Child Support in Ottawa, ON
Child Support Legal Services
Child support is often the root of many divorce or separation disputes, wreaking emotional or financial havoc on the parties involved when not adequately supported by experienced legal representatives. The family law lawyers of AGB Lawyers are here to provide exceptional legal service, ensuring your child’s best interests are considered, and a reasonable child support agreement is settled upon.
What Is Child Support?
Child support refers to the designated amount of money paid to support the costs associated with caring for their child. The paying parent is typically the non-custodial parent or the parent who has less time with the child. However, if the parents see the child equally, support is determined by a set-off approach.
Child Support Guidelines
The Federal Child Support Guidelines are laws that guardians must follow for child support claims. The Child Support Guidelines are in place to determine the amount of support required from the paying parent. This is done by imputing each parent’s annual income, the number of children involved and the province the parent resides in to calculate the amount which must be given as child support.
Arranging Child Support
The Federal Divorce Act and the Family Law Act govern all child support claims in Ontario. Claims for child support are typically made under the Federal Divorce Act as a part of a divorce proceeding. However, if the parties were never married or separated, the child support claim is made under Ontario’s Family Law Act.
Directing Child Support Payments
Children should be supported by each parent to the best of their ability. However, the parent with primary custody usually incurs most of the cost of raising the child, deeming them the recipient of child support.
Child support payments are made to the parent, not the child, and the parent paying child support cannot decide how the support payment is spent. The parent with primary custody is responsible for deciding how to use the payments with the child’s best interests in mind.
The Importance of a Child Support Court Order
A child support court order is legally binding. Obtaining a court order registers the support payments through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO). This enables both parents to have proof that the paying parent is supporting the primary custodian with the correct, decided-upon amount of money.
When support payments are registered with FRO, the receiving parent has the ability to enforce the support payments. Similarly, a child support court order may also be beneficial to the paying parent if the other spouse denies receiving the money.
Get Expert Family Law Legal Guidance with AGB Lawyers
If you are in the midst of a child custody or child support dispute with a current or former spouse, AGB Lawyers’ child support lawyers are here to help you solidify a fair and reasonable outcome for you and your child. Contact our firm today to schedule a free consultation with a child support lawyer.