Child Support Change Wizard

Yes. Under the Federal Child Support Guidelines and Ontario family law, an existing child support order can be varied where there has been a material change in circumstances — most commonly a significant change in the payor's income, a change in the parenting arrangement, or a change in the child's status. The change is made by a Motion to Change in the court that made the original order.

No. Support continues for an adult child who remains dependent — most commonly because they are enrolled in full-time post-secondary education. It generally ends when the child completes their education and becomes self-supporting, but the order or agreement should be formally updated rather than payments simply stopped.

No — unilaterally reducing payments creates enforceable arrears, because the existing order remains in force until it is changed. The Family Responsibility Office enforces the ordered amount regardless of informal understandings. If your income has genuinely dropped, seek a variation promptly; courts rarely cancel arrears that built up while you could have applied.

Where each parent has the child at least 40% of the time, section 9 of the Guidelines applies: the usual approach is a setoff — each parent's table amount is calculated and the higher earner pays the difference. That often lowers the net payment, but the court can adjust for the actual costs each household carries.

Annual income disclosure is an obligation, not a favour. On a Motion to Change, the court can order disclosure, impute income based on available evidence, and award costs against a parent who conceals income. Self-employment and cash income situations are common and have established legal tools.

You can bring a Motion to Change yourself, but variation cases turn on financial evidence, the material-change threshold, and Guidelines calculations — areas where presentation matters. Many clients use a lawyer to negotiate a consent variation first, which is faster and far cheaper than a contested motion.