The Child Support Tables under the Federal Child Support Guidelines were updated and took effect on November 22, 2017. The Federal Government updated the Tables to reflect more recent tax rules.
In Ontario, the amount of child support that a parent pays is largely governed by the Child Support Tables under the Child Support Guidelines - you determine the province the payor is from, the payer's income, and how many children are entitled to support, and find the corresponding amount under the Tables to arrive at a monthly child support amount. This is a generalization and can be affected by claims for undue hardship, shared physical custody or split custody, incomes over $150,000, children over the age of 18 years and other issues. Further, this monthly amount does not include the amounts required for add-on expenses (special or extraordinary expenses such as health expenses, child care, educational expenses, and extracurricular activity expenses).
If you have a child support order or agreement you may want to update it to reflect the new Tables. If you are in the process of obtaining or negotiating a court order or agreement dealing with child support you should look at the new tables to see what the updated obligation is.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child support rights or obligations please contact our office at 705-302-3696 to book a consultation with one of our lawyers and we would be happy to assist you.
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Thursday, 16 November 2017
Equalization - What is It and How is It Calculated?
In Ontario, equalization refers to property (assets and debts) division for married spouses only. This does not apply to common-law couples (i.e., couples who cohabit but do not marry).
Generally, for each spouse, the following calculation is completed:
(a) add up all of the assets that the spouse owned on the date the parties separated
(also known as the "valuation date");
(b) subtract all of the debts that the spouse had on the date of separation from the
value in (a) above to obtain that spouse's net worth on the date of separation; then
(c) subtract the net worth (assets less debts) that the spouse had on the date of
marriage.
The result of this mathematical exercise equals a spouse's net family property (NFP). NFP refers to the increase in net worth that a spouse has obtained during the marriage. The spouse with the highest NFP pays the other one-half the difference between the parties' NFPs. Confused yet? An example may help:
Let's say the Husband had the following assets and debts
a) on the date of separation:
Matrimonial Home - 50% owned with wife: $150,000.00
Car: $10,000.00
Bank Account: $5,000.00
Investments: $5,000.00
Employment Pension: $100,000.00
Mortgage on Matrimonial Home ($75,000.00)
Credit Card ($5,000.00)
= net worth on date of separation: $190,000.00
b) on date of marriage:
Car: $15,000.00
Bank Account: $2,000.00
Pension: $50,000.00
Credit Card: ($10,000.00)
= net worth on the date of marriage: $57,000.00
c) Husband's NFP = $190,000 less $57,000.00 = $133,000.00.
Let's say we did the same calculation for the wife (using different numbers) and the wife's
NFP was $75,000.00.
The difference in NFPs would be $133,000.00 less $75,000.00 = $58,000.00 half of which
is $29,000.00. That means that the Husband would owe the wife an equalization
payment of $29,000.00 and since the matrimonial home is jointly owned each party is
entitled to half the equity in the home as well. The parties would keep all of their
other property that is in their sole names and their own sole debts.
This is a simple example, but equalization can get quite complicated as there are laws relating to the matrimonial home owned on the date of marriage, excluded property, valuations, whether there should be an unequal division of NFPs and many more. Spouses should retain lawyers to assist them with the equalization calculation and applicable laws associated with same.
Generally, for each spouse, the following calculation is completed:
(a) add up all of the assets that the spouse owned on the date the parties separated
(also known as the "valuation date");
(b) subtract all of the debts that the spouse had on the date of separation from the
value in (a) above to obtain that spouse's net worth on the date of separation; then
(c) subtract the net worth (assets less debts) that the spouse had on the date of
marriage.
The result of this mathematical exercise equals a spouse's net family property (NFP). NFP refers to the increase in net worth that a spouse has obtained during the marriage. The spouse with the highest NFP pays the other one-half the difference between the parties' NFPs. Confused yet? An example may help:
Let's say the Husband had the following assets and debts
a) on the date of separation:
Matrimonial Home - 50% owned with wife: $150,000.00
Car: $10,000.00
Bank Account: $5,000.00
Investments: $5,000.00
Employment Pension: $100,000.00
Mortgage on Matrimonial Home ($75,000.00)
Credit Card ($5,000.00)
= net worth on date of separation: $190,000.00
b) on date of marriage:
Car: $15,000.00
Bank Account: $2,000.00
Pension: $50,000.00
Credit Card: ($10,000.00)
= net worth on the date of marriage: $57,000.00
c) Husband's NFP = $190,000 less $57,000.00 = $133,000.00.
Let's say we did the same calculation for the wife (using different numbers) and the wife's
NFP was $75,000.00.
The difference in NFPs would be $133,000.00 less $75,000.00 = $58,000.00 half of which
is $29,000.00. That means that the Husband would owe the wife an equalization
payment of $29,000.00 and since the matrimonial home is jointly owned each party is
entitled to half the equity in the home as well. The parties would keep all of their
other property that is in their sole names and their own sole debts.
This is a simple example, but equalization can get quite complicated as there are laws relating to the matrimonial home owned on the date of marriage, excluded property, valuations, whether there should be an unequal division of NFPs and many more. Spouses should retain lawyers to assist them with the equalization calculation and applicable laws associated with same.
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