Surrey Child Support Lawyers help negotiate fair Surrey child support also referred to as Surrey child maintenance, moving forward and obtain any unpaid child support on a retroactive basis. Delay means your child suffers so call us early on.
Surrey Child Support Lawyers 604 576 5400
The steps our award winning Surrey child support lawyers take include:
- Analyzing the child custody and parenting arrangements to determine if one parent has primary residence, whether the parents share parenting such that the children spend at least 40% of the time with each parent, or whether each parent has split custody meaning each parent has primary residence of at least one of the children. These differing arrangements can affect Surrey child maintenance.
- Determining the real income of each parent to ensure their full income is properly disclosed and there is no attempt to earn less to frustrate proper support.
- If either parent is self employed assessing the type of business and the availability of pre-tax profits not drawn out of the company and as such not showing on the parent’s tax return (Our Surrey child support lawyers see so many errors in this step by clients and non specialists)
- Assessing whether children over age 19 are still entitled to support based on continued need for cases involving disability, illness or more commonly post secondary education involving education that prepares the child to be a successful and productive member of society.
- Determining and sharing any special and extraordinary expenses and whether they are necessary and not included in the basic support amount.
- Providing sage advice to try to fairly settle the case and if that isn’t possible proceeding to arbitration or court to obtain a stellar result. See The Vancouver Sun article on one of our cases BC family lawyers now routinely rely on in Surrey and BC child support cases.
Contact our Surrey Child Maintenance lawyers now.
Current Income Or Averaging Surrey Child Support? 604 576 5400
When it comes to child support, our Surrey Child maintenance lawyers know how to discover and expose hidden income, refusal to work and under the table cash issues need so the child does not suffer. current income that matters for a proper Surrey child support determination. In cases of fluctuating incomes averaging may be used but if there is a trend up or down then likely current income should be used.
Surrey Child Support Lawyers 604 576 5400
What happens when a payor parent’s income increases and he or she refuses to disclose the increase to the recipient parent? Is the recipient parent entitled to “go back in time” to get the shortfall between what was paid and what ought to have been paid based on the payor’s actual income? Hiring the top Surrey child support lawyers at Maclean Law will ensure you stay on top of what the proper child support amount is. Claiming a correction back in time means you are waiting for the proper support for your Surrey child while your spouse has the free use of the child’s money. Don’t delay or your child suffers!
Our Surrey Child Support Lawyers provide this great explanation on how proper Surrey child support is calculated. This issue was recently addressed in Biggs v Biggs 2015 BCSC 2094 (“Biggs”). In Biggs, the payor parent failed to disclose an increase in his annual income and continued to pay child support pursuant to an agreement the parties had drafted using a “do-it-yourself” legal kit, which neglected to provide for an annual review of their respective incomes. The recipient parent, whose income was significantly lower than the payor parent’s income, requested the court revisit the amount of child support payable based upon the parties current incomes.
This is what the court had to say:
[43] Basically, the principle is that parents have an obligation to support their children in a way that is commensurate with their incomes. This parental obligation, like the children’s concomitant right to support, exists independent of any state or court order. To the extent the federal regime has eschewed a purely need-based analysis, this free-standing obligation has come to imply that the total amount of child support owed will generally fluctuate based on the payor parent’s income. Thus, under a federal scheme, a payor parent who does not increase his/her child support payments to correspond with his/her income will not have fulfilled his/her obligation to his/her children.
[44] This obligation imposes a joint obligation on both parents to ensure that disclosure is made on a yearly basis. That disclosure should be requested by the recipient parent and should be proffered by the payor parent. It is a joint responsibility. But if one parent does not do his or her part in ensuring this takes place, then the court should step in.
The recent SCC case of Michel v. Graydon is now the leading authority on ensuring children get proper support from the outset and that the support gets adjusted promptly when the parents’ incomes change. This decision shows that courts will take action to protect a child’s right to be properly supported by both parents,
Financial Disclosure is a Continuing Obligation 604 576 5400
When it comes to child support, the obligation to disclose one’s income is a requirement. By failing to voluntarily disclose increases in his annual income and by continuing to evade disclosure after repeated requests from the recipient parent, the court held that the payor parent had engaged in “blameworthy conduct”. Accordingly, the court made an order for a retrospective increase in child support payments based upon the payor’s actual income from the date the recipient parent first raised concerns over the adequacy of support received.
An interesting take away from the Biggs case is the importance of making a request for financial disclosure. A court will be more receptive to the request for retroactive child support, notwithstanding that a written agreement was in place, if the recipient has made a request in writing for disclosure.
Are you Getting Enough Surrey Child Support? 604 576 5400
MacLean Law’s Surrey Child Support Lawyers are here to help ensure you are receiving the correct amount of child support. If a payor parent is refusing to provide you with information regarding his or her income, our Surrey Child Support Lawyers can help you take the steps you need to get the job done.
Not sure whether you are getting or paying the correct amount of child support? Check your payments using our free child support calculator (https://macleanfamilylaw.ca/support-calculators/) or contact our Surrey Child Support Lawyers to ensure you are receiving or paying the correct amount of support.
Our Surrey Child Support Lawyers are skilled all aspects of child support law, whether it’s bringing or responding to a claim to vary support. Contact one of our top Surrey Child Support Lawyers on 604- 576- 5400 if you are interested in hearing more about how our Surrey Child Support Lawyers can assist you.
