Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children

1. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children ECMC54 Prof. Gordon Cleveland

2. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children Presented by: Kristina Valentini Kristina Vittas Lori Maassarany

3. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • What is Custody? • the physical control of the parents or guardians over the child • the right of the parents or guardians to determine the child’s: • Education • Healthcare • Religion • Overall Well-being

4. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Relevant Objectives of Family Law Act (Ontario) and Federal Divorce Act: • to encourage and strengthen the role of the family • to ensure a fair and orderly settlement when partnerships end • to ensure the sharing by parents of responsibility for their children

5. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Types of Custody: • Sole Custody • Joint Custody • Shared Custody • Split Custody

6. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Who Gets Custody? • Until decided in court both parents have equal rights to custody of their children • Court’s decision based on child’s best interests

7. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Federal Child Support Guidelines • Objectives: • to establish a fair standard of support for children • to reduce conflict and tension between spouses by making the calculation of support more objective

8. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • How is Child Support Calculated? • the number of children • the province or territory where the child’s paying parent lives • the paying parent's gross annual income

9. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children

10. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • How is Child Support Calculated (cont.)? • For income higher than $150,000, a different calculation is used:

11. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Who pays Child Support? • Non-custodial parent • A person who “stands in the place of a parent”

12. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Affect on Family Decision-Making: • Support Recipients (Spouse and Child) • Monthly lump-sum payment adds to “unearned” income • Affects hours of work versus hours of “leisure” decision • Affects spending decisions, i.e. private schooling versus public schooling

13. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Affects on Family Decision-Making: • Payer of Child Support • Individual has less income each month due to payments • Affects hours of work versus hours of “leisure” decision making • Non-custodial parent, therefore spending decisions are affected

14. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Criticism of Policies • Criteria to determine the “best interest of the child”, while considered universal, varies with each situation • Sole custody is awarded to the mother or female parent in a large number of cases

15. Family Law as it affects Custody & Financial Responsibility for Children • Are the objectives being achieved?