Child Support for High-Income Families in Calgary
Calgary family lawyer focused on child support, income determination, and special expenses for high-net-worth parents
YOUR CHILDREN'S STANDARD OF LIVING IS WHAT WE PROTECT
Your children are used to a certain lifestyle, and separation should not take it from them. Fair child support starts with understanding the real income of the parties. We make sure the support your children live on reflects what a parent actually earns, not just what a tax return says. Our firm protects your child’s standard of living.
Fair Support Starts with the Facts
How We Can Help with Child Support
It is easy in a separation for parents to agree too quickly on a number for child support, even if this shortchanges the children. This is why, before anything is finalized, we get the real facts: what each parent earns, the actual costs of raising the children, and what each parent is entitled to pay or receive.
Child support in Alberta follows the Federal Child Support Guidelines, which set the monthly amount based on a parent’s income. For a salaried parent, that calculation is straightforward. But when a parent’s income comes from a business, bonuses, or investments, the disagreement is rarely about the calculation. It’s about determining the true income available for support.
Every case is personally reviewed by senior lawyer Christopher Bungay to help ensure child support is based on accurate income information and Alberta law.
Securing What Your Children Are Owed
If you are the parent receiving support, we determine what your children are legally entitled to, make sure the amount reflects your ex-partner’s true income, and pursue it on your behalf.
Ensuring You Pay Only What the Law Requires
If you are the parent paying support, we confirm the amount is based on an accurate picture of your income, so you meet your obligations to your children without overpaying for years to come.
Covering Additional Expenses
School, sports, and other special expenses are separate from basic child support. We determine which costs are shared and how they are divided between the parents.
Enforcing and Adjusting Support
If support is already agreed upon, or court ordered by a judge, we help enforce payment. If your circumstances have genuinely changed, we help you adjust the amount, so support matches what the law requires today.
THE FEDERAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES
How Child Support Is Determined in Alberta
Child support across Canada is governed by the Federal Child Support Guidelines, which set a base monthly amount from a table. That part sounds simple. In practice, several factors shape what you actually pay or receive, and these three carry the most weight. And the Guideline’s amount is only the base, because major expenses like private school and medical costs are shared on top of it.
Child Support Guidelines
The base monthly amount is determined by the paying parent’s gross annual income and the number of children. For straightforward salaried income, the Guidelines give a clear answer
Income Above $150,000
Child Support Guidelines still presumptively applies to incomes over $150,000, but a Court can adjust the amount on income above that threshold if the Guideline’s figure would be inappropriate.
Parenting Time
When children live primarily with one parent, the other party normally pays the full Guideline amount. When parenting time is shared more evenly, support is often a set-off between the two amounts.
YOUR CHILDREN SHOULD NEVER RECEIVE LESS THAN THEY aRE OWED
Child support is your children’s legal right, not a bargaining chip. It cannot be traded away for the family home or a quieter separation, and Courts will not uphold agreements that shortchange the children. An income figure that is wrong does not affect just one payment. It compounds every month, for years, and can be corrected retroactively when the true numbers surface. This is exactly what we help clients get the number right at the start of the divorce process, before it becomes an expensive problem to fix at a later date.
DETERMINING REAL INCOME IN ALBERTA
What Makes High-Income Child Support More Difficult
The Federal Child Support Guidelines assume a parent’s income can be identified fairly easily. For business owners and high-net-worth families, however, determining Guideline income is often far more complex. Common issues include:
- Income retained within a corporation rather than paid as salary
- Dividends, bonuses, and commissions that fluctuate significantly year to year
- Personal benefits run through a business, from vehicles to travel and entertainment
- Trusts and investment structures that generate income without a salary line
- A parent working less than they reasonably could, or arranging their affairs to show less income
When income comes from multiple sources, determining child support requires more than reviewing a tax return. A complete financial picture is essential to ensure support is based on a parent’s true resources, not simply the income they choose to report.
CHILD SUPPORT IN ALBERTA
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the Federal Child Support Guidelines still apply if income is over $150,000?
Yes, the Guideline amount is the starting presumption at every income level. Above $150,000, a Court can depart from the Guideline on the portion of income over that threshold if applying it strictly would be inappropriate. In practice, most high-income cases still follow the Child Support Guidelines, but there is room to argue where the numbers become extreme.
My ex-partner owns a business. What income do they have to disclose?
A parent whose income comes from self-employment, a partnership, or a corporation they control is expected to disclose financial statements and amounts such as retained corporate earnings. Any personal benefits or personal expenses paid through a business can be added back to personal income for determining amounts owing for child support.
Can child support be claimed retroactively?
Yes. If child support was based on understated income, or was never established, a court may award retroactive child support. Awards typically extend up to three years before the paying parent received formal notice, and potentially further where income was concealed, or disclosure was delayed. Because retroactive support is owed to the children, amounts can accumulate quickly once the parent’s true income is determined.
How does shared parenting change child support?
When each parent has the children at least 40% of the time, Courts usually look at the Guideline to determine what each parent would owe. Each spouse’s income is then netted against each other. However, the Guideline is a starting point and is not always the final formula used in determining support that is owing. Courts also weigh the extra costs of running two households in each child’s unique needs and resources when determining final numbers owing for child support.
What counts as an extraordinary expense?
Extraordinary expenses are child care expenses over and above normal amounts. These can include the following:
- Childcare required for a parent's work or education
- Health and dental costs beyond insurance coverage
- Private school tuition
- Post-secondary education
- Extracurricular activities that are extraordinary given the family's income
Whether an expense qualifies depends on the child’s best interests and how the family spent before separation.
Can child support payment amounts change after they are set?
Yes, support amounts can be changed. Support is calculated by looking at current income, not the income a parent earned when support was first determined. Significant changes such as increased or decreased income, altered parenting arrangements, or parental health issues can justify recalculating the amount, upward or downward. Obtaining updated financial disclosure from parents is usually the first step in determining whether support needs to be changed.
Does child support end when a child turns 18?
Not automatically. An adult dependent child who is getting post-high school education may require ongoing child support. Similarly, an adult child who was unable to become self-sufficient because of illness or disability may also require ongoing child support.
My ex-partner is not paying child support. What are my options?
If there is no court order for support in place, we can apply to a Judge and ask that your spouse be ordered to pay child support. If a court order exists and is being ignored, we can help you ensure that Alberta’s Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) collects money owed. MEP can force a spouse to pay support by garnishing wages, accessing bank accounts and tax refunds, and through suspending your spouse’s driver’s license until support payments are made.
How does child support affect my taxes?
In most cases, it doesn’t. Child support is not tax deductible for the parent paying it, and it is not taxable income for the parent receiving it.
Your Senior Lawyer
Christopher Bungay
Christopher has a strong understanding of complex income. Whether income comes from a business, a corporation, investments, or employment, his training at Harvard and Columbia in business analysis and valuation helps him identify a person’s true income. That means child support is based on what your former partner actually earns, not just what appears on a pay stub.