Please feel free to post your BC divorce and British Columbia separation questions on BC Child custody, BC access, BC Spousal support, and BC family assets on our MacLean Family Law Group facebook page
How is BC child support calculated and who is liable?
The amount of British Columbia child support and duration of BC child support for parents of children living in BC is calculated by reference to the Divorce Act , the BC Family Relations Act, the Federal Child Support Guidelines all of which apply to child support determination in British Columbia.
In all cases, the amount of BC child support is calculated on the basis of Canadian Child Support Guidelines, which stipulate the support payable. The amount of support is based on the income of the non-custodial parent, generally without regard to the income of the custodial parent EXCEPT FOR SECTION 7 special and extraordinary expenses BUT both BC parents incomes and possibly that of their new partners can be used when the arties share near equal contol of the BC children sujectto achild support order.
British Columbia shared and split child custody
Shared custody and guardianship is becoming more common in British Columbia and in general terms, when BC separated parties share custody on a relatively equal basis the set off method is often used. The setoff method reflects the increased costs of the British Columbia family law party sharing custody and the supposed decreased costs to the parent who has the children less than the majority of the time
BC Retroactive Child Support and BC Spousal Support
Our BC Court of Appeal recently reiterated the test for retroactive awards of British Columbia child support in Hinds v. Hinds [2008] BCJ No. 2540 where the Court reviewed the law.
