7,367
edits
Difference between revisions of "Family Law Act Basics"
From Clicklaw Wikibooks
no edit summary
Nate Russell (talk | contribs) (approve copyedit) |
Nate Russell (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 238: | Line 238: | ||
All of a child’s parents and guardians are required to support the child. The person with whom the child lives most often is presumed to meet their support obligation through the many tangible and intangible ways that they care for the child living in their home. Everyone else pays child support, and more than one person can be required to pay child support at the same time for the same child. | All of a child’s parents and guardians are required to support the child. The person with whom the child lives most often is presumed to meet their support obligation through the many tangible and intangible ways that they care for the child living in their home. Everyone else pays child support, and more than one person can be required to pay child support at the same time for the same child. | ||
In certain circumstances, | In certain circumstances, stepparents can also be required to pay child support. A ''stepparent'' is the married or unmarried spouse of a parent, as long as: | ||
*the spouse has contributed to the child’s <span class="noglossary">costs</span> for at least one year, and | *the spouse has contributed to the child’s <span class="noglossary">costs</span> for at least one year, and | ||
*the claim for child support is made within one year of the spouse’s last contribution to the child’s <span class="noglossary">costs</span>. | *the claim for child support is made within one year of the spouse’s last contribution to the child’s <span class="noglossary">costs</span>. | ||
Remember that under the ''[[Divorce Act]]'', a | Remember that under the ''[[Divorce Act]]'', a stepparent is someone who is married to a parent and "stands in the place of a parent." This is a different legal test. | ||
===How is the amount of child support calculated?=== | ===How is the amount of child support calculated?=== | ||
| Line 251: | Line 251: | ||
*a child is 19 or older, | *a child is 19 or older, | ||
*the payor has an income of more than $150,000 per year, | *the payor has an income of more than $150,000 per year, | ||
*the payor is a | *the payor is a stepparent or a guardian who isn't a parent, | ||
*one or more children live mostly with each guardian, called ''split custody'', | *one or more children live mostly with each guardian, called ''split custody'', | ||
*the guardians share the children’s time equally or almost equally, called ''shared custody'', or | *the guardians share the children’s time equally or almost equally, called ''shared custody'', or | ||
*the payment of the tables amount would cause "undue hardship" to either the recipient or the payor. | *the payment of the tables amount would cause "undue hardship" to either the recipient or the payor. | ||
The ''Family Law Act'' doesn’t change how any of these problems are handled. What the ''Family Law Act'' does change is the calculation of child support for guardians who are not parents and for | The ''Family Law Act'' doesn’t change how any of these problems are handled. What the ''Family Law Act'' does change is the calculation of child support for guardians who are not parents and for stepparents. Under the act, the child support obligations of guardians who are not parents come second to the obligations of parents. The child support obligations of stepparents come second to both parents and guardians, and the amount of support a stepparent should pay is based on: | ||
*the child’s standard of living when they lived with the | *the child’s standard of living when they lived with the stepparent, and | ||
*the length of time the child lived with the | *the length of time the child lived with the stepparent. | ||
More information about how child support is calculated is available in the [[Child Support]] chapter, particularly in the sections on the [[Child Support Guidelines|Guidelines]] and the [[Exceptions_to_the_Child_Support_Guidelines|Exceptions to the Guidelines]]. | More information about how child support is calculated is available in the [[Child Support]] chapter, particularly in the sections on the [[Child Support Guidelines|Guidelines]] and the [[Exceptions_to_the_Child_Support_Guidelines|Exceptions to the Guidelines]]. | ||
