Wrong. This is a common, but incorrect, understanding of child support; it sounds fair, but does not recognize that one parent usually has a higher income than the other and thus a greater ability to absorb the costs of providing a home for their children on a half-time basis. It also does not recognize that child support should be reviewed annually as the parents’ incomes change over time.
The Federal Child Support Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) were introduced by the federal government in 1997. They are binding in all provinces and territories. Although introduced under the Divorce Act, they have been adopted by many provinces and therefore apply to both unmarried and married parents. They were adopted under BC’s Family Law Act.
Under the Guidelines, parents who share care of their children equally have a shared custody arrangement for the purposes of child support. Although section 9 of the Guidelines gives discretion to a judge to fully consider all the costs each parent incurs in providing a home for their children on a half-time basis, a simple set-off of the Guidelines table amounts is the most commonly used means for determining the amount of child support in shared custody arrangements. Here is an example of how the set-off under Guidelines works:
2019 example: The parents have two children, aged 9 and 11, who have no special needs and attend school full-time. The children have a rotating week on/off schedule: they spend one week in Dad’s care and the following week in Mom’s care. Mom works full-time as a nurse and earns $75,000 per year; her income for child support determined under the Guidelines after allowable deductions is $73,825. Dad works full-time as fire fighter and earns $110,000 per year; his Guideline income after deductions is $108,500. When we look at the Guidelines table for BC, we see the following monthly amounts of child support for the parents’ incomes:
| Income | One child | Two children |
| 73,700 | 703 | 1,144 |
| 73,800 | 704 | 1,145 |
| 73,900 | 705 | 1,147 |
| … | ||
| 109,300 | 1,025 | 1,644 |
| 109,400 | 1,025 | 1,645 |
| 109,500 | 1,026 | 1,646 |
To calculate the set-off amount, we subtract Mom’s monthly child support table amount of $1,145 from Dad’s monthly child support table amount of $1,645 with the result of $500. So, Dad would pay Mom $500 per month for child support.
The set-off approach is not appropriate for all family situations, and you should talk to a lawyer about the specific facts and costs of your parenting arrangements.
Special expenses: In addition, the parents would have to cover the children’s special expenses including child care, any private school costs, some extra-curricular activities, and medical, extended health and dental costs according to the ratio of their incomes. Special expenses are defined in section 7 of the Guidelines.
Disclaimer: The above information is given as information only and is not given as legal advice. Do not rely on this information as advice for your specific circumstances. Talk to a lawyer who specializes in family law about the specific facts of your circumstances to get advice on how the law applies to you.