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Agreements after Separation

No change in size, 22:55, 31 August 2021
Child support
The amount of child support that is paid is almost always the amount required by the [[Child Support Guidelines]], which includes tables that fix the amount of a parent's child support obligation according to the number of children support is being paid for and the income of the person paying support, the ''payor''. Child support can sometimes be paid in a different amount if:
#*a child is the age of majority or older, #*the payor earns more than than $150,000 per year, #*a child is a stepchild, #*one or more of the children have their primary homes with different parents, or#*the parents share parenting time with the children more or less equally.
On top of the basic amount of child support, both parents can also be required to pay toward those of the children's expenses that qualify as "special expenses" or "extraordinary expenses" under section 7 of the Child Support Guidelines.
A good separation agreement will:
#*state the income of each parent at the time the agreement is made,#*state the monthly child support to be paid,#*require the parties to exchange copies of their tax returns and Canada Revenue Agency notices of assessment each year or perhaps every other year,#*provide for a review of child support every year, if the payor's income rises or falls, or if there are significant changes in the parties' parenting arrangements, #*describe those of the children's expenses that the parties agree qualify as special expenses or extraordinary expenses, and say how much each party has to pay toward those expenses, and#*provide for the recalculation of the parties' shares of the cost of the child's special expenses if either party's income rises or falls.
The Guidelines are an extremely convenient way to calculate a party's child support obligations up to the point where one of the exceptions to the Guidelines amounts applies. While separation agreements allow for a little more flexibility in deciding how much child support should be paid if a child is the age of majority or older, the payor earns more than than $150,000 per year, if a child is a stepchild, if one or more of the children have their primary homes with different parents, these exceptions make the annual exchange of financial information even more important.
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