CHILD SUPPORT LAWYER
Child Support includes a monthly payment from one parent to another.
The amount of Child Support payable is based on your and/or your spouse's income, how many children you have, and the Access/Parenting Time Schedule. This monthly Child Support payment is often called the table amount of Child Support because the Child Support Guidelines includes a Table that lists the amount to be paid based on these factors.
Special and Extraordinary Expenses
In addition to monthly Child Support, parents often contribute towards their children’s special and extraordinary expenses. These expenses can include, uninsured medical expenses, extracurricular activities, tuition and schooling costs, and daycare expenses. These expenses are usually shared by parents in proportion to their respective incomes. This means that if you and your spouse earn approximately the same amount of money each year, then you will likely share the cost of these expenses equally. However, if one of you earns far more than the other, then whoever has the higher income will pay a larger percentage of these expenses
Technically, if your children spend approximately half of their time with you, you and your spouse should conduct an extensive financial analysis to determine who has how much disposable income in order to determine the amount of Child Support payable. However, conducting such an analysis is time consuming and costly, so parents often choose to offset Child Support payments instead. Offsetting Child Support payments includes determining how much monthly Child Support each parent should pay, and subtracting the higher payment from the smaller one.
For example, if you should pay $1,000.00 per month in Child Support and your spouse should pay $500.00, then you would pay your spouse $500.00 per month.
How We Can Help
It is important that the Child Support clauses in your agreement or Court Order are drafted properly because if they are not, there may be issues with enforcement and/or unintended income tax consequences.
It is also important to remember that Child Support is your children’s right, not yours. This means that you cannot decide not to pay it, or not to accept payment of it, because it is not your right to bargain away. In other words, you should not be able to contract out of your children’s rights.
Consult a Child Support Lawyer For Child Support Issues
If you have questions about how much Child Support should be paid in your case, or how Child Support may apply to your separation, you should contact a Family Law lawyer.
If you would like to book a free consultation, please call: (905) 237-7332
