Understanding Child Support

Child support arrangements are an important part of any divorce or separation agreement. Enforcement of child support payments are also an ongoing concern for many parents.

The Law Office of Stephen A. Cooper in Ajax can help you to negotiate or enforce child support that is in your best legal interests and is in the personal interests of your children. As an experienced family lawyer, Mr. Cooper can employ effective legal strategy to pursue your case in court or to negotiate and enforce compliance with legal obligations from the other side.

In Ontario, child support payments follow mandatory guidelines. They determine the amount that must be paid based on parental income and number of children requiring support. However, Ontario legislation permits the amount of support to be varied in specific circumstances. For example, if following the guidelines would cause undue hardship to a parent or to the child in question, a court can order payment of a different support amount.

Scenarios in which undue hardship criteria may be applied to vary the child support guidelines include:

• Excessive debt incurred to earn a living or to support the child, while parents were cohabiting.
• Ongoing legal duty to support another individual or another child associated with facilitating
• High

Stephen A. Cooper can review the terms of a child support payment agreement with you and determine whether it is appropriate, given your legal and financial objectives. If you seek to vary support terms, Mr. Cooper can represent your interest in court and can prepare the appropriate Motion to Change.

Government websites provide objective information on calculating child support, including how much you, as a payor, may be asked to provide to care for your child. To access a calculator, enter the terms “Ontario child support calculator” into an internet search engine and click on the Justice Canada link.

There is also an Advisory Guideline for spousal support payments, which more and more courts are turning to as governing law. To find out whether you are entitled to spousal support or may have a legal obligation to pay spousal support, call the Law Office of Stephen A. Cooper for an appointment.