Edmonton Family Lawyer | Determining Retroactive Child Support in Alberta
Hi there, my name is Harjot, and I’m an articling student at eLaw Alliance. Today, I’ll be discussing child support, particularly retroactive child support, and how it is determined by the courts. I want to emphasize that every case is unique, and your specific circumstances might strengthen or weaken your case. Therefore, I highly recommend seeking tailored legal advice from a lawyer for your situation. What follows is a brief overview of how retroactive child support is generally determined in court.
Understanding Edmonton Retroactive Child Support
To begin, let’s talk about child support. Child support is a monthly amount that one parent pays to the primary parent of their children. Typically, the children reside with one parent more than 50% of the time and visit or stay with the other parent according to a court order. In this case, the parent who has the children less often owes child support to the primary parent based on their Line 150 income from the previous year.
If you’re wondering how much you might need to pay in Edmonton Retroactive Child Support, you can use the child support calculator available on the federal government’s website. Simply input your income, the number of children, and the province you live in, and it will provide an estimate of the monthly child support amount. This estimate generally aligns with what the court would order.
Edmonton Retroactive Child Support
Now, let’s delve into retroactive child support. Imagine you’re a mother of three children, and the father has weekend access but has not been paying child support for three years since you separated. How is retroactive child support determined in such a scenario?
Retroactive child support is determined by considering four factors, as defined in a landmark Supreme Court of Canada case, DBS v. SRG. While every case is different, here’s a brief overview of how these factors work.
Factor 1: Delay in Seeking Support
The first factor involves understanding why child support was not recalculated or sought earlier to prevent the need for retroactive support. Essentially, why did you wait three years or eight months to bring this matter to court? There are various reasons why a recipient parent might delay bringing an action to court, such as financial hardship or fear of intimidation by the paying parent. Recent case law indicates that the delay in bringing an action to court does not significantly impact the determination of retroactive child support, making it a less crucial factor.
Factor 2: Blameworthy Conduct of the Paying Parent
The second factor is the blameworthy conduct of the paying parent, which includes any actions that prioritize the parent’s interests over the children’s interests, such as failing to provide annual financial disclosure. When required to pay child support, a parent must provide their annual financial disclosure, which includes tax documents, to the other parent on a specified date each year. If they fail to do so, it becomes difficult to calculate the correct amount of child support, potentially resulting in retroactive payments. This blameworthy conduct can lead to the obligation of retroactive child support.
Factor 3: Circumstances of the Children
The third factor is the circumstances of the children and how the lack of support has impacted them. Case law emphasizes that a child’s right to adequate support overrides any agreements between parents regarding child support. For example, if you agreed to accept $500 per month when the actual amount should have been $700, that agreement does not override the children’s right to the full support amount.
It’s important to note that proving financial need for retroactive child support is not a requirement. The children are entitled to child support regardless of whether financial need can be proven. However, if you can demonstrate that you were unable to pay for basic expenses due to the lack of child support, this would strengthen your case. But even without such evidence, your case is not weakened, as need is not a significant determining factor.
Factor 4: Hardship on the Paying Parent
The final factor courts consider is whether any hardship would result from awarding retroactive child support. However, hardship on the paying parent’s part must be proven with evidence. It is not enough for the parent to simply claim they cannot afford to pay; they must provide concrete evidence to support this claim. The burden of proof lies with the paying parent, who must demonstrate their inability to pay the retroactive support.
As the recipient parent, you do not need to prove that the paying parent has the ability to pay. It is their responsibility to prove they cannot.
Conclusion of Edmonton Retroactive Child Support Information
These are the four primary factors that courts consider when determining whether Edmonton retroactive child support is owed. However, every case is unique, and your specific circumstances may differ. Therefore, it’s crucial to obtain specific legal advice tailored to your situation to determine the best approach for addressing your issue in court.
At eLaw Alliance, we handle family law matters, including child support cases, both retroactive and ongoing. We offer free 1-hour consultations, though these slots do get booked up quickly, so we suggest calling as soon as possible to schedule your consultation. If we are fully booked for free consultations, we also offer paid consultations and can provide a quote for that service.
If you have any questions about Edmonton Retroactive Child Support or any other legal topic, feel free to leave a comment, find us on Instagram at Elaw Alliance, or on TikTok, or simply give us a call at 780-665-4955. Thank you for joining us today—I hope this was helpful. Goodbye!