How does child support work with shared parenting? Do we still share special and extraordinary expenses?

Child support in shared parenting situations gets a little tricky. A lot depends on the specifics, so it would be a good idea to speak to a good family lawyer. However, this page goes over some of the general principles.

When you have a “shared parenting regime”, meaning that a child spends at least 40% of his or her time with each parent, then child support changes for that child. The idea is that each parent should be paying his or her proportionate share of all of the costs of raising the child based on that parent’s income. Figuring out exactly what a child costs can be an exhausting exercise, so the Supreme Court said, in the Contino case that parents should start by setting the table for child support payments under the Child Support Guidelines for the shared child. For example, if one parent makes $100,0000 and one parent makes $50,000.00, the parent who makes $100,000 will pay the table amount of child support for $100,000 income minus the table amount of child support for $50,000 income. It is NOT correct for the parent making $100,000 to pay support based on a $50,000 income.

However, the presumption is that with the set-off, after support is paid, each parent will be bearing an appropriate amount of the cost of raising the child. If that is not the case, and one parent continues to disproportionately pay for the child’s expenses (for example, only one parent buys clothes, birthday gifts, toys etc.), then it is not appropriate to just do the “set off” and it would be more appropriate to figure out the child’s expenses and divide them up in proportion to the parent’s incomes. Ideally, that would be done by coming up with an average monthly amount for one parent to pay to the other.

The Contino case sets out how to deal with child support in shared parenting arrangements

You should still be sharing your child’s special and extraordinary expenses in proportion to your income, no matter how you have worked out “base child support.” It is true that some less expensive sports and other activities are not extraordinary expenses, while others definitely are. Parents always share the costs of “special expenses” in addition to base child support.

For a much more complete explanation of how child support works with shared parenting and special and extraordinary expenses, pick up a copy of this easy-to-understand best-selling guide to the basics of Ontario Family Law. Not only does it explain child support in detail, but it also explains how to get child support issues resolved both in and out of Family Court. 

As you can tell, child support in shared parenting arrangements can depend on a lot of specific facts. Whether an expense is subject to section 7 of the Child Support Guidelines is sometimes difficult for ordinary people to determine, but it is something that good family lawyers and family court judges know immediately. To make sure child support is right in your circumstances, you should speak to a good family law lawyer. John Schuman is a Certified Specialist in Family Law who has done hundreds of child support cases, including some very complex and difficult ones. To contact him, use the form below or call the number at the top of the page. You can also use the form below to comment on this page.

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