Parenting and Child Support
Parenting and Child Support
Parenting Agreements
When parents stop living together, they often agree who the child will live with. The parent the child lives with makes all the day-to-day decisions about the child. The child has the right to spend time with the other parent regularly. For example, the child may see the other parent every Sunday. Sometimes parents don’t agree.
For example: Mary and Fred couldn’t agree. They went to court. The judge decided that their child should live with Mary. The judge also decided how often Fred could see his child.
The judge decides what is best for the child. The wishes of the parents are not as important to the court as the needs of the child.
Child Support
The law says that both parents must support their children financially, even when the marriage breaks down. In BC, this legal responsibility to support a child usually lasts until your child is 19. If your child remains a dependant after that age, the obligation may continue.
If a child is living with one parent, the other parent usually must pay support money. Parents must follow rules called the Child Support Guidelines. The Guidelines help set a fair amount of support for children and consider such things as how much money the parent makes and how many children need support.
The Child Support Guidelines make sure that children continue to benefit from the financial means of both parents. When you are deciding on how much financial support the child needs, you must follow the Child Support Guidelines, at a minimum. If you and the other parent can’t agree, you may have to go to court, where a judge will apply the Child Support Guidelines.
What if a Parent Refuses to Pay Child Support?
The provincial government has a program called the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program. The people who work in this program can help if a parent is not paying the money the judge said he or she must pay to support the children, or the money that he or she agreed in writing to pay.
If a parent does not pay child support, the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program may take the money directly from the parent’s paycheque or bank account. Other things that may happen if a parent refuses to pay:
- He or she may lose his or her driver’s licence.
- The Canadian government may take away his or her passport.
