Executive Summary
In 2022, the Department of Justice Canada circulated the National Family Law Surveys to lawyers and judges across the country to collect current data on the characteristics of child support cases handled by family law practitioners in Canada. In total, 417 lawyers and 109 judges responded to the survey.
Characteristics of child support cases
- Almost 9 in 10 judges reported that one or both parties were unrepresented in at least half of their child support cases.
- Most lawyers and judges reported that disputes over child support occurred in at least 50% of their cases. The most common disputes involved lack of compliance with income disclosure obligations and challenges with income determination.
- Two in three lawyers reported that, where available, less than a quarter of their clients sought a recalculation service.
Characteristics of shared parenting time cases
- Over half of lawyers and judges reported that less than 50% of their cases resulted in shared parenting time.
- One in three lawyers and one in four judges reported that disputes related to the determination of child support usually or almost always occurred in shared parenting time cases.
- Most lawyers and judges reported that the most litigious issue in shared parenting time cases was getting parties to agree on the type of parenting time arrangements.
- About half of lawyers indicated that they most often used a set-off amount with their shared parenting time cases without special or extraordinary expenses.
- Lawyers used the set-off amount in most shared parenting time cases. The most common exception occurred when there was a large income disparity or different standards of living between two households.
- When asked which child-related expenses were most often paid for by one parent in shared parenting time cases, lawyers reported that these were expenses related to clothes and personal care items, while judges reported that these were expenses related to school, electronics and sports.
- In shared parenting time cases, child-related expenses were often not added to the monthly child support amount. Instead, these expenses were most often shared by both parents as they were incurred or paid for by one parent.
Special or extraordinary expenses
- Most lawyers and judges reported that special or extraordinary expenses were often requested in their cases and that these were difficult to settle.
- According to both lawyers and judges, the most frequently requested special or extraordinary expenses were extraordinary expenses for extracurricular activities and medical and insurance premiums.
- According to both lawyers and judges, the types of special or extraordinary expenses that were the most difficult to settle were extraordinary expenses for extracurricular activities and post-secondary education expenses.
Income disclosure
- Most lawyers and judges reported that challenges with initial income disclosure obligations arose frequently.
- Many lawyers and judges reported that parties being self-employed and getting access to parties’ financial information were the two most common challenges with initial income disclosure obligations.
- More than three-quarters of lawyers and judges reported that a party’s non-compliance with ongoing income disclosure obligations was an issue in their cases.
- The most common ways that parties did not comply with ongoing income disclosure obligations were by refusing to provide financial information (judges) or providing incomplete or improper disclosure (lawyers).
- Most judges indicated that a disclosure order was likely to be awarded when a party did not comply with income disclosure obligations. Once the order was made, over half of lawyers indicated that the obliged party was likely to comply.
- Many judges reported that when a party did not comply with income disclosure obligations, their income was likely to be imputed.
Income determination
- Most lawyers and judges reported that disputes related to income determination occurred at least half of their cases.
- In child support cases, it was most challenging to determine income in cases where there was income from tax dividends or capital gains, irregular income patterns, and/or self-employment or cash income.
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