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Difference between revisions of "Child Support"
From Clicklaw Wikibooks
→Getting a child support order
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If the first three conditions have been met, the court must then figure out how much the payor should pay. This is pretty easy for parents, but can be more difficult for guardians who are not parents and for stepparents. The court must first make a finding as to the payor's annual income, usually with the help of the parties' financial information, and then fix the amount of support payable according to the tables set out in the [[Child Support Guidelines]] based on the number of children and the payor's income. There are exceptions to this basic rule, which this chapter discusses in the section [[Exceptions to the Child Support Guidelines]]. | If the first three conditions have been met, the court must then figure out how much the payor should pay. This is pretty easy for parents, but can be more difficult for guardians who are not parents and for stepparents. The court must first make a finding as to the payor's annual income, usually with the help of the parties' financial information, and then fix the amount of support payable according to the tables set out in the [[Child Support Guidelines]] based on the number of children and the payor's income. There are exceptions to this basic rule, which this chapter discusses in the section [[Exceptions to the Child Support Guidelines]]. | ||
Fifth, the court will look at how long the payor's obligation should last. This issue is not always argued about, as both the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' and the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' have cut-off dates after which children are no longer eligible to receive support. Most orders and agreements limit themselves by providing that child support shall be paid "until," for example, "the child is no longer a child of the marriage as defined by the ''Divorce Act''," "the child is no longer a child as defined by the ''Family Law Act''," or "the child reaches the age of 19." The question of a termination date for support usually only crops up where the child is an adult engaged in post-secondary studies or otherwise "unable to withdraw from the charge" of his or her parents, and the court must then consider the factors described earlier. | Fifth, the court will look at how long the payor's obligation should last. This issue is not always argued about, as both the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' and the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' have cut-off dates after which children are no longer eligible to receive support. Most orders and agreements limit themselves by providing that child support shall be paid "until," for example, "the child is no longer a child of the marriage as defined by the ''Divorce Act''," "the child is no longer a child as defined by the ''Family Law Act''," or "the child reaches the age of 19." The question of a termination date for support usually only crops up where the child is an adult engaged in post-secondary studies or is otherwise "unable to withdraw from the charge" of his or her parents, and the court must then consider the factors described earlier. | ||
===Getting an order inside British Columbia=== | ===Getting an order inside British Columbia=== | ||
A parent or guardian who is seeking a child support order can apply for that order in either the Supreme Court or the Provincial Court. Whichever court the parent wants to proceed in, | A parent or guardian who is seeking a child support order can apply for that order in either the Supreme Court or the Provincial Court. Whichever court the parent or guardian wants to proceed in, he or she must start a court proceeding. The process for starting a court proceeding is described in the chapter [[Resolving Family Law Problems in Court]], in the section [[Starting a Court Proceeding in a Family Matter]]. | ||
===Getting an order outside British Columbia=== | ===Getting an order outside British Columbia=== | ||
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#start a court proceeding here under the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' or the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', get a child support order, and try to enforce that order in the place where the other parent lives. | #start a court proceeding here under the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' or the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', get a child support order, and try to enforce that order in the place where the other parent lives. | ||
The ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' allows a person who lives in | The ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' allows a person who lives in British Columbia to start a process that will result in an order being made in the jurisdiction in which the other parent lives. The applicant fills out a bunch of paperwork here, and gives it to the provincial Reciprocals Office. A staff member will forward that package to the [http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/fcy-fea/sup-pen/enf-exe/info_cont.html Reciprocals Office] where the other parent lives, and the court there will have a hearing, on notice to the other parent, which may result in a child support order being made. The law that will apply is the law where the other parent lives, which will not be the ''Family Law Act'' or the ''Divorce Act''. | ||
Only certain jurisdictions have agreed to the ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' process. If the place where the other parent lives hasn't made an agreement with British Columbia about child support orders, someone who wants to get a child support order will normally have to start a court proceeding in the place where the other parent lives. This will require hiring a lawyer in that country, and the law that will apply will be the laws of that country, not the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' or the ''[[Divorce Act]]''. | Only certain jurisdictions have agreed to the ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' process. If the place where the other parent lives hasn't made an agreement with British Columbia about child support orders, someone who wants to get a child support order will normally have to start a court proceeding in the place where the other parent lives. This will require hiring a lawyer in that country, and the law that will apply will be the laws of that country, not the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' or the ''[[Divorce Act]]''. | ||
