Child and Spousal Support
1. Child Support
Parents are expected to financially support their children. This may mean that they pay support to the other parent. Sometimes, stepparents are expected to pay support.
The basic level of child support is determined by the income of the parent. The higher the income, the more support a parent is expected to pay and this is based upon the Child Support Guidelines. This is called Section 3 support.
Certain special expenses are shared proportionate to income. If one parent makes $75,000 per year and the other earns $25,000 they split costs 75% -25%.
These include daycare costs, health costs, some education costs including University, and extracurricular expenses in certain cases. This is called Section 7 support.
Income
Your income is determined based on your financial resources. The starting point is your income found on line 150 of your Income Tax Return. That may be adjusted upwards in many circumstances such as a person owning a business through a company, someone being underemployed or for many other reasons. Union dues and similar expenses are deducted from income.
Shared Custody
If people share custody such that each has between 40% and 60% of the parenting time, they often agree to set off support owed between each other. This means that the higher income spouse will pay the difference between what they should pay and the lower income spouse should pay. However, this is not always the case.
For a simple calculator follow this link.
2. Spousal Support
Spouses are expected to support one another. The higher income spouse may be required to support the lower income spouse. The main factors the law considers are the length of time a couple has been cohabiting, whether there are dependent children at home, and the income difference between the couple. The amount of spousal support can vary from case to case.
Spousal support has several purposes including addressing the needs of the recipient spouse, permitting them to rehabilitate economically and to compensate them for financial sacrifices made to the other spouse. Spousal support may be payable indefinitely, especially after long-term marriages.
The amount of spousal support can vary from case to case but is mostly determined on the basis of the difference in the income, whether there are dependent children at home and how long a couple have lived together.
At Settle Now Online we will review child support and spousal support in every case.