Understanding Child Support
Divorces and separations are difficult enough. That when there are children in the relationship, that can make a difficult situation even harder. However, parents need to keep in mind that what’s in their children’s best interest should be at the Forefront of their mind, so that they can end up with a child custody and a child support agreement that is in their child’s best interest.
Parents need to understand that even if they think they are putting their children’s needs first, they often are acting out of their own fear of losing their children. Not only do they need to learn how to set that aside, but they needed to know how to work together for the best interest of the child. This might be difficult, especially as a lot of the reasons why marriages break down is because the parents are no longer getting along well together. However, if they set aside their children’s best interest, as the most important thing, they can often come up with an agreement that will help ensure that their children are protected.
What are the first things thatparents needs to do is determine if they have dependant children as defined by law. While many people think this is typically the age of majority, this is not necessarily true. Children can be considered dependents in the marriage if they also are going to post-secondary, or if they are unable to withdraw from the charge of their parents due to a disability or an illness. Taking into consideration if they have a dependant child, and how long their children are going to be dependant is an important determining Factor.
Something else that parents will need to take into consideration is who the children are going to live with. The custody of the children is going to determine what’s the child support payments are going to be. Therefore, parents needs to think of this first, before they can start talking about child support payments. More and more, parents are deciding to share custody of the kids, which means they are going to have the children for either 40, 50 or 60% of the time. Anything different than that, such as 30 or 70 is considered sole custody.
Parents that have a shared custody agreement are often able to come up with child support payments that are outside of the federal guidelines. However, parents need to also take into consideration that when it comes to sole custody, they are not allowed to come up with child support Arrangements outside of the federal guideline. Therefore, parents need to understand this very clearly when they are there Parents that have a shared custody agreement are often able to come up with child support payments that are outside of the federal guidelines. However, parents need to also take into consideration that when it comes to sole custody, they are not allowed to come up with child support Arrangements outside of the federal guideline. Therefore, parents need to understand this very clearly when they are make their agreements.
Child Support Mediation
It can be very difficult as well as emotionally overwhelming to navigate child support and child custody agreement. However, a quarter of all marital breakdowns including separations and divorce end up with children under the age of 18 being involved. The recommendation is for parents to ensure that parenting their children during this marital breakdown should be the top priority of both parents.
Even though most people are concerned about losing their child, either to the other parent, or to another person who may have come into their child’s lives. However, Miller Boileau suggest setting those fears aside, because parents will be able to have a healthy relationship with their child, as long as they are able to ensure that both parents get through this situation as amicably as possible. Therefore, the child’s best interest should always be put first.
The best possible outcome regarding child custody is whatever decision is in the best interest of their child. Parents can often get so caught up in their own conflicts, that they don’t see how this is negatively impacting their children. Therefore, parents needs to think of their children first, and see how it is affecting the kids. That many parents think that they are hiding their conflict from their children, but the children can see it, and are greatly affected by it. How they perceive the parents during this time will determine how well children get through the situation, and how they are going to be able to cope as adults.
If parents end up not being able to come to an agreement, Miller Boileau suggest that they try mediation or collaboration. Regardless of how they come to the decision, the last thing that any parents should do, is relinquish their rights for the courts to decide. Any agreements that parents can come up with is going to be better than a court-appointed decision. Although courts will always act in the best interest of the children. Who better than the parents of those children to determine what the best outcome is? Therefore, parents need to ensure that they come up with any agreement, because any agreements is better than having a stranger figure out what’s in the best interest of their children.
It’s very important that parents remain in control of their emotions and work together to figure out what’s in the best interest of their child. This may mean setting aside differences until they have figured out the child custody and child support agreement that they are going to adhere to. But once they’ve come this agreement, they can rest assured that they are working in their kids best interest, and coming up with a plan that will ensure that their children will remain completely supported by both parents. When parents do this, they will be able to ensure that their child’s welfare is being looked after, not just now, but well into the future.
Early in her legal practice, influenced by her late uncle who was a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench, Marla Miller, K.C. became a Family Law Mediator. She has been helping families through mediation for over 30 years. In 2001 she, along with Pierre Boileau, K.C. and others, was one of the founding members of the Association of Collaborative Professionals (Edmonton). She has been an active volunteer with that Association ever since.
One of the first Family and Divorce Lawyers in Edmonton to make a commitment to give up litigation as an option, Marla remains passionate about helping her clients settle outside of court by finding agreements that meet their needs and interests. As both a Registered Collaborative Family Lawyer and a Registered Family Mediator, Marla is one of the most experienced family Mediators in Edmonton.