Child Support under the Family Law Act
Family Law Act - Child Support
Long gone are the days of fathers evading support obligations towards their children simply by denying parentage. Thanks to the advancement of DNA technology, we can identify whether a man is the father to the child with near certainty.
In Ontario, if you are the biological or adoptive parent to a child, you are required to pay child support to the custodial parent on the breakdown of the relationship. In addition, you may be required to pay support if you have demonstrated settled intention to treat the child as your family.
For instance, if you treat your step-children as your own, you would likely have to pay support for your step-children with the breakdown of your relationship.
In Ontario the Child Support Guideline applies to all family law cases. The amount that a payor pays is determined solely by the payor’s income. If the prescribed amount is insufficient to cover the cost of raising the children, the custodial parent may apply for extra-ordinary child support. The extra-ordinary support is discretionary and depends highly on the circumstances of the parties.
Child support, by law, takes priority over spousal support. If the support payor is unable to satisfy both spousal and child support obligations, the payor would be required to pay child support first.
If you are seeking child support, please contact me at 416 433 5531.
*Please note that divorce proceedings are governed by the Divorce Act.
Note: This article is provided for educational purposes only. This is NOT LEGAL ADVICE.