If you earn more than $150,000 in income per year in income, a straight application of the child support tables may not be appropriate.  Section 4 of The Federal Child Support Guidelines provides for the possibility that if your annual income exceeds $150,000 per year, then the child support tables may result in an amount for child support that the Court feels is “inappropriate” or “unsuitable”. 

If the Court determines that the base calculation results in an amount that is “inappropriate” or “unsuitable”, it will award the regular child support table amount for the first $150,000 of income, and then add an additional amount of support based on the circumstances of each family. 

The Supreme Court case of Francis v Baker is the leading case in this area. In that decision, the Court set out a list of principles to be considered when determining the proper amount of child support for parents who earn more than $150,000 per year. These factors are meant to balance the principles of predictability, consistency, and fairness for the children, while attempting to limit the chance that child support results in a transfer of wealth from one parent to the other. The closer your annual income is to $150,000, the higher the likelihood you will still pay the set table amount.  The further away from $150,000 your income is, the higher the chance the court may consider adjusting base child support. In those cases, the Court will look to child expense budgets to determine an appropriate amount of support for those specific children.  The “needs” of the children in these cases are not the basic necessities of life, but are informed by how the family lived before separation and the financial resources of each parent. 

There are numerous Saskatchewan cases dealing with child support paid by high income earners. Each case is unique in the approach taken to consider all of the circumstances involved. If you have questions about your child support payments please contact our group and we would be happy to discuss this with you.

If you have questions or concerns about your child support obligations, please contact our family law team at www.mckercher.ca/familylawsask.