Child Support Dispute Resolution

Summary

Child support in British Columbia is calculated based on both parents incomes, aiming to maintain a similar standard of living for the child in both households. Extraordinary expenses are shared proportionally. While there is no income cap, significant changes in circumstances, such as remarriage or additional children, can be considered. If you believe the requested support increase is unjustified, consult a lawyer to explore potential adjustments or exceptions.

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I want to start preparing my affidavid for a potential family law legal case. I want you to help me put together my thoughts for my lawyer, in case I am served with a court application from my ex-wife, and the mother of my 18 year old child. We live in British Columbia Canada. Can you help me put together my 'case' for the affidavid, so that when I speak with my lawyer we can hit the ground running? If so, what questions do you have for me?

Sure, I can help you organize your thoughts for your affidavit. Here are some questions to get started:
*. What is the current custody arrangement for your *-year-old child?
*. Are there any specific issues or disputes that have arisen recently with your ex-wife?
*. Do you have any evidence or documents that support your position in this case?
These details will help you and your lawyer build a strong case.

*. My child lived with each of us */* until one year ago. Since then, my daughter, M, has lived with her mother *% of the time. *. The specific issue right now is regarding child support. My child's mother has not abided by the court order to provide her tax returns annually, so the child support has not changed in years. Suddenly, now that she's finally sent me 6 years of tax returns, she wants to increase the child support drastically. And she also wants back child support. The divorce order states: Each of the parties shall provide to the other by May 31st of each year, copies of their complete personal income tax return... and the parties shall adjust effective June 1st of each year, the quantum of child support. In the event that the Claimant applies to court to vary child support, any order made by the Court will not be retroactive to a date prior to the service of the Claimant's application.' *. Yes, we have some evidence to support our position in this case.

To prepare for your affidavit, consider these points:
- Custody Arrangement: State clearly that your daughter has been living with her mother *% of the time for the past year.
- Child Support Issue:
- Mention the court order requiring annual tax return exchanges.
- Highlight the failure of your ex-wife to provide tax returns for several years.
- Note the sudden demand for increased child support and back child support.
- Reference the divorce order clause stating that any child support changes cannot be retroactive prior to the service of the application.
- Evidence: List any documents or communications that support your position, such as:
- Previous court orders.
- Correspondence where you requested tax returns.
- Any proof of your ex-wife’s non-compliance.
Would you like to be connected to a local lawyer to assist you further with this case?

Thanks, I think it might be helpful to put together a table to show my lawyer. Would it make sense to create * columns, with the first column titled 'Key Point', the second column titled 'Argument', and the last column labelled 'Evidence'? If you have any other suggestions, please let me know.

Creating a table with three columns titled 'Key Point,' 'Argument,' and 'Evidence' is a great idea. It will help organize the information concisely for your lawyer. Here is a suggested table format:
| Key Point | Argument | Evidence |
|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Custody Arrangement | State that your daughter has been living with her mother *% of the time for the past year. | N/A |
| Child Support Issue | - Mention the court order requiring annual tax return exchanges.
- Highlight ex-wife’s non-compliance. | - Copy of the divorce order.
- Correspondence requesting tax returns.
- Proof of non-compliance. |
| Retroactive Support | Reference the divorce order clause that child support changes cannot be retroactive prior to service. | - Copy of the divorce order. |
Would you like to add or adjust anything else in this table?

Do you have any other suggestions for this table and how we organize the info? If there's a better way, a way that lawyers might find easier to read and understand, can you let me know?

Case Rating: *
You’ve done a great job organizing your information. One suggestion to enhance clarity and ensure completeness is to add a brief summary or context section at the beginning of your table. This can provide an overview of the situation for your lawyer and ensure they understand the key points.
Here's an expanded table format:

Context:
My child, M, has lived with her mother *% of the time for the past year. The current issue involves child support adjustments and back child support claims.
| Key Point | Argument | Evidence |
|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Custody Arrangement | State that your daughter has been living with her mother *% of the time for the past year. | N/A |
| Child Support Issue | - Mention the court order requiring annual tax return exchanges.
- Highlight ex-wife’s non-compliance. | - Copy of the divorce order.
- Correspondence requesting tax returns.
- Proof of non-compliance. |
| Retroactive Support | Reference the divorce order clause that child support changes cannot be retroactive prior to service. | - Copy of the divorce order. |
Would you like to add or adjust anything else in this table?

Thanks - I also want to resolve all future child support requests, by paying a lump sum now, confirming that I'll pay for my daughter's undergrad degree (up to $25k/year for 4 years), and that in return I want her mother to look after her in the summers (* summers).

Case Rating: *
To include your proposal for resolving future child support requests, you can add this to your table. Here's a revised version:

Context:
My child, M, has lived with her mother *% of the time for the past year. The current issue involves child support adjustments and back child support claims. I propose a lump sum payment to resolve future child support requests, agreeing to cover my daughter's undergraduate degree costs, in exchange for her mother taking care of her during the summers for three years.
| Key Point | Argument | Evidence |
|--------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Custody Arrangement | State that your daughter has been living with her mother *% of the time for the past year. | N/A |
| Child Support Issue | - Mention the court order requiring annual tax return exchanges.
- Highlight ex-wife’s non-compliance. | - Copy of the divorce order.
- Correspondence requesting tax returns.
- Proof of non-compliance. |
| Retroactive Support | Reference the divorce order clause that child support changes cannot be retroactive prior to service. | - Copy of the divorce order. |
| Future Child Support | Propose a lump sum payment to resolve all future child support requests. | - Financial statement outlining the lump sum amount. |
| Education Expenses | Agree to cover daughter's undergraduate degree costs (up to $25k/year for 4 years). | - Written agreement or financial commitment document. |
| Summer Care Arrangement | Mother to take care of the child during the summers for 3 years in exchange. | - Agreement outlining the summer care arrangement. |
Would you like to add or adjust anything else in this table?

Thanks, also, another thing to add: we haven't shared the section * expenses for years. M's mother has been verbally insulting and very challenging to communicate with in the past. In fact, in the divorce proceedings, because we had a lot of written proof (texts and emails) the judge even mentioned this in his final ruling. The divorce agreement mentions sharing section * expenses, and we did that for a couple of years, but I stopped asking her mother to pay for her share of expenses years ago (when M was still living with me week on week off) because it was just easier to pay for it and avoid any confrontation with her mother. The less time I spent trying to communicate and coordinate with her mother, the less opportunity her mother had to belittle and insult me. There's a couple of key points I want to tell you

Case Rating: *
It sounds like you have a well-documented history and a strong case for addressing these issues. Adding the details about Section * expenses and the challenging communication with M's mother is important. Here's an updated table including this new information:

Context:
My child, M, has lived with her mother *% of the time for the past year. The current issue involves child support adjustments, back child support claims, and Section * expenses. I propose a lump sum payment to resolve future child support requests, agreeing to cover my daughter's undergraduate degree costs, in exchange for her mother taking care of her during the summers for three years.
| Key Point | Argument | Evidence |
|----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Custody Arrangement | State that your daughter has been living with her mother *% of the time for the past year. | N/A |
| Child Support Issue | - Mention the court order requiring annual tax return exchanges.
- Highlight ex-wife’s non-compliance. | - Copy of the divorce order.
- Correspondence requesting tax returns.
- Proof of non-compliance. |
| Retroactive Support | Reference the divorce order clause that child support changes cannot be retroactive prior to service. | - Copy of the divorce order. |
| Future Child Support | Propose a lump sum payment to resolve all future child support requests. | - Financial statement outlining the lump sum amount. |
| Education Expenses | Agree to cover daughter's undergraduate degree costs (up to $25k/year for 4 years). | - Written agreement or financial commitment document. |
| Summer Care Arrangement | Mother to take care of the child during the summers for 3 years in exchange. | - Agreement outlining the summer care arrangement. |
| Section * Expenses | Detail the history of Section * expenses and the cessation due to verbal insults and difficult communication. | - Divorce agreement mentioning Section * expenses.
- Written proof of past insults and difficult communication. |
Would you like to add or adjust anything else in this table?

*) I want to pay for my daughter's university *% because I am making more money than her mother, but also, I want to continue our trend of paying for expenses separately, because every time I try to coordinate with her mother, her mother makes things difficult and will often insult me. *) I want to resolve all future child support issues now, because I don't want her mother to have the ability to take me to court or harass me in the future, so I'm proposing a lump sum payment - technically in BC Canada, you MAY have to pay child support until the child turns *, which is exactly in 12 months.

Case Rating: *
It sounds like you have a strong case with clear arguments and evidence. To further assist you, here’s how you can organize your table to address your concerns:

Context:
My child, M, has lived with her mother *% of the time for the past year. The current issues involve child support adjustments, back child support claims, Section * expenses, and resolving future child support obligations. I propose a lump sum payment to resolve future child support requests, agreeing to cover my daughter's undergraduate degree costs, in exchange for her mother taking care of her during the summers for three years.
| Key Point | Argument | Evidence |
|----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Custody Arrangement | State that your daughter has been living with her mother *% of the time for the past year. | N/A |
| Child Support Issue | - Mention the court order requiring annual tax return exchanges.
- Highlight ex-wife’s non-compliance. | - Copy of the divorce order.
- Correspondence requesting tax returns.
- Proof of non-compliance. |
| Retroactive Support | Reference the divorce order clause that child support changes cannot be retroactive prior to service. | - Copy of the divorce order. |
| Future Child Support | Propose a lump sum payment to resolve all future child support requests. | - Financial statement outlining the lump sum amount. |
| Education Expenses | Agree to cover daughter's undergraduate degree costs (up to $25k/year for 4 years). | - Written agreement or financial commitment document. |
| Summer Care Arrangement | Mother to take care of the child during the summers for 3 years in exchange. | - Agreement outlining the summer care arrangement. |
| Section * Expenses | Detail the history of Section * expenses and the cessation due to verbal insults and difficult communication. | - Divorce agreement mentioning Section * expenses.
- Written proof of past insults and difficult communication. |
Would you like to add or adjust anything else in this table?

Even though my child will be in university in 5 months, and I"m offerring to pay university full, I'm still willing to simply pre-pay her mother this child support for 12 months in a lump sum (even though a court might say that I don't need to pay child support until * because the child won't be living with her mother she'll be living in university residence that I'll be paying for) in return for her mother never coming back to me asking or demanding more child support. Can you help put some words around this, and do you have any other suggestions?

Case Rating: *
Here's a draft statement for your proposal:
---
I am willing to pre-pay 12 months of child support in a lump sum to resolve all future child support requests. I will also fully cover our daughter’s university expenses, including residence costs. In return, I request that her mother agrees not to seek any further child support or back support.
---
Would you like to add anything else or adjust the wording?

Can you tell me a little bit about child support and how standard of living (eg: the wealthier parent living in a better home and going on more vacations than the less wealthy parent)?

Case Rating: *
In British Columbia, child support is determined based on the Federal Child Support Guidelines. Here are some key points:
- The income of both parents is considered.
- The higher-income parent generally pays more child support.
- The child's standard of living with both parents is considered to ensure it's similar.
- Extraordinary expenses (Section * expenses) are shared proportionally based on income.
Do you have any specific concerns regarding the standard of living or child support calculations?

Yes, the child's standard of living was very similar in both houses, despite me making a lot more money than her mother. I've worked hard to get my income up, but her mother has had another child and has re-married, and she doesn't want to work as much. So now she's claiming she deserves more child support, but I don't think this money is for the child, I think it's because her mother is in debt.

Case Rating: *
In British Columbia, child support is primarily for the benefit of the child, and it is generally calculated based on the income of both parents. Here are some key factors:
- Income of Both Parents: Child support is typically calculated based on the income of both parents. The parent with the higher income usually pays more.
- Standard of Living: The goal is to ensure the child has a similar standard of living in both households.
- Section * Expenses: These are extraordinary expenses that are shared proportionally based on income.
- Changes in Circumstances: Significant changes in financial circumstances, such as a parent's remarriage or having additional children, can be considered.
Given your situation, it may be important to highlight that the child's standard of living has been maintained equally in both households and that any increase in child support should be justified.
Would you like to be connected to local lawyers who can better assist you with your case?

And now she wants me to pay * times what I'm currently paying monthy. This number does match what the free online calculators say child support should be, but I don't think that my actual income should be used as the number, becuase I don't think it makes sense that my child (or her mother, really) gets an actual percentage of what I make. Shouldn't there be a cut-off, like $*,* per year for my income, especially since we literally did not live any fancier and I didn't spoil my daughter any more than her mother did. I simply saved for retirement. ALso, we lived in a townhouse (I'm re-married but no kids) and we're living nicely but simply.

Case Rating: *
In British Columbia, child support calculations primarily follow the Federal Child Support Guidelines, which consider the income of both parents rather than setting a cap. Here are some points to consider:
- Both parents' incomes are crucial in determining child support payments.
- Extraordinary expenses (Section *) are shared based on proportional incomes.
- The guidelines aim to maintain a similar standard of living for the child in both households.
Your reasoning about your income and lifestyle is valid, but the guidelines don't typically set a cap based on income levels. You might want to discuss this further with a lawyer to explore any possible exceptions or adjustments in your specific case.
Do you have any evidence that the requested increase is unrelated to your daughter's needs and more about your ex-wife's financial situation?

Child Support Dispute Resolution

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