Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Family Law in British Columbia"

Child support is not a fee a parent must pay to see the children. Child support has nothing to do with custody or guardianship; it has nothing to do with access, parenting time or contact; it has nothing to do with whether a parent is a good parent or a bad parent. A parent has a duty to pay child support just because they are a parent.

Child support is almost always paid every month in the amount set out in the [http://canlii.ca/t/80mh Child Support Guidelines]. A parent's duty to pay child support does not end until the child turns 19. It can last longer than that if a child has an illness or disability that prevents the child from earning a living, or if the child is going to university or college.

Normally a parent pays the exact amount of child support the Guidelines tables say should be paid. A parent can pay a smaller amount in a limited number of circumstances, including if: the children's time is shared almost equally between the parents; one or more children live with each parent; or, paying the amount required by the Guidelines would cause serious financial hardship.

The basic amount of child support is intended to cover most of the children's expenses. Some expenses, called ''special or extraordinary expenses'', are not covered in this basic amount. Typically, extraordinary expenses are expenses like daycare and orthodontics — big, important expenses that most but not all children need. Where the children have extraordinary expenses, the parents contribute to those expenses in proportion to their incomes. For example, if one parent earns $30,000 per year and the other earns $20,000, the first parent would have to pay 60% of an extraordinary expense and the other would have to pay 40%.