Family Law Blog

Most people who are getting separated or divorced are dealing with family law issues for the first time. It can be a confusing and daunting task to navigate the family law court registry.

Child support and spousal support are often awarded in family law proceedings. However, it is common for these amounts not to be paid as ordered by the court after separation or divorce.

The obligation to pay child support after separation and divorce is mandated by both Federal and Provincial legislation in Alberta. 

If a person’s income decreases their ability to pay child support should be reflected in this change.

Varying a child support order is a common application after separation and divorce which is often made to reduce the amount of child support being paid. 

A common issue for divorced or separated parents is how child support is supposed to work for children who have turned 18. 

DNA paternity tests now provide the answer to this puzzle fairly quickly and with only a little inconvenience. They have also become relatively inexpensive and the divorce courts have found that the new tests involve little intrusion upon privacy interests.

People hide or manipulate their income for all sorts of reasons. As long as taxes have been around there have been those seeking ways of hiding income. In family law this can be a common issue when calculating the amount of child support or spousal support payable after separation. 

While it is generally best to prevent children from having to give evidence in court after separation and divorce, there must be a way to properly hear the voice of a child.  Here are 8 ways to enter the evidence of a child in family court.

If you have a child support or spousal support order and want to avoid having to deal with your former spouse, the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) can be used to collect support from the paying spouse and distribute it to the recipient spouse.