Child support is a payment made to help cover the costs of raising a child when the parents are separated or divorced.
But what if you and your spouse couldn’t agree on the amount of child support? Read on as Dreyer and Associates shares what you need to know on this topic:
What You Can Do If You Can’t Agree on the Amount of Child Support
If you find yourself unable to reach an agreement, there are services available to assist you in coming to a resolution.
Family Justice Counsellors
Family Justice Counsellors are a form of government aid located in various provinces to assist individuals and families who are going through a separation. They are not lawyers and thus cannot provide legal advice or help people get a divorce. Instead, they provide mediation services and help people work out parenting arrangements.
Child Support Officers
Child Support Officers can help parents understand the federal child support rules and determine how much should be paid or received. They can also point you in the right direction for other services, such as the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program and Family Justice Counsellor, plus other options like Parenting After Separation, financial management, legal advice, and debt counselling.
Mediation
With mediation, you and your child’s other parent will be working with someone trained to help both parties reach an agreement. The mediator will:
- Come up with a neutral place where you can meet with the other parent
- Define issues that you need to resolve
- Make sure the discussion stays on track
- Help maintain a healthy working relationship between two parents
While a mediator cannot and will not make decisions for you, they can help you communicate with the other parent about any issues about your separation, especially about child support.
Mediation will also allow for more creative and more flexible arrangements that will suit your circumstances.
What Happens If You Have to Go to Court?
When parents cannot agree regarding their children’s financial support, the court is a way to resolve the issue. This process can be lengthy and often stressful, but it is necessary to ensure that the children are financially supported after their parents separate.
When parents cannot agree on how to provide financial assistance for their kids, the court can intervene to guarantee the children receive the money they need. The court will judge who should be paying child support and how much should be paid. The court will also make sure the money goes towards meeting the children’s basic requirements.
Parents can ask either the Provincial or Supreme Court to make an order to provide financial support for their children. It is usually simpler and cheaper to apply for this type of order through the Provincial Court, which is also sometimes referred to as Family Court. This is because family situations can change over time, which may require changing the order. If you are looking for a divorce and division of property, you would need to apply to the Supreme Court.
In many areas of British Columbia, separated parents are required to take a course called Parenting After Separation. This course is designed to help parents learn how to co-parent effectively, communicate, and support their children through the divorce process. The workshop provides legal information, parenting strategies, and resources to help parents keep the best interests of their children in mind.
The court will need both parents to provide financial information about their current income and recent tax returns. This will be used to determine how much money the paying parent should pay to the other parent for child support. The receiving parent may also be asked to provide financial documents if the parenting arrangement is shared or if there are special expenses that need to be covered.
Conclusion
It is important that the parties involved reach an agreement that is in the child’s best interests. If the parties do not agree on the amount of child support, there are a variety of steps that can be taken. These include negotiation, mediation, and even court proceedings. Ultimately, the goal should be to ensure that your kid receives the child support they need and deserve.
Dreyer and Associates Family Lawyers is dedicated to protecting the best interest of families in the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland. They strive to ensure that all of their clients have the best possible outcome in their legal matters. We can help you with such concerns as child support and other family law issues. Schedule a meeting with us today!
