If you have an order or agreement to pay child or spousal support, you’re expected to pay the support amount until it’s changed or cancelled. This is because every child in BC has a right to child support under the Federal Child Support Guidelines. A parent can’t refuse to pay child support simply because they don’t like the other parent, don’t approve of how the other parent will use the money, or aren’t receiving parenting time or contact.
Out of court options
If you are unable to pay the full amount of support (say because of changes to your employment or financial situation), pay whatever you can and see if you can negotiate a change to the amount with the other person’s agreement. Even if the change to your financial situation is temporary, it’s important that you don’t fall behind in your payments.
If you want help with talking to, or negotiating with, the other person to make changes to your order or agreement without going to court, reach out to a family justice counsellor, mediator, lawyer, or someone at a Justice Access Centre. They can help you work out what’s fair.
Note that there’s also the Child Support Recalculation Service, a free program that reviews Provincial (Family) Court child support orders and filed written agreements. It recalculates (works out again) the amount of child support a paying parent (the parent who pays support) has to pay every year based on updated income information received or requested from them. The amount of support can be increased or reduced. The program is available in limited circumstances.
Make a court application
If the other person doesn’t agree to changing your support payment amount, you can make a court application and ask the court to change or set aside (replace all or part of) your order or filed agreement. The courts can choose to change the amount you pay if the existing arrangement is unfair or is causing you financial hardship.
To change a child or spousal support filed agreement or order, make an application through your local Provincial or Supreme Court registry. You can use the Family Law in BC’s step-by-step guide for changing an order or agreement for help.
It’s a good idea to get legal help before you try change an order or agreement. See the Family Law in BC web page If you’re struggling to pay support for more information. Also helpful is lawyer JP Boyd’s Changing family law order, awards, and agreements involving child support page in his Clicklaw wikibook, JP Boyd on Family Law.
Paying (or not paying) child support doesn’t affect a person’s parenting time or contact with their children. If the parent falls behind or stops paying support, the other parent can’t stop them from seeing the children because of that.