It is very important to understand two things about Alberta child support payments.
Firstly, it is an objective determination based upon a set process in the calculation. And, secondly, while it can feel punitive, it is not intended to be a punishment.
Why is child support mandated?
When parents are in a relationship, the Alberta Court assumes that the parents are cooperatively providing for the child or children of that marriage or relationship. However, once that marriage or relationship ends, the primary concern of the Courts, and in a large part society in general, is that the child or children are provided for. The 'best of interest of the child' has become somewhat of a cliché, but indeed that is the driving motivation for mandating child support - ensuring that children in our society are financially cared for.
Factors that affect how much child support you pay:
The main considerations in determining and calculating Alberta child support are:
1. Access time or child sharing
How will you co-parent? Are you sharing equal time with the child or children of your Alberta marriage or relationship? Or is one parent the primary caregiver? For most children, it is in their best interest to spend fairly equal time with both parents. This parenting arrangement has the added benefit, usually, of lowering (often quite significantly), the child support payment amount mandated for the payer. An example of equal parenting time is a 'week on, week off' arrangement. Or, a Sunday to Wednesday after school, and Wednesday after school to Sunday afternoon access schedule. Approximately 45% or less of shared time is considered to result in a primary parent arrangement.
2. Incomes of the parents
This has a few considerations. Do both parents work - have income? And is this a co-parenting arrangement with a primary parent or parents with approximately equal parenting time. The payer is the parent with either the higher income, or the parent who is not the primary. So a parent with the lower income can be the payer, if he or she does not share equal parenting time. When parenting time is not equal, child support is calculated solely using the income of the non-primary parent without consideration of the primary parent's income. If, it is an equal parenting time arrangement, Alberta child support is calculated only on the differential between the incomes. For example, a scenario where parents share equal time and Parent A makes $60,000 per year, and Parent B makes $100,000 per year. The child support is determined based upon $40,000. This simplified approach will get you within $20 of the mandated Alberta child support amount. In a scenario with unequal child sharing time, if Parent A is the primary parent, Parent B would have mandated Alberta child support payments calculated on $100,000 (parent A's income would not factor into the calculation). And if Parent B is the primary parent, Parent A would have mandated Alberta child support payments calculated on $60,000 (does not matter that Parent B has the higher income).
3. Number of children
Self-explanatory. If a couple has more than one child, the Alberta child support payment will be higher. However, the mandated amount is not doubled for two children, or tripled for three children, etc. It is an incremental increase and determined by the Federal Child Support Guidelines (Canada).
Other considerations may be factored into the determination, calculation, and mandating of Alberta child support payment. An Alberta divorce lawyer or divorce paralegal can assist.
by Civil Divorces Paralegal Service, Calgary Alberta www.civildivorces.com 403-453-8813
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