Support Obligations for Step-Children
In modern Canadian society re-marriages are not uncommon, and these often result in “blended” families consisting of parents, step-parents, and children from previous unions. In circumstances where those subsequent relationships also break down, the question will arise as to what support obligation a step-parent has toward a child, over and above those of the biological parent.
The initial answer is found in the federal Divorce Act, which imposes support obligations on any divorcing person who “stands in the place of a parent”, even if the person has no actual biological relationship with the child. There is no strict time-limit or bright-line test for when this status is achieved; rather, the Supreme Court of Canada in a decision called Chartier v. Chartier, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 242 (S.C.C.) has set out a number of criteria for assessing whether this test is met, including whether the step-parent:
- intends to treat the child as his or her own;
- provides financially for the child;
- disciplines the child as a parent would; and
- represents to the child, the family, and to the world that he or she is responsible for that child.
Once the test has been met, the step-parent’s obligations toward the child are the same as those arising for children of the new marriage, including obligations relating to support. (And by the same token, in addition to incurring obligations, the step-parent who meets the test also acquires new rights in relation to the child, such as the right to eventually apply for access or for custody of him or her under the Divorce Act.)
There are some important points to know in connection with the step-parent’s obligation to pay support:
- Once a step-parent has met the test of “stand[ing] in the place of a parent”, terminating the relationship with the child does not relieve him or her of the support obligations. In fact, it is not open to either the parents, or the parents and the child, to decide that the step-parent’s support obligations have legally come to an end.
- Nor is there any requirement that the child actually lives with the step-parent; in an Ontario case called Brown v. Laurin [2004] O.J. No. 5233 (S.C.J.), a step-father was ordered to pay support for two children even after they had gone to live with their natural father.
- The obligation to provide support is not contingent upon there being a good relationship between the step-parent and the child.
- A step-parent can become liable for supporting a child even if he or she has not lived with the child’s biological parent long enough to trigger obligations for spousal support.
Once the legal obligation to pay support has been established, there still remains the question of amount: the law is clear that the court has discretion to determine the proportionate share of support to be paid as between the biological parent and the step-parent. There is no presumption that the biological parent will pay more: for example in an Ontario Court of Appeal decision called M. (C.) v. P. (R.) [1997] O.J. No. 156 (C.A.) that Court, having regard to the involvement of each parent in the child's life, ordered the step-father to pay 85 percent of child support, while the biological father was ordered to pay 15 percent.
Finally, the actual dollar-amount of support is usually determined by the federal Child Support Guidelines, which stipulate that the court is to make a child support order against a person standing in the place of a parent in an amount it considers “appropriate”. The law presumes that the Guideline amount should be awarded, unless the step-parent can show otherwise.
The issues relating to step children and support tend to be fact and case specific, and many complicated legal issues may arise. It is strongly recomended that a person faced with the potential of these issues immediately obtain legal advice from a lawyer. You may contact our office and we will be happy to discuss your situation and explain the Law as it relates to your specific case.
(c) Shulman Law Firm Professional Corporation