Difference between revisions of "Child Support Guidelines"

It used to be the case that the party claiming support, the ''recipient'', had to jump through all sorts of hoops to show the amount of support the child needed and prove that the person being asked to pay support, the ''payor'', had the means to pay that amount. These days, the amount of a child support order or an agreement for child support is based on the amounts set out in the tables attached to the Child Support Guidelines. The Guidelines have generally reduced the amount of time and money that parents spend fighting about child support, whether they're in court arguing about an order, or are negotiating the amount of support for a separation agreement.

The Guidelines tables were most recently adjusted on 31 December 2011. The amount of child support required of lower earning parents was reduced and the amount of support for higher earning parents was increased, although none of the changes were particularly dramatic. If you are relying on a printed version of the child support tables to figure out how much child support should be paid, make sure that your materials reflect the new table amounts.

This is, however, only a presumption, and can be challenged or ''rebutted'', as is discussed in this chapter's next section, [[Exceptions to the Child Support Guidelines]].  In the vast majority of cases, however, the amount of child support payable is calculated using the payor's gross annual income at the time the order is made.

Over time, of course, the payor's income may go up or down. Both the payor and the recipient can make an application to change the original order so that the amount of child support reflects the payor's current income. The payor would typically make the application if his or her income has fallen, while the recipient would make the application when the payor's income has increased. To avoid a situation where parents are continually making trips back to court to seek an adjustment of child support, it's a good idea to include a term that requires both parties to regularly exchange income information in an agreement or order for child support, so that child support can be adjusted from time to time without having to go to court.

Another of the Guidelines' important presumptions is that the amount of support payable is set according to the number of children to which each particular support order relates. If a payor has two children from one relationship and three from another, the first order will be based on the Guidelines amount for two children and the second will be based on the amount for three children. The payor's obligation is not based on the Guidelines amount for the total number of five children.

Finally, the amount of support payable is based only on the payor's income. In most situations the recipient's income is not a factor, nor is the income of the payor's new spouse or partner.