Family Relations Act

CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES REGULATION

[includes amendments up to B.C Reg. 120/98]

Establishment of child support guidelines

1 (1) In this regulation:

"Federal Child Support Guidelines" means the Federal Child Support Guidelines established under section 26.1 of the Divorce Act (Canada);

"Federal guidelines" means the Federal Child Support Guidelines as they apply for the purposes of this regulation.

(2) For the purposes of sections 1 (1) and 129 (2) and (3) of the Family Relations Act, the Federal Child Support Guidelines, except sections 2 (1), (4) (d) and (5), 21 (5), 26 and 27 of those guidelines, are adopted and established as child support guidelines in accordance with this regulation.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a reference in the Federal Child Support Guidelines

(a) to the "Act" is deemed to be a reference to the Family Relations Act,

(b) to "age of majority" is deemed to be a reference to age 19,

(c) to "child" is deemed to be a reference to "child" as defined by the Family Relations Act,

(d) to "child support order" is deemed to be a reference to a maintenance order as defined in section 87 of the Family Relations Act respecting the obligation under section 88 of that Act to support and maintain children, including interim orders to support and maintain children,

(e) to "income" is deemed to be a reference to the annual income determined under sections 15 to 20 of the Federal guidelines,

(f) to the "Income Tax Act" is and remains a reference to the Income Tax Act (Canada),

(g) to "order assignee" is deemed to be a reference to the minister to whom maintenance rights, within the meaning of section 24.1 of the BC Benefits (Income Assistance) Act, section 15.1 of the BC Benefits (Youth Works) Act or section 13.1 of the Disability Benefits Program Act, are assigned under those provisions, and includes any other person, province, state or political subdivision, and any official agency of any other person, province, state or political subdivision, to which an assignment of one or more maintenance rights is made in accordance with legislation in that jurisdiction,

(h) to "spouse" is, except in section 5 of the Federal guidelines, deemed to be a reference to "parent", as defined by the Family Relations Act and, in section 5 of the Federal guidelines, is deemed to be a reference to "person",

(i) in sections 22, 24 (d) and 25 (2) of the Federal guidelines to "other spouse" is deemed to include, without limiting paragraph (h), an order assignee,

(j) to "table" is deemed to be a reference to a federal child support table set out in Schedule 1 to the Federal guidelines,

(k) in section 2 (4) (a) of the Federal guidelines to "interim orders under subsections 15.1 (2) and 19 (9) of the Act" is deemed to be a reference to interim orders for child maintenance under section 9 or 105 (7) of the Family Relations Act,

(l) in section 2 (4) (c) of the Federal guidelines to "orders referred to in subsection 19 (7) of the Act" is deemed to be a reference to orders under section 105 (4) of the Family Relations Act that confirm provisional orders made in a jurisdiction outside of British Columbia,

(m) in section 3 (3) (a) (i) and (b) of the Federal guidelines to "or the amount is to be recalculated under section 25.1 of the Act" is deemed to be struck out,

(n) in section 10 (2) (d) of the Federal guidelines to a "child of the marriage" is deemed to be a reference to a child of both of the parents who are the parties to the application,

(o) in section 14 of the Federal guidelines to "subsection 17 (4) of the Act" is deemed to be a reference to "section 96 (1.1) of the Family Relations Act",

(p) in section 14 (c) of the Federal guidelines to "an order made before May 1, 1997, the coming into force of section 15.1 of the Act, enacted by section 2 of chapter 1 of the Statutes of Canada, (1997)" is deemed to a reference to "an order made before April 14, 1998, the coming into force of section 93 of the Family Relations Act, enacted by section 18 of the Family Relations Amendment Act, 1997, S.B.C. 1997 c. 20", and

(q) in section 19 (1) (a) of the Federal guidelines to "child of the marriage or any child under the age of majority" is deemed to be a reference to "child".

(4) Nothing in this regulation extends the jurisdiction of the Provincial Court and, in particular,

(a) the power of a court to award costs under sections 22 (2), 24 (d) and 25 (7) (a) of the Federal guidelines is a power exercisable by the Supreme Court only, and

(b) the time limits referred to in section 21 (2) to (4) of the Federal guidelines apply to the Supreme Court only, and for the purposes of an application or proceeding brought in the Provincial Court in which the parent who is to provide the documents referred to in subsections (2) to (4) of that section 21 resides in British Columbia, the time limit within which the parent is to comply with the requirements of the applicable provision is 30 days after the triggering event referred to in the applicable provision or such other time limit as the Provincial Court specifies.

(5) These guidelines are in addition to and not in substitution for any court rules prescribed under the Court Rules Act, but if there is a conflict between these guidelines and any court rules, these guidelines prevail.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), it is not a conflict between these guidelines and court rules merely because the court rules

(a) require a person to provide information that is additional to the information that that person would be obliged to provide under these guidelines,

(b) require that certain information that is required by the court rules but not by these guidelines be presented in a manner or form that is different from the manner or form in which information required under these guidelines is to be presented, or

(c) require the provision, in one manner or form, of information some or all of which is required under these guidelines to be provided in a different manner or form.

[am. B.C. Reg. 120/98.]

[Provisions of the Family Relations Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 128, relevant to the enactment of this regulation: section 129]

Copyright (c) 2004: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada