Tag: lawyer

Is your ex-spouse asking for child support for a kid that’s not yours? You’re not sure if you’re supposed to?

Whether you are just starting a relationship with someone who already has a child or are ending a relationship with someone who has a child, it is important to know what you should, could, and would be responsible for.

You might be held responsible for child support if you are qualified as common-law partners and are qualified to be labelled as spouses. To qualify as a spouse, you must be living together with your partner in a marriage-like relationship for at least 2 years, married to your partner, or have a child with your partner. Furthermore, if you begin taking on the financial liability of your partner’s child, you might have to continue this after the relationship has ended.

Although according to Section 147(4) of the Family Law Act, a step parent does not bear the duty to provide for a child  unless the step parent contributed to the support of the child for at least one year, and the court proceeding for child support is started after the within one year of the last contribution of the step-parent. Section 147(5) of the Family Law Act says that the support of a step-parent is secondary to the child’s parents and guardians. Support from a step-parent would be based on the experienced standard of living of the child as well as the length of time lived with the step-parent.

In short, you cannot be responsible for your partner’s child/ren unless you have been taking on the role of being their parent while in the relationship or contributing to the child’s financial support on a regular basis for an extended period of time. That means that you should be cautious to voluntarily take on a parent role if you are not serious about the relationship yet or do not want to be chased for child support for the child in the future! You can give gifts, treats, and provide meals for the child but do not assume the financial liability of the child if you do not want to continue this financial responsibility after the relationship.

If you or a loved one are in need of advice regarding child support for a step-child, consult Vancouver and Burnaby Family Law lawyer Andrew Rebane at Resolutions Law Corporation, Burnaby, British Columbia at andrew@resolutionslawcorp.com or 778-372-7107.

My Spouse Isn’t Paying Enough Child Support!

So you and your spouse have split up and you’re thinking that you should be owed more child support than is currently being paid.

In BC, child support is calculated using the Federal Child Support Guidelines along with the parent’s gross income. But what happens if your spouse tries to pay less than what they owe by hiding their income? Or if they are deliberately earning less than what they are capable of? What if your spouse tries to get out of paying child support altogether?

In all of these cases, the court may “impute income” to your spouse. Once the court determines that your spouse is underemployed or intentionally unemployed and not seeking to obtain employment, your spouse’s income will be imputed and the court will order them to pay the appropriate amount of child support. The court imputes income on an evidentiary basis, based on what it believes your spouse is capable of earning or what they actually make.

To determine if your spouse is earning to capacity, the court will apply the following principles:

  1. Parents who are healthy and can work have a duty to seek employment
  2. Reasonable income-earning capacity will be based on consideration of a parent’s age
  3. Limited experience and skills do not justify a failure to pursue employment
  4. Persistence in un-remunerative employment or unrealistic career aspirations will not be an excuse
  5. Self-induced reduction in income will not justify the avoidance of child support obligations

The following are some more reasons under section 19 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines for which the court may decide to impute income to your spouse:

  1. The spouse is exempt from paying federal or provincial income tax
  2. The spouse lives in a country that has effective rates of income tax that are significantly lower than those in Canada
  3. The spouse’s property is not reasonably utilized to generate income
  4. The spouse unreasonably deducts expenses from income
  5. The spouse is a beneficiary under a trust and is or will be in receipt of income or other benefits from the trust

Remember, the court will need to have sufficient evidence from you to justify imputing income to your spouse.

If you or a loved one are seeking to claim child support and/or to have income imputed, consult Vancouver and Burnaby Family Law Lawyer Andrew Rebane at Resolutions Law Corporation, Burnaby, British Columbia at andrew@resolutionslawcorp.com or 778-372-7107