Frequently Asked Questions
Child Support
What is child support?
A child has the right to financial support from both parents. If you and the other parent do not live together, you must share the costs of caring for your child. Child support is the amount of money that one parent pays to the other parent for the costs of caring for their child.
How do you determine the amount of child support that must be paid?
The government decides the basic amounts of child support. The amounts are calculated based on the Child Support Guidelines, which say how much support must be paid. The amount is based on the gross annual income (income before taxes and deductions) of the parent paying child support.
I don’t see my child often; do I have to pay child support?
Yes, a child has a right to financial support from both parents. Even if a child does not live with you or you only see your child infrequently, you will most likely have to pay child support.
Do I have to pay child support if my child has never lived with me and the other parent and I never married each other or lived together?
Yes, a child has the right to financial support from both parents. You will have to pay child support even if you were not married to or lived with the child’s other parent.
My child lives mostly with me. Can I get child support from their other parent?
If the child lives with you most of the time, this is called the child’s primary residence and you are entitled to child support for that child from the other parent.
How long must a parent pay child support?
Child support must be paid as long as the child is still a dependant. In most cases, this means at least until the child turns 18. A parent may have to keep paying child support after the child turns 18, if the child cannot support themself because they are sick, or have a disability, or is a full-time student.
My former spouse has re-married and our child lives with them. Do I still have to pay child support?
If the child lives with the other parent most of the time, you will still have to pay child support to the other parent.
The other parent does not pay child support, what can I do?
If there is a court order for child support and the other parent is not paying support, you can ask the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) to help you. The Family Responsibility Office is a government office and every court order for child support is automatically filed with the FRO. The parent who pays child support has to send all payments to the FRO and the payment is then sent to you. If the other parent does not pay, the FRO will make sure to collect the money.
The other parent does not live in Ontario, can the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) collect child support from them?
The FRO can help you collect support if the other parent lives anywhere in Canada or the United States, as the FRO has agreements with other provinces and some countries. If the other parent lives in a country where the FRO cannot help you enforce the child support order, the only way you can collect child support is to use the laws of the country where they live.
My ex-partner and I have an agreement for child support but it is not filed with the Family Responsibility Office (FRO). Can they collect the child support payments?
If you want the FRO to collect the child support payments, you will need to file the agreement with family court first. Then you can contact the FRO to find out how to make sure they will enforce the agreement.
Can I change child support?
If there has been a change in your or the other parent’s circumstances, for example, who the child lives with or a change in a parent’s income, you or the child’s other parent can apply to have child support changed. If you already have a court order, you have to ask the court to change the amount of child support, this is called varying the child support order.
I am on social assistance. Does that affect child support?
If you are receiving social assistance, you have to report that you are getting child support payments.
If you are supposed to pay child support, but are receiving social assistance, you may still be expected to pay child support as set out in the Child Support Guidelines. The government has set a limit and a parent who earns less than the limit does not have to pay child support. You should speak to a social assistance office or a lawyer if this is your situation.