Child support in Nova Scotia
Parents must provide financially for their children. When parents are no longer together, one parent pays child support — regular payments that cover their share of the child's expenses.
Generally, the parent who spends the least time with the child is expected to pay support. If each parent spends at least 40 percent of the year with the child, typically, the parent with the higher income is expected to pay support.
Nova Scotia courts use Canada's federal child support guideline to determine child support amounts.
The parent who pays support is the payor, while the other parent is the recipient.
Estimating child support
There are a few ways to estimate your child support payment.
- Use the calculator above.
- Find your number of children and the payor's annual income (rounded to the nearest $100) on Nova Scotia's Child Support Table.
- Use Canada's Child Support Table Lookup tool.
If you have shared or split parenting time, make sure to use the calculator above. The other two options assume one parent has more than 60 percent of parenting time.
The court may approve the addition of special expenses (e.g., childcare expenses) if necessary for the child.
Depending on the details of the case, there may not be any support owed if both parents' incomes and amount of time with the child are similar.
Getting a child support order
The Nova Scotia Family Law website lists all the forms you'll need to apply for child support.
Instead of using those forms, you can agree on a support amount with the other parent, then draft an agreement for both parents to sign in front of a witness. If the amount differs from what's recommended in the Child Support Table, you'll need to explain why. You have the option to register your agreement with the court so that it becomes legally enforceable.
Paying child support
The payor can pay support through the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) or pay support directly to the recipient if they have not enrolled in the MEP.
Enforcing child support
The MEP manages child support payments in Nova Scotia. You can enroll in the MEP if you have a court order or an agreement registered with the court. The MEP will collect and distribute support payments to the recipient and keep a record of payments. They can penalize the payor should they miss payments.
If you do not enroll in the MEP, you can keep track of support payments you make or receive on your own. Be sure to include details like check numbers to verify the payments. If payments are missed, contact a lawyer to figure out your options.
You cannot restrict the other parent from exercising their parenting time with the children if they miss support payments. Likewise, you cannot withhold support payments if the other parent is restricting parenting time.
Recalculating child support
If you qualify, you may enroll in the Administrative Recalculation Program to get a yearly review of your child support amount. This can save you the trouble of going back to court to modify support.
Alternatively, you can ask the court to modify your support order if there has been a major change in the child's or either parent's circumstances (e.g., loss of income).
Keeping track of payments and expenses
Whether you're paying or receiving child support, the Custody X Change app can help you keep track of support payments and child-related expenses.
Log details of every payment or expense into your parenting expense tracker to ensure you're on time and paid up.
When you're owed money for expenses, share an expense report with the other parent — either digitally or on paper. This is just one way Custody X Change makes co-parenting simpler.