Can You Stop Paying Support If Your Ex Denies Parenting Time in Alberta?

If you pay child support and your ex is blocking your time with your children, it feels deeply unfair. Stopping the payments can seem like the only leverage you have.

Support and parenting time are handled as separate questions, and each has its own process. This article explains why withholding support is risky and what Alberta offers instead. It is general information, not advice on your situation.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Why support and parenting time are separate

Child support exists for the child's needs. It is not payment for time with the child, and time with the child is not a reward for paying. The law reflects this by dealing with them in different provisions. Under the Divorce Act, for example, one provision covers varying support orders and another covers varying parenting orders.

Under the Divorce Act, in making or varying a parenting order the court considers only the best interests of the child, giving primary consideration to the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being. A child should have as much time with each parent as is consistent with the child's best interests. Money disputes between the adults are not what drives that decision.

Why stopping payments on your own is risky

A support order stays in place until a court changes it. Alberta.ca is direct about this: the support amount does not change until the court has made an order. A payor applies for a decrease, and the recipient applies for an increase.

That matters if your file is with the Maintenance Enforcement Program. Under the Family Law Act, the court may vary, suspend or terminate a support order even though it has been filed, for example with MEP. But until that happens, the order is what counts. A payor who simply stops paying risks building up arrears under an order that has not changed. A lawyer can explain what that could mean for you.

What you can do about denied parenting time

The tool built for this problem is a parenting-time enforcement application. You file the Claim – Family Law Act and the Statement – Enforcement of Time with a Child, with a copy of the parenting-time order, at the court that granted it. The court must be satisfied there was a denial of time within 12 months of the application being brought.

The court can order a penalty of up to $100 for each day of denial, and imprisonment up to a maximum of 90 days. It can also direct police to help enforce a visit. These penalties apply only if you apply to the court.

• Keep a dated log of every refused or missed visit
• Save texts and emails showing you asked for the time
• Keep a copy of the parenting order
• Keep paying support as ordered while you pursue enforcement
• Note the date of each denial so you stay within 12 months

If your own circumstances have changed

Sometimes the real issue is that your finances have changed. Alberta.ca says a court may consider changing a child support order when the circumstances of the payor or recipient have changed significantly. Examples include the number of dependent children, a long-term change in employment income, special or extraordinary expenses, and travel or access costs.

Under the Family Law Act, before varying child support the court must be satisfied that a change of circumstances has occurred, or that evidence of a substantial nature not available at the previous hearing has become available. Under the Divorce Act, the court must be satisfied that a change of circumstances as provided for in the applicable guidelines has occurred.

As a payor, you should gather the order, complete tax returns and Notices of Assessment for the past 3 years, and pay stubs or other proof of current income. If you were not married or in a common-law relationship, or no divorce was started, a payor files Claim (Family Law Act) CTS3459, Affidavit of Service – Applicant CTS3513 and Payor's Statement – Vary Child Support CTS3471. If you are divorced or a divorce was started, you use the Court of King's Bench Application to Change Child Support and Arrears plus the Disclosure Statement (RCA11252).

What to do next

• Keep paying support as the order requires until a court says otherwise.
• Document each denial of time and apply for enforcement if it continues.
• If your income or circumstances have changed, gather your financial documents and consider a variation application.
• If you are divorced or a divorce was started, a payor who wants to reduce or cancel arrears uses the Application to Reduce or Cancel Arrears.
• Speak to a family lawyer before changing how you pay.

Frequently asked questions