Support

There have been numerous changes to the law of support in recent years. You have likely heard of the introduction of provincial and federal Child Support Guidelines and of changes to the taxation of support, through the media. There have been recent amendments to these Child Support Guidelines. It is wise that you educate yourself as to such changes, to ensure that you are optimizing your support arrangements.

Are you aware of the introduction of Spousal Support Guidelines? Do they affect you?

There have been interesting developments respecting:

• the right of parents to obtain support from their children;
• the obligation of step-parents to support their step-children;
• the obligation to pay retroactive support; and
• the support obligations and entitlements of same sex couples.

Are you aware of these developments and their impact upon you?

Do you have a child support order or agreement that was granted or entered into prior to May 1, 1997? If so, you should investigate whether your support package should be amended to better address your needs, in accordance with the provincial or federal Child Support Guidelines.

Do you have a support order or agreement that was granted or entered into after May, 2006? Has there been a change in your support arrangement since that date? If not, you should review your support arrangement to reflect changes in the laws relating to support.

• Is the Family Responsibility Office collecting support from you after the date on which your support payments were to terminate?
• How can you enforce support under your support order or agreement when the support payer creates obstacles to the payment of support?
• When does your child or spousal support obligation terminate if a terminating event is not identified in your support order or agreement?
• What do you do when your support order or agreement calls for a support "review"?

Your family law lawyer can assist you in addressing these and many other support related questions.