Child Support
& Custody
Child Support
Under Ontario family law, a child has the right to child support from both parents, regardless of the nature of the parents’ relationship. If you are no longer in a relationship with your child’s mother or father, you may still have an obligation to pay child support.
At Abiola Adeusi Professional Corporation, we have provided advice to countless parents regarding their rights and obligations surrounding child support. Therefore, we can help you answer questions such as:
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Who pays child support and why?
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My ex earns a large income and can afford to pay for the child’s needs; why should I pay her or him anything?
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How much support will I have to pay, and for how long?
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I’ve been paying support for my child for the past 10 years; when can I stop?
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The mother/father of my child was supposed to be paying child support to me since last year, and they haven’t paid anything. What can I do?
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I was never in a relationship with the baby’s mother and made it clear that I didn’t want the baby. Am I exempt from paying child support?
At Abiola Adeusi Professional Corporation, we help our clients address these and other difficult child support questions by:
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Determining your goals regarding child support, and advising you of the appropriate child support amount for your child or children
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Regularly corresponding with you to obtain updates and provide you with the status of your case
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Negotiating on your behalf with the other party or his or her lawyer
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Where negotiations fail, completing your court documents on your behalf and meeting with you to review them
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Filing your application in court and representing you at every stage of the
court process -
Helping you enforce your former spouse’s child support obligation
The Federal Child Support Guidelines provide a starting point for determining how much child support is paid. The base amount to be paid is determined by the paying parent’s income as well as the number of children to be supported. This amount is intended to help pay for the child’s basic day-to-day necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter. The Guidelines take into account that the person with whom the child primarily resides will have to incur daily living expenses. Therefore, the parent who does not have the child living with him or her most of the time will generally be the parent paying support to help defray these costs.
What if both parents have the child for an equal amount of time? In these situations, the Guideline amount of support is calculated for each parent, and the parent who earns more money would pay the difference in these two amounts to the other parent. The rationale behind this is to maintain a somewhat equal standard of living for the child in both homes.
In addition to the base amount of child support that is paid on a monthly basis, there are many other expenses that will arise as a child develops and grows. These include things like extra-curricular activities, braces, medical expenses, daycare, tutoring, and post-secondary education, among others. The general rule is that these expenses are shared between the parents in proportion to their incomes. However, parents may decide on any arrangement that they consider equitable.
If you need assistance determining whether you should be receiving child support for your child or collecting your support from the other parent, or if you believe that you should no longer be paying child support, we are here to help. Our goal is always to resolve your family law issue in a cooperative and informal manner. However, where informal negotiations do not work, our lawyers will employ their litigation experience to advance your interests through the court process.
Child Custody & Access
When parents are going through a separation or divorce, some of the most difficult decisions that need to be made are those concerning the children. Who will the children live with? Who will have custody? What happens if the parents cannot agree?
At Abiola Adeusi Professional Corporation, our focus is exclusively on divorce and family law, so we are experienced in answering these and other difficult questions regarding the impact of separation and divorce on children. We strive to help clients arrive at parenting arrangements that will place the children’s best interests first.
Legal Aspects of Child Custody and Access
Ontario divorce and family law recognizes that children often benefit from having maximum contact with both parents. Where appropriate, parents should share in the parenting decisions related to their children, as well as the time spent with their children.
In some circumstances, parents wish to maintain joint custody and make decisions regarding their children jointly, but decide that it would be in the child’s best interests to have the child live primarily with one parent. In these situations, the parent with whom the child does not reside most of the time can foster her or his relationship with the child through “access.” This term simply refers to the time that the other parent will spend
with their child.
Where parents can agree on how to split their time with their child or children, this arrangement can be as detailed or as open-ended as the parties agree. For example, parents may wish to outline which holidays are spent with whom in advance, so that the child does not feel any guilt about having to “decide” the issue when it arises. This can also prevent any dispute as to what is an equitable sharing of the child’s time. Where parents cannot agree on the major decisions involving their children or on how the child’s time should be divided, a court can make an order to provide the parties with a solution.
How We Help You with Child Custody and Access
Should you hire a lawyer? Clients regularly seek our firm’s help to answer questions such as:
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Who is financially responsible for the children?
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Where will the children live?
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My spouse has moved out; can he or she take the children with him or her?
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When will I get to see my children?
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What happens on holidays and special occasions?
The Abiola Adeusi Professional Corporation team is dedicated to helping clients achieve the most appropriate resolution to their family law problems, both through informal discussions and through representing our client’s interests in court. Our lawyers and law clerks will help you by:
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Determining your goals regarding child custody and access and providing you with options on how to achieve these goals
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Regularly corresponding with you to obtain updates and provide you with the status of your case
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Negotiating on your behalf with the other party or his or her lawyer
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Drafting an agreement to outline the terms of your custody arrangements, including any detailed schedules for access that the parties have negotiated
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Where negotiations fail, completing court documents on your behalf and meeting with you to review them
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Filing your application in court and representing you at every stage of the
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Taking the necessary steps to have your agreement or court order regarding custody and access enforced
We know that the breakdown of a relationship is a difficult time for all parties involved. Therefore, we strive to achieve a suitable resolution to the client’s custody and/or access dispute in a friendly and efficient manner.
Don’t delay, contact us today to start formulating an effective parenting plan that work for you, your spouse, and most importantly the children. We offer two convenient locations to serve you: Brooklin, Ontario (serving Durham Region) and Peterborough, Ontario (serving the City and County of Peterborough)