It is important to have an agreement or court order for child support. Just as important though, is that the agreement needs to contain the necessary details to make it enforceable.

A standard child support agreement should include the following elements:

• The names of the payor and the recipient
• The Guideline income of the payor
• The names and birthdates of each child covered in the agreement
• The amount of support
• The effective start date for support payments
• The frequency of payments (e.g. 15th of every month)
• The date of the month the payment is due
• Form of payment (cheque, direct deposit, etc…)
• The duration of the agreement.

In order to be enforceable an agreement for special expenses must also include:

• The name of the child the expense applies to
• The nature of the expense
• The payor’s share of the net expense, preferably in dollars and cents

Exchanging Financial Information

Under the FLA, both parties have a duty to disclose financial information. They must provide to the other party full and true information for the purposes of resolving a family law dispute. 

The most common financial information exchanged includes: 

• Personal income tax returns for the past 3 years, including work from other countries as well as notices of assessment and reassessment;
• The most recent statements of earnings from their employer;
• Financial statements from the spouse’s business or professional practice if spouse is self-employed; and
• Most recent statement of income from employment insurance, social assistance, workers compensation or disability payments.

Agreements or orders that address child support and spousal support generally refer to ongoing financial responsibilities. It is important that each parent has in their records and understands the details of any and all agreements or orders that address support.

Child Support Enforcement

The provinces and territories are primarily responsible for child support enforcement. Each province and territory has its own maintenance enforcement program. The British Columbia Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA) is a service established by the provincial government to help parents receive their child support payments. They can also collect and track payments. 

To receive help from an enforcement program, a parent must register a child support order or agreement with the program. If child support is not paid, the program can use a number of methods to enforce the order. 

If you enroll in the BCFMA program , all support payments go through them. Staff will monitor your child support payments and enforce the court order if payments are late or unpaid. FMEP staff will contact the non-paying parent and arrange for payment to be made. There is no cost to enroll and there is no time limit when a parent can file their child support agreement or order. When necessary, BCFMA has the power to take wages, make financial agreements that can’t be broken, and take other legal action to get payments on behalf of the children.