No. Support orders do not update themselves. Because the 2025 Table updates changed the monthly amounts for many income brackets, your current order may no longer align with the law. You may need to negotiate a new agreement or file a “Motion to Change” to bring your payments in line with the current 2026 standards.

Section 7 expenses are “special or extraordinary” costs that go beyond basic food and shelter. Common examples in the GTA include:

• Childcare (daycare or after-school programs).
• Uninsured medical/dental (braces, therapy, or prescriptions).
• Extracurriculars (competitive “rep” sports, elite music lessons).
• Post-secondary education (tuition and residence). These are typically shared proportionately based on each parent’s income.

Not necessarily. In Ontario, support often continues past 18 if the child is enrolled in a full-time program of education (university or college) or cannot become independent due to illness or disability. Support for “adult children” can be complex, often involving a contribution from the child themselves.

Yes, usually. When a child spends at least 40% of their time with each parent (known as Shared Parenting), the court typically uses a “set-off” approach. The higher-income parent pays the difference between what they would pay and what the other parent would pay. However, the court also considers the increased costs of running two full households.

Absolutely not. In Ontario law, child support and parenting time (custody/access) are treated as two separate rights. You cannot withhold the child as leverage for payment, and you cannot stop paying support because you are being denied time. Both actions can result in serious legal consequences in court.

For business owners, the “Line 15000” on a tax return rarely tells the whole story. As a lawyer, I often work to “impute” income, looking at business deductions (like personal vehicle use or home offices) that should be added back to the parent’s income for support purposes