Changing Family Law Orders, Awards and Agreements Involving Child Support: Difference between revisions
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Changing Family Law Orders, Awards and Agreements Involving Child Support (view source)
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{{LSSbadge | {{LSSbadge | ||
|resourcetype = <br/> more information on when you can change an order under the resource | |resourcetype = <br/> more information on when you can change an order under the resource | ||
|link = [https:// | |link = [https://family.legalaid.bc.ca/bc-legal-system/court-orders/change-order-or-set-aside-agreement-made-bc Change an order </br>or set aside an agreement </br>made in BC | ||
] | |||
}}There is no such thing as an absolutely final order or agreement about child support. It is always open to the court to change an order or agreement for child support, as long as the parties' circumstances, or the circumstances of the parties' children, have changed. In general, people paying child support, ''payors'', will want to ask to have support reduced or terminated when their income has decreased or the children have grown up. People receiving child support, ''recipients'', will want to ask to have support increased when the payor's income has gone up or if the children's special expenses have increased. | }}There is no such thing as an absolutely final order or agreement about child support. It is always open to the court to change an order or agreement for child support, as long as the parties' circumstances, or the circumstances of the parties' children, have changed. In general, people paying child support, ''payors'', will want to ask to have support reduced or terminated when their income has decreased or the children have grown up. People receiving child support, ''recipients'', will want to ask to have support increased when the payor's income has gone up or if the children's special expenses have increased. | ||
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* changing orders that were made outside British Columbia. | * changing orders that were made outside British Columbia. | ||
This section also discusses claims for retroactive support and the important case of [ | This section also discusses claims for retroactive support and the important case of [https://canlii.ca/t/1p0tv D.B.S. v S.R.G.], a 2006 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. | ||
==Orders made under the ''Divorce Act''== | ==Orders made under the ''Divorce Act''== | ||
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==Orders made outside British Columbia== | ==Orders made outside British Columbia== | ||
It's not always easy to change an order made outside of British Columbia, mainly because the courts of this province don't have authority over the courts of other provinces, territories and countries. However, both the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]'' and the provincial ''[ | It's not always easy to change an order made outside of British Columbia, mainly because the courts of this province don't have authority over the courts of other provinces, territories and countries. However, both the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]'' and the provincial ''[https://canlii.ca/t/84l3 Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act]'' have special provisions about how orders for child support made elsewhere in Canada can be changed by someone living in British Columbia. The ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' also talks about how people who live here can ask to change child support orders made in countries which have agreements with British Columbia. Orders that were made in other countries can only be changed through an application in the court that made the original order. You should speak to a lawyer in that country to get more information about your options. | ||
If you can change an order made outside of British Columbia, the process you'll use depends on whether the original order was made under the federal ''Divorce Act'' or under the legislation of the place whose courts made the original order. The processes are, however, very similar. | If you can change an order made outside of British Columbia, the process you'll use depends on whether the original order was made under the federal ''Divorce Act'' or under the legislation of the place whose courts made the original order. The processes are, however, very similar. | ||
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Orders that were made elsewhere in Canada under the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' can be changed here under section 5 of the act, as long as both parties now live in British Columbia. If one or both of you live in other provinces, a person living in British Columbia can apply to change the original order using the process described in sections 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3. Here are the steps involved: | Orders that were made elsewhere in Canada under the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' can be changed here under section 5 of the act, as long as both parties now live in British Columbia. If one or both of you live in other provinces, a person living in British Columbia can apply to change the original order using the process described in sections 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3. Here are the steps involved: | ||
#Submit an application to the [ | #Submit an application to the [https://www.isoforms.bc.ca British Columbia Reciprocals Office], using the forms supplied by the office. | ||
#The Reciprocals Office checks to make sure that your application is complete and sends it to the Reciprocals Office in the province where the other parent now lives. | #The Reciprocals Office checks to make sure that your application is complete and sends it to the Reciprocals Office in the province where the other parent now lives. | ||
#The Reciprocals Office where the other parent lives sends the application to the court or the child support calculation service in that province. | #The Reciprocals Office where the other parent lives sends the application to the court or the child support calculation service in that province. | ||
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{{LSSbadge | {{LSSbadge | ||
|resourcetype = <br/> more information on <br/> | |resourcetype = <br/> more information on <br/> | ||
|link = [ | |link = [https://family.legalaid.bc.ca/bc-legal-system/court-orders/when-more-one-province-or-country-involved/interjurisdictional-support Interjurisdictional support orders] | ||
}}Orders that were made elsewhere in Canada under provincial family law legislation, or were made in certain other countries outside of Canada, can be changed by someone living in British Columbia using the process described in sections 25, 26 and 27 of the provincial ''[ | }}Orders that were made elsewhere in Canada under provincial family law legislation, or were made in certain other countries outside of Canada, can be changed by someone living in British Columbia using the process described in sections 25, 26 and 27 of the provincial ''[https://canlii.ca/t/84l3 Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act]''. | ||
Every province in Canada has its own ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' and follows the same process. The countries that also follow the ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' process and have agreed to cooperate with applications for changes to child support orders are: | Every province in Canada has its own ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' and follows the same process. The countries that also follow the ''Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act'' process and have agreed to cooperate with applications for changes to child support orders are: | ||
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* Asia — Hong Kong and Republic of Singapore | * Asia — Hong Kong and Republic of Singapore | ||
See the [ | See the [https://canlii.ca/t/84vn Interjurisdictional Support Orders Regulation] for the current list. | ||
Here are the steps involved in this process: | Here are the steps involved in this process: | ||
#Submit an application to the [ | #Submit an application to the [https://www.isoforms.bc.ca British Columbia Reciprocals Office], using the forms supplied by the office. | ||
#The Reciprocals Office checks to make sure that your application is complete and sends it to the corresponding organization in the province or country where the other parent lives. | #The Reciprocals Office checks to make sure that your application is complete and sends it to the corresponding organization in the province or country where the other parent lives. | ||
#The Reciprocals Office where the other parent lives sends the application to the court in that province or country. | #The Reciprocals Office where the other parent lives sends the application to the court in that province or country. | ||
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The courts have generally been willing to impose an ongoing duty on payors to disclose their income, whether the recipient asks for this information or not, and the courts have been increasingly willing to make retroactive orders for child support. | The courts have generally been willing to impose an ongoing duty on payors to disclose their income, whether the recipient asks for this information or not, and the courts have been increasingly willing to make retroactive orders for child support. | ||
In 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in four related cases, [ | In 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in four related cases, [https://canlii.ca/t/1p0tv D.B.S. v. S.R.G., L.J.W. v. T.A.R., Henry v. Henry, and Hiemstra v. Hiemstra], all of which concerned retroactive child support. (These cases are referred to collectively as just "D.B.S. v. S.R.G.," the name of the lead case.) | ||
The court decided that, under the [[Child Support Guidelines]], child support is tied to the income of the payor, giving payors a duty to pay child support in the amount required by their income, as determined using the Guidelines tables. Because of the approach taken by the Guidelines, no order or agreement for child support is ever final. In fact, both parents have a continuing obligation to make sure that the right amount of child support is being paid as the payor's income changes from time to time, and the court will make a retroactive order when the parents fail to adjust the amount of child support on their own. | The court decided that, under the [[Child Support Guidelines]], child support is tied to the income of the payor, giving payors a duty to pay child support in the amount required by their income, as determined using the Guidelines tables. Because of the approach taken by the Guidelines, no order or agreement for child support is ever final. In fact, both parents have a continuing obligation to make sure that the right amount of child support is being paid as the payor's income changes from time to time, and the court will make a retroactive order when the parents fail to adjust the amount of child support on their own. | ||
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* ''[[Family Law Act]]'' | * ''[[Family Law Act]]'' | ||
* ''[[Divorce Act]]'' | * ''[[Divorce Act]]'' | ||
* ''[ | * ''[https://canlii.ca/t/84d8 Supreme Court Act]'' | ||
* [ | * [https://canlii.ca/t/8mcr Supreme Court Family Rules] | ||
* ''[ | * ''[https://canlii.ca/t/849w Provincial Court Act]'' | ||
* [ | * [https://canlii.ca/t/b8rn Provincial Court Family Rules] | ||
* ''[ | * ''[https://canlii.ca/t/84l3 Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act]'' | ||
* [ | * [https://canlii.ca/t/84vn Interjurisdictional Support Orders Regulation] | ||
* [ | * [https://canlii.ca/t/80mh Child Support Guidelines] | ||
===Links=== | ===Links=== | ||
* [ | * [https://www.isoforms.bc.ca Ministry of Attorney General Interjurisdictional Support Services] (BC reciprocals office) | ||
*[https:// | *[https://family.legalaid.bc.ca/bc-legal-system/court-orders Court Orders] from Legal Aid BC | ||
* | *[https://family.legalaid.bc.ca/bc-legal-system/court-orders/change-order-or-set-aside-agreement-made-bc/when-can-you-change-order When can you change an order?] from Legal Aid BC | ||
{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[JP Boyd]], 22 June 2023}} | {{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[JP Boyd]], 22 June 2023}} | ||
