Introduction to Child Support in BC

Child Support in BC from People's Law School is no longer available. For updated coverage of this topic, see Dial-A-Law's page on child support.

Introduction

Who is this Wikibook for?

This booklet is for parents and guardians who have to make decisions about child support. Since the duties of guardians are almost the same as the duties of parents, this booklet will use the term “parent” to refer to both parents and guardians.

This booklet is about child support, whether:

• you and the other parent were married or lived together, or not;
• you and the other parent were dating or not; or,
• you and the other parent are still together or not.

This wikibook might also apply to you if you have been a stepparent because:

• you married a parent; or,
• you lived with the other parent and his or her
• child for at least two years and contributed to the child’s living costs for at least one year.

What law does this wikibook refer to?

This booklet refers to the Divorce Act, a Canadian law that applies to married people, and the Family Law Act, a law of British Columbia that applies to married people, individuals who have lived together for at least two years, and people who have had a child together.

This wikibook also talks about the Child Support Guidelines, a regulation to the Divorce Act and the Family Law Act, which describes how the amount of child support is calculated.

What does the law say about the responsibility of parents to support their children?

As a parent, you have a legal responsibility to support your children. Even if you have never lived with your child or with your child’s other parent, you are responsible for the support of your child. A court can require you to support your child if the other parent applies for child support.

If you have been ordered by a court to pay child support, and you do not pay child support, there may be serious legal consequences. For more information, see the “What can happen if child support isn’t paid?” section.

Child Support in BC

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014.

Child Support in BC from People's Law School is no longer available. For updated coverage of this topic, see Dial-A-Law's page on child support.

Basics of Child Support in BC © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.