child Support Lawyers for Markham & Toronto
Our lawyers and staff work together as a team focused on your success. We understand the nuances of child support and the options available to you for resolving your concerns, whether you are to be the payor or recipient of child support.
Determining Child Support
The federal government has published Child Support Guidelines that specify how much child support is payable. You can look at the tables to get a general idea of how much child support your children will receive for their basic needs. You will need to consider the payor's annual gross income and number of children. Of course, as with most family law matters, things are rarely that simple.
The Child Support Guidelines consider the basic needs of your children (such as feeding, housing and clothing), but not the special expenses that cover any additional needs. For that, you need fine-tuning and the eye of a lawyer experienced in child support.
Fine Tuning Child Support to Fit Your Children's Needs
Many circumstances may affect the amount of child support you will pay or receive, including:
Residence: If the children split their time between the homes, we will determine what each parent would have to pay in support if they were not the primary parent, and then subtract the smaller amount from the larger amount. The payment is meant in part to ensure that the children's lifestyle remains the same, whichever house they reside in. If your parenting arrangement is unique, determining a fair amount of child support may be challenging.
Adult children: Disabled adult children, or children going through post-secondary education, may still be entitled to financial support from their parents.
Income: If the payor is self-employed, under-employed, has seasonal work or works on commission, it may be difficult to determine the figure to use in calculating child support. In some circumstances, income may be imputed to a higher amount to either parent.
Support as Your Separation Progresses
As your children grow and you and the other parent's lives change, child and spousal support may go up or down according to your incomes, living situation and children's needs. Our lawyers can help you make adjustments as necessary.
We can also help you with nonpayment and payment enforcement disputes, as payor or recipient, whether you are going through the Family Responsibility Office or trying to resolve your case through negotiation or mediation.