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Calculating Child and Spousal Support
Child support is calculated according to the Child Support Guidelines which is a table that stipulates the amount of child support based on income and the number of dependent children.
Child support is normally adjusted annually with the most current income being used to make any appropriate adjustment to the support amount.
As a guide to determining the amount of spousal support , the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines are used . These guidelines generate a range of spousal support .
Most separation agreements or court orders for support include a provision for an annual review of child support. I often get requests to assist parties in determining the adjustment to the child support amount.
The website www.mysupportcalculator.ca offers a free service to assist in determining the amount of support , child and / or spousal. This may be a good place to start to get a general idea of the amount of support to be paid or received.
The calculation of support in split or shared parenting arrangements are a little more complex and usually require some legal advice.
Also when it comes to determining each parents share of special or extraordinary expenses for children, some legal advice is helpful.
I often get asked to mediate these issues as the parents wish to come to an agreement on these matters in a collaborative and cooperative process. Most often this can be done both in a timely and cost effective manner.