How to reduce child support payments & an ass kicker of a lawyer needed
 

Given recent change in income, looking for advice and direction as to how one can go about reducing child support and section 7 payments, and what can be done. Joint custody (50/50 time split), 2 kids and there are a few more details that can be discussed in private messages if needed

I think the payments are based on employment history. A sudden drop or lack of employment isn't going to change a thing. Yes, get a lawyer but it'll cost you more than the 100 bux a month you MIGHT have it lowered. Been there done that my friend. Its not good. Jyst keep workin and spend as much time with your kids as you can, money can always be made back if you got a strong back and the right attitude.

thought the payments for 2020 were based on 2019 income

and for 2021 based on 2020 income, others who pay will chime in soon I am sure

so if your income is down or nothing it penalizes you especially if you lose your job in January

more later

Based on income
 

You will have to make due until tax time. Then your income will adjust itself for the year at least.

Lawyer can’t change your income or your payments.

Section 7 can be nasty. Get receipts.

Don’t spend a nickel you don’t have to on lawyer.
Spend the money on your kids.

Wish I had better news for you.

You talk to the lawyer BEFORE you get married.

Lots of guys pay lots of money the kids will never see. Unless they look at moms new outfits.

I think all payments are based on the previous year.

Sorry if I sound bitter. Been dealing with a dead beat mom for almost 14 years.

Thats good advice right there .I havent heard of any court decisions that go in the father's favour .

Got a guy at work going through this right now, probably a lot of folks unfortunately. Buddy made the mistake of working a whack of overtime last year, short staffed so we all did really, but now that COVID has got our industry down to a trickle our staffing levels aren't required as high as last year, so zero OT. His income has dropped by close to 60k this year, he's being killed by the inflated payments from last year, and can't pick up overtime to compensate. Wonder if the year the OT comes back, his wife will be at the lawyers claiming he shouldn't be allowed to use the previous down year to keep payments low when he could obviously afford more due to increased OT.:mad0100:

Man up.

Pay what the directions say.

Been doing it for years.

My advice, invest in your offspring.
Kids remember this stuff...i know i do.

Stupid system. Would be much better system if it was for example, taking 30%(or whatever) straight off of your pay from work each pay period. You make lots, kid(mom) gets lots. You don’t make much, you still pay the same percentage off your pay.
A percentage system instead of set number system.

50-50 split, shared custody and the mom still makes off like a bandit and the dad is forced into the poor house. What a joke.

I’m with Moose on this one. Something like a percentage that changes as employment goes up and down would seem more fair, but I could also see the argument that the other half could not plan anything because they would never know what was to be expected for support.

Crappy situation to be in for sure.

The money isn’t for planning stuff.....it is for bills such as the child’s food, shelter, clothing, school books.......atleast that’s what it’s supposed to be for. But you are right. She would be mad because she’d never know if she was buying T bones one month or blade steak. Lol.

Sorry if I’m bitter on this subject but I have a cousin who works his arse off, sweating and freezing in -40 weather, up to 16 hours a day. He makes good money doing it. 3 kids. Pays 2500 a month. His ex is with a boyfriend for the last few years. He sits at home, drinks beer and not much else. Lives off her income and cousins child support basically. Sad. Maybe I’m just jealous. But it’s obvious she doesn’t need 2500 if she can afford to keep and pay for a boy toy at home too.

The Maintenance Enforcement Program is well meaning and has made a lot of dead beat dads pay up who may not have otherwise. It also robs a lot of fathers of the best years of their lives if payments are established and become untenable. It may be different now but years ago most judges would rule in favor of mothers automatically. You just need to be realistic and on the stingy side when settling. Once done, it's too late to make changes. You can try after tax season, but good luck.
Just keep telling yourself it's all for the kids.

Paid for years. You have no control on how CP is spent.
Mine was always based on previous years tax income and all lawyers did for me was take my money. It's not a fair system but neither is life! I spent as much per month keeping a relationship with my son as I did with CP, worth every penny.
Best of luck with your situation.

Well said....sucks....seen it too many times....but those who put thier nose to,the grind have thier kids come by for birthdays, holidays etc....worth it in the long run.....also seen the kids once they are old enough to legally make the choice who they want to be with often go to the father....hard on a legit father up until then though....wouldn't spend another dime on legal advice as you know how the cards laid out once and that won't change....put the effort into the kids....be positive and don't talk about the mother ever in front of them....that is not thier battle....be nice, be positive and embrace your children....good luck!

Or don’t choose to have kids. Many people see it as a commitment.

This pretty much sums it up! The system is what it is, pay it and get on with life. Im in a bit of a unique situation looking in as my now wife is still dealing with her ex husband and his ever relentless pursuit of trying to get lower child support payments. He has spent more money on lawyer bills than he will ever save in reduced support payments. Stay away from lawyers, they are the winners and your kids are the losers.

Every situation is unique and I think its easy to develop the notion that your ex is living high off your child support payments. But if your kids basics needs are being met (food,Shelter,clothing, school, transportation, utilities, birthdays, Christmas, education savings ETC ETC) then you have to assume your money is contributing to that. Anything your ex does beyond that is really non of your business. If your kids needs are not being met then you need to be pushing for full custody and she can pay you child support.

Dont favor one kid over the other when it comes to section 7 expenses and extra curricular activities. You might think its ok to spend x amount of dollars on hockey and think its ridiculous to spend x amount on dancing classes for the other kid. Trust me your kids dont think that way and they remember things like that.

I know one thing for sure, a lot of wasted time and money could be saved if people could just be civil enough to have reasonable conversations and put the kids first. You'll be far better off in the long run in your kids eyes than the man that fought tooth and nail to save a few bucks.

Easy to say man up and pay the bill until your income cannot support it. A good lawyer will explain if it is worth your time or not. At $350-450/hour they can eat up any potential savings very quickly. There are ways to have it reduced through the courts but much cheaper if you can convince your ex to work with you. For anyone else going through this in the future, try and get to pay less and pay an equalization payment at the end of the year. Makes for a big cheque but it can help avoid some of the swings in income causing money to be spent in lawyers.

Part of manning up is knowing how your pee pee works.:bad_boys_20:

Payments are not necessary static. If your surcumstances have change drastically get a lawyer and go to court . You can plead your case in front of a judge to have the court order changed. I know I have done it. The system is against the father but if you have a situation like job loss or reduction in pay not within your power there is options. Change in court order can address your section 7 as well. I have dealt with MEPS & the useless recalculation program. Dont wast your time talk to a lawyer if you truly have a case. There is hope!

Wondering how you would feel if you read this about 30 or 40 years ago and your Dad was the poster?
Trying to see it two ways, also from the kids perspective!

Are you serious? The measure of a dad is how much they pay? Talk about entitled kids if they judge their father based on how much money he spends on them! Do mothers get judged the same way or just the father?

Can't really blame the system a lot of the times in my opinion (and I paid child support for 10 years).
It is designed to work well if both people are reasonable...and too often one of them (and not always the woman) aren't.
I too have a friend who pays big payments because his wife (who is well educated) purposely stays in no-where, easy, low paying jobs so that his payments far outweigh hers.
I was lucky...my ex didn't try to play the system, has always had a pretty good job so my payments were reasonable.
But there were times when she was unemployed where I had to pay more, to the point of having to put a hold on buying anything not necessary.
But I always had the opinion that none of this was my kids fault...they shouldn't have to suffer because you and the ex don't get alone. They didn't cause your split and as hard as you think it is on you...it's doubly hard on them.
I can get pretty fired up when I see unreasonable spousal payments...but I don't have much sympathy with those that complain about their child support.

When I mentioned “planning stuff” I was thinking along the lines of planning what bills got paid and what got pushed to next month. Most expenses are planned in advanced, at least in my house. How would you know where your finances would be at the end of the month if you didn’t know how much child support you could expect? That’s where I was going with it.

Again, crappy situation all around.

Not every dad wants his support payments dropped just because he wants to pay less. Some are barely making a go of it, or going backwards, while they watch their ex live high on the hog eating those never-ending T-bones.

Tell your friend to look up the 2001 ABCA decision Hunt v Smolis-Hunt.

My ex is purposely underemployed (and well educated).

link would help a lot of folks thanks

Some reading here:

https://macleanfamilylaw.ca/2016/10/...pport-lawyers/