child support payment (after maternity leave)

[Foredeck]

I just spoke to my ex wife after she met with her lawyer to settle our separation agreement.

Her lawyer was full of it is seem or completly clueless.

We have joint custody of our daughter and have been separated for about 9 months.

She went on maternity leave and then was only working part time untill the separation. Therefore her salary last year was a lot lower then currently. Also, she just changed jobs and got a little raise out of it.

Her lawyer says that she is entitled to the full amount of UCCB and CTB which is around 420$ or so per month. She also stated that I should pay her 480$ per month, which is my amount from the charts.

I thought that I was entitled to 6 months of UCCB and CTB plus I'd only pay her the net amount of child support between mine and her number.

She is also considering going for full custody solely for financial reasons. What are the odds that a judge would rule against joint custody and against status quo.

Also, we are fairly amicable (under normal circomstances, not right after talking to lawyers).

Her lawyer's advice was to go to court, she had no chance to negotiate with me. Gee, thanks for the help in helping this move forward peacefully.

[dinkyface]

I wonder if you would be able to enlist a mediator instead of dealing solely thru lawyers. If each of you are dealing only thru lawyers, I think it increases the chances that you become involved in a big conflict involving courts and lots of $$$ - and you will miss the opportunity to communicate and negotiate in good faith. The other advantage of a mediator is that you can both become better educated in what your rights are (according to the family law system), and will be less likely to believe that the other is 'feeding you a line of ***'. And believe, me, your ex's lawyer WILL, WITH 99% CERTAINTY, feed you a line of ***.

See the following Child Support Guidelines (in legalese): CanLII - Child Support Guidelines, O. Reg. 391/97
Note that the basic table amount owing is not affected by the recipient's income - only your income. Your income, as payee, is only considered if the child is with you more than 40% of the time. (sucks, unfair, but that's the system)

I also found the following on child tax benefits:
In some joint custody situations, CRA will pay the CCTB to each parent for 6 months of the year. Documentation of these arrangements are required for the file. Upon request from a CCTB recipient ,CRA can issue a letter verifying that he/she is eligible to receive the CCTB and for what period.
It is preferred by CRA to have the consent of both parents to rotate the CCTB payment, however, it is not absolutely necessary. In situations where there is a disagreement between both parents to rotate the payment, CRA staff will forward a questionnaire related to residency, care and upbringing to both parents and adjust the eligibility based on the replies to the questionnaire.

[Foredeck]

Originally Posted by dinkyface

I wonder if you would be able to enlist a mediator instead of dealing solely thru lawyers.

See the following Child Support Guidelines (in legalese): CanLII - Child Support Guidelines, O. Reg. 391/97
Note that the basic table amount owing is not affected by the recipient's income - only your income. Your income, as payee, is only considered if the child is with you more than 40% of the time. (sucks, unfair, but that's the system)
.

Well, first, her lawyer told her not to bother negotiating with me, it would be a waste of time. She should just go to court, it would be the fastest and easiest way to resolve this. There is only one mediator locally, and they don't have a great reputation yet, which is why I did not go that route first.

We have shared custody. I currently have her about 55% of the time, therefore her salary should be taken into account in the child support guidelines. Right? I actually had her for 19 nights in September, which is 63% of the time.

Also, do we have to wait a year to go to court? I dont feel like invoking adultry in this to speed things up, it'll only make a messy situation messier. So, I'm fine with waiting a year to divorce, but do I have to wait the full year to start court proceedings? I just want to get this behind me.