In this video a member of our firm discusses when the child support guidelines apply. If parents go to court to get a child support order, in almost all cases the court must use the Guidelines to set the amount.
This is true whether the order is applied for under:
• the Divorce Act by parents who are divorcing
• the Family Law Act by parents who were never married, or who were married and have separated but are not getting a divorce
The Guidelines must also be applied whenever a parent applies to the court to change any support order, even if it was originally made before the Guidelines came into effect.