With Parenting Arrangements in British Columbia, the law focuses on the best interests of the child. Parenting arrangements are required to focus on a child’s safety, stability and overall well-being. These issues shape your child’s daily life and future opportunities. We believe the best decisions come from being informed and supported, so we provide clear explanations and guidance every step of the way.
Child support is a child’s legal right and ensures that children benefit from the financial resources of both parents. The amount of child support is determined under British Columbia’s Child Support Guidelines and Federal Child Support Guidelines, which set out clear rules for calculating support.
The amount of support is usually based on the “table amount”, which refers to tables attached as Schedule 1 to the Federal Child Support Guidelines. The tables calculate support based on the province of residence of the payor, the income of the payor, and the number of children.
The Guidelines are complicated and have special rules for different situations. For example, the Guidelines have special rules for split parenting time (when there are two or more children, and each parent has the majority of parenting time with one or more children), and shared parenting time (when each parent has 40% or more of parenting time with a child).
Special or extraordinary expenses under section 7 of the Guidelines can be added to the basic table amount. These may include things like childcare costs, health-related expenses (such as orthodontics or counselling), private school or special education programs, post-secondary education, and extracurricular activities.
Because the Guidelines are complex and each family’s situation is different, it’s important to get advice tailored to your circumstances
Guardianship, which is a legal status towards a child. A person must be a guardian in order to have decision-making responsibilities or parenting time. By default, guardians share responsibility for making important decisions about a child, unless a court order or agreement says otherwise.
Every family is unique. Some parents are able to agree on flexible, cooperative arrangements, while others need more structured schedules to reduce conflict. When judges are asked to decide parenting arrangements, they consider many factors, such as a child’s needs, the ability of each parent to provide care, and any history of family violence.
Decision-making responsibilities or parental responsibilities, which refers to the responsibility for important choices about a child’s health, education and upbringing.
Parenting time, which describes where a child lives and how their time is shared between parents.
