Family Law Module 5

Front 1

Both the Divorce Act and the Family Law Act contain provisions relating to child support. The Divorce Act is used for situations where: 2

Back 1

The parents of the child are married and a divorce proceeding has been commenced; or

The parents were married, the divorce proceeding has been concluded, but child support needs to be reviewed because of a change in the circumstances of the parties or the children.

Front 2

The Divorce Act uses ______ and the Family Law Act uses the ______. Both sets of guidelines work the same way. Accordingly, the calculation of child support is generally the same regardless of which statute is being used. However, there is a slight difference in the definition of “child” under these statutes.

Back 2

the Federal Child Support Guidelines

Alberta Child Support Guidelines.

Front 3

The Divorce Act uses the phrase _______ and defines it as follows:

Back 3

child of the marriage

Front 4

The phrase “other cause” has been interpreted by the courts to include the situation where the child is attending school on a full-time basis. On this basis, the courts typically order child support to be paid under the ______until the child _______.

Back 4

Divorce Act

attains his or her first post-secondary degree or diploma.

Front 5

The Family Law Act’s definition of child is similar to the Divorce Act definition in relation to a child under the age of majority, but is a little different for a child over the age of majority. Under the Family Law Act, child support would end at the specific age of ______ in the situation where ________.

Back 5

22 years

the child is over the age of 18 years but attending school on a full-time basis.

Front 6

The Federal Child Support Guidelines and the Alberta Child Support Guidelines outline how child support is to be calculated and what information must be used in determining each parent’s income for the purposes of calculating child support. To discover what a parent’s income is and, ultimately, what their support obligation will be, it is necessary to obtain ______. Without _______ it would not be possible to calculate child support.

Back 6

financial disclosure.

financial disclosure

Front 7

______ is the production and exchange of documentation that proves what each parent earns, owns, and owes. This information provides the basis for all financial agreements and Orders between the parents, including support for the children, support for each spouse, and the division of property between the parents.

Back 7

Financial disclosure

Front 8

The starting point for obtaining financial disclosure is the ______ (used for proceedings in the Court of ______) and the ______ (used for proceedings in the ______). The objective of both is to promote financial disclosure and to facilitate an exchange of information on a timely basis.

Back 8

Notice to Disclose

Queen’s Bench of Alberta

Request for Financial Information

Provincial Court

Front 9

A Notice to Disclose is used in the Court of Queen’s Bench to obtain _______ prior to proceeding with a claim for child support, spousal support, or division of matrimonial property. The full name of this document is Notice to Disclose/Application because it is actually two documents in one, as follows:

Back 9

financial disclosure from the other parent

1. A Notice to Disclose, which requires the opposing parent (the Respondent) to provide specific financial information to the requesting parent (the Applicant) within one month of being served with the document; and

2. An Application, which sets up a Chambers date and provides for consequences if the Respondent does not provide the financial documentation requested.

Front 10

As noted earlier, financial disclosure is necessary not only for the calculation of child support but also to address issues of _______. For this reason, a _____ is routinely used on every family law file that proceeds through the Court of Queen’s Bench.

Back 10

spousal support and division of matrimonial property

Notice to Disclose

Front 11

The Request for Financial Information works the same way as the Notice to Disclose in that it compels the Respondent to provide a wide variety of financial information or documentation within one month of being served with the Request for Financial Information. However, one difference is that the Request for _______ This does not mean that the Provincial Court will not respond to a situation of non-disclosure—the Provincial Court will address the situation of non-disclosure when the Applicant _____. At this time, the Provincial Court may:

Back 11

Financial Information does not have a built-in application to cover the potential of non-disclosure by the Respondent.

continues on with their application for child or spousal-partner support

Front 12

Simply put, the total amount of child support to be paid by the paying parent is:

Back 12

The paying parent’s table amount + The paying parent’s share of special expenses

Front 13

Guideline income

Back 13

Gross annual income from all sources

Front 14

6 categories of special expenses

Back 14

Child care

Medical

Not covered

I

Front 15

_______3 are not included as income when calculating guideline income. If a person is on social assistance, guideline income is calculated using the amount _____, not _____.

Back 15

GST student loan child tax benefit

a single person receives

the total family amount

Front 16

It is important to note, however, that there is a limitation period for the filing of a matrimonial property action that is related to the separation or divorce date of the parties. Under the Matrimonial Property Act, an action for a Matrimonial Property Order must be commenced _______. That is, unless an action has been commenced for a Divorce Judgment, in which case the limitation period would expire ______. It is critical to be aware of this limitation period in the situation where the matrimonial property action is not commenced at the same time as the divorce action.

Back 16

within two years of the date of separation

two years after the date of the Divorce Judgment

Front 17

Section 7(2) of the Matrimonial Property Act identifies five types of property that are exempt from distribution:

Back 17

two years of the date of separation________. That is, unless an action has been commenced for a Divorce Judgment, in which case the limitation period would expire two years after the date of the Divorce Judgment. It is critical to be aware of this limitation period in the situation where the matrimonial property action is not commenced at the same time as the divorce action.

two years of the date of separation

Front 18

Section 7(2) of the Matrimonial Property Act identifies five types of property that are exempt from distribution:

Back 18

Gift from the third party

Inheritance

Prior to marriage

Proceeds of insurance

Damage in tort in favor of a spouse

Front 19

Section 7(3) of the Matrimonial Property Act identifies four types of property that are subject to an equitable distribution:

Back 19

1. increased value on exempt property;

2 2. income from exempt property or property purchased with income from exempt property;

3. property acquired after divorce; and

4. gifts from the other spouse.