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Child Support
Canadian child support may seem to be a simple issue, as the child support guidelines set out how much child support is payable for a given income and the number of children. But there are numerous disputes that can arise. Behrendt Law Chambers has dealt with these many times before.

Amount of income in dispute
The amount of income someone earns can be in dispute. This is especially so for:

• self-employed people
• people with a significant amount of investment income
• people paid by commission
• people who are paid in cash
• people whose income fluctuates, and
• people paid in non-traditional ways such as through stock option

Company owner only taking low salary
In one case, the wife of Behrendt Law Chambers' client claimed that she had only a modest income, despite being the majority owner of a large company. We showed that the company had profits that it could easily pay out as income to her.

Self-employed professional
In another case, Behrendt Law Chambers showed that his client's wife's income was substantially higher than claimed on her tax return. As a self-employed professional, she had claimed all sorts of deductions. These deductions had to be added back to her income for child support purposes.

Special and extraordinary expenses in dispute
The issue of special and extraordinary expenses can be in dispute. For a family of modest means, the costs of hockey equipment and lessons can be a burden, whereas for a wealthier family, these expenses are common. Behrendt Law Chambers has many times successfully obtained child support to help children get involved in important extracurricular activities.

Child Support Guidelines need not be followed
If a person spends more than 40% of the time with his or her children, then the Guidelines do not need to be followed. Behrendt Law Chambers has successfully obtained lower child support payments for parents who are devoted to their children, and spend a significant amount of time with them.

Child Support Varied
Behrendt Law Chambers' client lost his job. The wife of our client would not agree to a reduction in child support, arguing that our client was intentionally unemployed. We got a court order suspending his client's obligation to pay child support until he found a new job, and reducing the arrears of child support his client owed.