Child support is money paid by one parent to another after separation to pay for the child’s expenses. In both British Columbia’s Family Law Act and the federal Divorce Act, parents have a legal responsibility to support their children after separation. This is true even if one of the parents has never lived with the child. Biological parents, adopted parents, and even step-parents in some cases have a duty to support their children.

The obligation to pay child support generally continues until the child turns 19. After that, the obligation to pay child support may continue if the child is studying full-time in university, cannot earn an income because of an illness or disability, or cannot withdraw from his/her parents’ care.

There are two types of child support. One is a monthly payment based on each party’s income, the number of children they have, and the province where each parent resides. The other type of child support is for large expenses related to the children which are normally split proportionally according to each person’s income.

The amount you receive monthly will depend on the parenting arrangements of your children. If you have your children the majority of the time, each month your ex will pay you the amount set out in the federal Child Support Guidelines. If you and your ex share parenting time roughly equally, then you both pay each other the amount set out in the Child Support Guidelines. In practice, this means the higher-income earner will pay the difference each month.

Child support also includes larger expenses related to children. These are “special and extraordinary expenses”, sometimes called section 7 expenses, which are split proportionally according each person's income. 

What qualifies as a special and extraordinary expense depends on each family's circumstances. Wealthier families may have more special and extraordinary expenses because they have the means to pay more towards their children’s upbringing.

Child support can be set either through a court order or by agreement between the parties. The experienced family lawyers at Virgin Law Group have a solid understanding of both bringing and defending child support applications, as well as out-of-court negotiations.