Changing Child Support

Child support payments may need to be adjusted from time to time. This is important to protect the best interests of the child. It also ensures that payment amounts remain fair.

Child support agreements can be changed by agreement of both parties at any time. Child support orders cannot be changed by a new agreement, however. Only a court can change a child support order. If both parties agree about changing a child support order, they can ask the court for a new consent order. If the parties disagree about the change, the court can be asked to decide the matter.

A court will only order a change to child support under certain circumstances. It is helpful for parents to understand the factors a court will consider when asked to decide the matter. This can help them negotiate an agreement or decide to proceed with a court application to change an existing child support order.

A child support order can be changed if:

• in the case where child support is a Table amount, any change of circumstances would result in a different child support order, such as a change in income or parenting time
• in the case where child support is a non-Table amount, there is a change in the means, needs or other circumstances of either parent or of the child

When deciding on the new amount, the court will consider the same factors that are considered when a child support order is first made.

Our laws place a responsibility on both parents to ensure that their children are receiving a proper amount of support. A paying parent does not have a duty to automatically disclose income increases or increase child support payments. However, either parent can request financial information from the other in writing once per year.

A court could also order retroactive child support if the paying parent simply does nothing. A retroactive child support order adjusts the child support payments to what they should have been based on the increased income.

In deciding whether to order retroactive variation of child support, the court will consider factors such as:

• why the other party did not apply to change the child support order earlier
• the behaviour of the paying party, including whether they hid an increase in income from the other party
• the circumstances of the child
• any hardship making or not making the retroactive child support order could cause for the paying parent, the child or the receiving parent

The Child Support Service can be used to recalculate a child support order or agreement instead of going to court. There is no charge for this service. The consent of one parent only is required to use the service. Interim orders as well as final orders can be recalculated. The service cannot be used to recalculate child support payments if any of the following apply:

• the parent paying support has self-employment, farming or rental income
• the income of the parent paying support is $150,000 or more
• a court date has been set to hear an application for child support
• less than six months have passed since the date of the most recent child support order, agreement, recalculation decision, calculation decision or family arbitration award
• the income in the parent paying support was imputed
• the amount of support was not determined based on the Child Support Guidelines
• a parent resides outside of Saskatchewan, unless that parent agrees to use the service
• the person paying support stands in the place of a parent
• the applicant is the parent paying support and they have no income, unless the other parent agrees to a recalculation
• the child support document indicates that the child support amount cannot be recalculated
• the parent wants retroactive payments, arrears or special or extraordinary expenses to be recalculated
• the order or agreement is for a child who is 18 or over unless the Table amount was used

The application form is available online. A copy of the agreement or court order you applying to have recalculated must be included. If you are applying to have an agreement recalculated, you must first file it with the Court of King's Bench. Parties have 30 days to apply to court to vary or suspend the recalculation decision.

A parent who has failed to make child support payments as required may request that a court cancel or reduce the amount owing. The amount owing is referred to as arrears. A request to cancel or reduce arrears is made by an application to vary. The court will only consider this if there has been a significant and long-lasting change that affects the paying parent’s ability to pay child support. The court will then look at:

• the needs of the child
• the paying parent’s ability to pay child support at the time they got behind
• the paying parent’s ability to pay now and in the future
• whether paying the arrears would cause undue hardship to the paying parent
• any explanation regarding a delay in asking for relief from arrears
• any unexplained delay in enforcing arrears that would prejudice the paying parent

Sometimes, a court order or an agreement will clearly indicate the point at which child support will no longer be payable. Other times, the order or agreement may not state when it ends or will simply say it will continue as long as the child remains a child. In these cases, it will continue in effect after the child has turned 18 if the child is unable to support themselves. This could be because of something like a disability or full-time attendance at school.

In these situations, the Maintenance Enforcement Office will generally continue to collect support payments after the child turns 18. However, they will require adequate proof of the ongoing dependency of the child. If the parties disagree about whether child support is still required to be paid, the paying parent may need to apply to court to have the order changed.