Child Support

In BC, the financial support given to the children is the right of a child and legal responsibility of each parent.

Child support is broken down into basic support pursuant to s. 3 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines, and support for special and extraordinary expenses pursuant to s. 7 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

To calculate basic support, visit the child support calculator.

Special and extraordinary expenses are generally shared proportional to each parent’s income and include the following:

1. child care expenses incurred as a result of the custodial parent’s employment, illness, disability or education or training for employment;
2. that portion of the medical and dental insurance premiums attributable to the child;
3. health-related expenses that exceed insurance reimbursement by at least $100 annually, including orthodontic treatment, professional counselling provided by a psychologist, social worker, psychiatrist or any other person, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and prescription drugs, hearing aids, glasses and contact lenses;
4. extraordinary expenses for primary or secondary school education or for any other educational programs that meet the child’s particular needs;
5. expenses for post-secondary education; and
6. extraordinary expenses for extracurricular activities.

The calculation of child support becomes more complex in the following situations:

1. If one or both parents are self-employed;
2. If the paying parent is underemployed;
3. If the paying parent is overseas;
4. If the paying parent’s income is over $150,000;
5. If there is a shared parenting arrangement; or
6. If one parent is seeking retroactive child support.

If any of the above applies to you or if you would like further guidance on your particular situation, please contact us today.