Child & Spousal Support Lawyer in Alberta

Support disputes are rarely about the law itself, because the tables that set child support are public and the formulas that guide spousal support are published, so the number itself is often not in doubt. What is usually in doubt, in a contested file, is the income that goes into the calculation, and most of the work goes there.

How child support is calculated

Child support is the child’s right, and neither parent can bargain it away. The amount is set by the Federal Child Support Guidelines for divorcing parents, and by Alberta’s Child Support Guidelines, which mirror them, for everyone else. The table amount depends on the paying parent’s income, the number of children and the province the payer lives in, and it covers the ordinary costs of raising a child.

On top of the table amount, certain special or extraordinary expenses are shared between the parents in proportion to their incomes. Those include childcare needed for work or education, medical and dental premiums and health costs above a threshold, extraordinary school expenses, post-secondary education and extraordinary extracurricular activities. Where each parent has the child at least 40 per cent of the time, the table approach is adjusted to reflect the shared arrangement, and the calculation becomes more contested.

Income is where the argument is

For an employee with a T4, income is usually settled by the tax return. For a self-employed parent, a business owner, a contractor paid through a corporation or a parent with fluctuating income, it is not. The Guidelines allow the Court to look through a corporation to its pre-tax income, to add back personal expenses run through a business, to average income over several years and to impute income where a parent is intentionally under-employed, has not disclosed properly or lives in a way that the declared income cannot explain.

Both parents have an ongoing obligation to disclose income, and the Court can order support retroactively where a paying parent’s income rose without the support being adjusted. The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that retroactive claims can reach back a number of years in the right circumstances, so an increase that was never disclosed does not stay hidden.

Support for adult children

Child support does not end automatically at eighteen. It continues where an adult child cannot withdraw from the parents’ charge because of illness, disability or, most commonly, because they are pursuing a reasonable course of post-secondary education, with the amount often adjusted to reflect the child’s own contribution and the parents’ means.

Spousal and partner support

Spousal support works differently, since there is no automatic entitlement and the first question is always whether there is a basis for support at all. That basis can be compensatory, where one spouse gave up earning capacity for the marriage or the children; non-compensatory, where one spouse is in need and the other has the means; or contractual, where an agreement provides for it. Only once entitlement is established does the amount and duration come into play.

The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines are not law, but Alberta courts use them as a starting point, with one formula where there are dependent children and another where there are not, each producing a range for amount and duration. The length of the relationship and the age of the recipient drive the result, and the same principles apply to adult interdependent partners under Alberta’s Family Law Act, where it is called partner support.

Enforcement and recalculation

Support orders and filed agreements can be registered with Alberta’s Maintenance Enforcement Program, which collects payments, tracks arrears and has enforcement tools that a private party does not. Child support can also be adjusted each year through Alberta’s Child Support Recalculation Program where both parents’ incomes are straightforward, which avoids a court application for routine changes.

Where the firm can act

Support calculations, agreements and consent orders are available to parents anywhere in Alberta. Contested support applications, including disputes over income and retroactive claims, are taken only where the file proceeds through the Calgary Courts Centre, which covers Calgary and the surrounding communities in the Calgary judicial district. The practice is virtual, so meetings happen by video, telephone and email, with in-person meetings available on request in Cochrane or in Calgary.

If support needs to be set, changed or enforced, or you believe the other parent’s income is not what they say it is, call (587) 328-3328.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can we agree to no child support?

Not in a way that binds the Court. Child support belongs to the child, and an agreement that provides less than the Guidelines will not be enforced unless it makes other arrangements that are shown to benefit the child.

My ex is self-employed and says they earn very little. What can be done?

The Guidelines allow the Court to look through a business, add back personal expenses, average income over several years and impute income where the declared figure is not credible. Disclosure is the starting point, and the Court will order it.

Does child support stop at eighteen?

Not automatically. It continues where an adult child cannot become independent because of illness, disability or a reasonable course of post-secondary education.

Am I entitled to spousal support?

Only if there is a basis for it, which can be compensatory, needs-based or contractual. Entitlement is decided first; amount and duration come after, usually with reference to the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines.

Child Support and Spousal Support in Alberta