Unilateral increase in CS?

[Newbie dad]

It was suggested at a DRO hearing that I should be paying CS based on current income voluntarily before a court order for the same or I would be going to court with ' dirty hands' and it might work against me. Does that make sense? I'm not disputing CS will increase but I had thought one would wait till an order was issued - there should be a decrease in SS (to 0) that will entirely offset the CS increase, so I'd rather wait.

[StillPaying]

I don't think it'll matter much either way. The thing to remember though is that child support is guaranteed; so it'll change with your income and it's supposed to happen without the need of a new order. If your income went up, then you'll have more control doing it now before an order.
Spousal support is different, with no guarantees. If you have an order with a specific date that it should be reviewed/changed, and that time is now, only then I'd hold off on updating child support. In that case, most likely the changes will offset each other and you'll be paying about the same regardless. If there's not a specific date, then you may be better off updating cs now and going into court with clean hands in the hope they'll have sympathy on you towards ss.

[rockscan]

Yes it makes sense. CS is independent of SS and should be updated based on income. Spousal changes would need a new order and may not be guaranteed. DRO advised you to update to show you understand and follow the FCSG. A judge won't like that you made a decision on SS and “punished” the kids.

You can ask that an overpayment be recovered through reduced cs in a new order but the judge has to make that order.

[donaldD]

What the DRO stated does not sound right and voluntarily giving the money without an order is stupid. If you make an error and pay too much you are stuck and it will be used against you and getting that money back will be a struggle or impossible.

If both parties have done their financial disclosure then one party provides the other one with an agreement to change Child Support based on the new calculations. Ultimately that obligation rests with the person receiving the child support.
Make an offer to change child support yourself.....you don't have to but if you make the offer then you are safe and if the other party presses for a motion you have an entitlement to costs.

Someone has to provide the other with a consent or fill out the form for changing child support and offer it to the other.
Payment is required to be both ways if both parents are eligible to claim the child as a dependent.
So, if you want to claim the dependent credit have the order state that parent A is obligated to pay parent B and vice versa; Any mention of net payment amount will result in the CRA denying the credit to the person paying the most amount of Child Support.


Spousal support is definite if the court order states that it is definite. Check this but I believe that if your ex earns within 30% of what you make then no SS is due.