Does Child Support Change With Shared Parenting in Nova Scotia?

If your children are with you close to half the time, you may have heard that child support simply cancels out. Many parents hear this and assume the lower earner will receive the difference. The rule is more careful than that.

This article explains what the 40 percent threshold means in Nova Scotia, what the court considers once it applies, and how it differs from other arrangements. It does not give dollar figures, because they depend on the current table and on your circumstances.

This article covers the law of Nova Scotia.

What the 40 percent rule says

Under section 9 of the federal Child Support Guidelines, and Nova Scotia's matching section 9, a different approach applies where each parent has the child at least 40% of the time over a year. The measure is time across a year, not a single week or month.

Reaching 40% does not set support at zero or at a fixed discount. It opens the door to a closer look at the finances of both homes. Below that threshold, the usual rule applies: the table amount for the payor's province, plus any section 7 amount.

What the court looks at when the rule applies

When the 40% threshold is met, the court sets support by considering three things:

• The table amount for each parent.
• The increased costs of shared parenting.
• The circumstances of each parent and of the child.

This is not an automatic set-off. The court looks at the table amount for each parent together with the increased costs and the circumstances of the parents and the child, so the result is not simply one amount subtracted from the other. Two homes mean two sets of bedrooms, clothing, and travel, and a big income gap between parents may matter too.

Each parent's table amount is based on that parent's annual income, worked out starting from the T1 General 'Total income' line, and the court can look at three years or impute income. So both parents' tax records will likely matter.

Extras still count: section 7 expenses

Shared parenting does not remove special expenses. On request, the court may add amounts for child care, the child's share of medical and dental insurance premiums, health costs above insurance of $100 or more a year, extraordinary school costs, post-secondary education, and extraordinary extracurricular activities. These are shared in proportion to the parents' incomes, after any contribution from the child, and subsidies, benefits, and tax deductions or credits are taken into account.

Shared parenting is not the same as split parenting

People often confuse these. Shared parenting is about time with the same child. Split parenting is where there are two or more children and each parent has the majority of time with at least one child. In that case, the order is the difference between the amounts each parent would otherwise pay.

Even in a shared arrangement, a parent can still raise undue hardship, such as unusually high debts or access costs or duties to support others, but the claim fails if the claiming household would have a higher standard of living than the other.

What to do next

Start by tracking time honestly. The 40% figure is measured over a year, so a calendar of actual overnights is more useful than a rough memory. Divorces and the related support, parenting and property issues are heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division). Where a court application involving children is filed there, the Parent Information Program is mandatory.

• Keep a calendar of actual parenting time across a full year.
• Collect each parent's tax returns for the last three years.
• List the child-related costs in each home, including section 7 items.
• Consider mediation or conciliation, which the Family Division offers.
• Have a lawyer confirm how section 9 may apply to your schedule before you agree to a number.

Frequently asked questions