Fast Facts on child support maintenance guidelines
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#1: The non-custodial parent is obligated to pay child support in accordance with the federal child support guidelines.
#2: The required payments for child support can be altered whenever there is a change in custody arrangements or the activities of the children.
#3: Payments can be ordered even if a formal Court Order is not in place.
#4: If you are a payor of Child Support payments, acting proactively is always better than being reactive.
#5: Parents in a shared parenting arrangement often do not pay child support or pay a lower amount sometimes based on income of the parties.
#6: If your income has changed you should be applying for a variation of your child support order if you are the payor.
You have questions about Alberta law. We have answers.
Q: What is a Retroactive Support?
A: A party can apply to the Court for Child Support that should have been payable in the past, but was not paid. Generally, the Courts will go back 1-3 years. The Court has the ability to Order support retroactively beyond three years, but that is usually contingent on the "blameworthiness" of the payor. Applications for Retroactive Support can be made regardless of past Court orders (unless a retroactive claim has been heard for that same time period already) and regardless of previous payments.
