The Survey of Child Support Awards:
Analysis of Phase 2 Data Collected Through January 31, 2002

2003-FCY-4E

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  Prepared by:
   
• Lorne D. Bertrand, PhD
• Joseph P. Hornick, PhD
• Joanne J. Paetsch, BA

Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family

and

Nicholas Bala, LLM

Faculty of Law, Queen’s University

Presented to:

Family, Children and Youth Section Department of Justice Canada

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Justice Canada or the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family.

This report may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Department of Justice, provided that due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced; that the Department of Justice is identified as the source department; and that the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the original report.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
   
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
   
• 1.0 INTRODUCTION
  • 1.1 Background
  • 1.2 Study Approach
     
• 2.0 METHODOLOGY
  • 2.1 Research Design and Procedures
  • 2.2 Data Quality Issues
  • 2.3 Data Analysis Strategy
  • 2.4 Limitations of the Study
     
• 3.0 DESCRIPTION OF CASES
  • 3.1 Source of Child Support Order Information
  • 3.2 Disposition of Order
  • 3.3 Legal Representation
  • 3.4 Issues Dealt with in Orders
  • 3.5 Spousal Support Awards
  • 3.6 Number and Age of Children
  • 3.7 Type of Custody Arrangements
  • 3.8 Access Terms
  • 3.9 Child Support Award Amounts
  • 3.10 Paying and Receiving Parent Incomes
  • 3.11 Determination of Award Amount
  • 3.12 Awards for Children at or Over the Age of Majority
  • 3.13 Award of Special or Extraordinary Expenses
  • 3.14 Undue Hardship Applications
  • 3.15 Variation Applications
  • 3.16 Adherence to Section 13 of the Child Support Guidelines
     
• 4.0 FACTORS RELATED TO CHILD SUPPORT AWARDS
  • 4.1 Relationship between Child Support Award and Table Amount
  • 4.2 Changes in Relationship between Award Amount and Table Amount over Time
  • 4.3 Relationship between Child Support Award Amount and Paying Parent’s Income
  • 4.4 Relationship between Child Support Award Amount and Award of Spousal Support
  • 4.5 Relationship between Child Support Award Amount and Disposition of Case
  • 4.6 Relationship between Child Support Amount and Type of Custody
  • 4.7 Relationship between Paying Parent’s Income and Special or Extraordinary Expenses
  • 4.8 Relationship between Child Support Award Amount and Special or Extraordinary Expenses
     
• 5.0 COMPARISON OF PROVINCIAL/TERRITORIAL DATA
  • 5.1 Type of Divorce Order
  • 5.2 Disposition of Orders
  • 5.3 Legal Representation
  • 5.4 Issues Dealt with in Divorce Orders
  • 5.5 Type of Custody Arrangements
  • 5.6 Child Support Award Amounts
  • 5.7 Award and Amount of Special or Extraordinary Expenses
     
• APPENDIX A: DIVORCE AND THE PROCESSING OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS

LIST OF FIGURES

• Figure 2.1 Percentage of Cases from Each Participating Province or Territory
   
• Figure 2.2 Source Documents Used to Complete Survey
   
• Figure 3.1 Type of Order Under the Divorce Act
   
• Figure 3.2 Issues Dealt with in Court Orders
   
• Figure 3.3 Issues Dealt with in Divorce Orders and Variation Orders
   
• Figure 3.4 Age Breakdown of Children Over the Age of Majority
   
• Figure 3.5 Type of Custody Arrangements (as defined by the Guidelines)
   
• Figure 3.6 Paying and Receiving Parents’ Annual Incomes
   
• Figure 3.7 Percentage of Paying and Receiving Parents with Legal Representation by Annual Income
   
• Figure 3.8 Percentage of Contested Cases by Paying and Receiving Parents’ Annual Incomes
   
• Figure 3.9 How Award Amount was Determined
   
• Figure 3.10 How Award Amount was Determined for Cases Where All Children are Either Under or Over the Age of Majority
   
• Figure 3.11 Percentage of Cases Specifying Special or Extraordinary Expenses Under Section 7 of the Guidelines
   
• Figure 3.12 Percentage of Cases Specifying Special or Extraordinary Expenses Under Section 7 of the Guidelines for Cases with Children Under and Over the Age of Majority
   
• Figure 3.13 Decision of Variation Application by Applicant
   
• Figure 3.14 Percentage of Cases Containing Information Required by Section 13 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines
   
• Figure 4.1 Median Child Support Amounts in Sole Custody Cases by Paying Parent Income and Number of Children
   
• Figure 4.2 Relationship of Child Support Award Amount to Table Amount by Whether Monthly, Annual, or Lump Sum Spousal Support was Awarded
   
• Figure 4.3 Median Monthly Child Support Award Amount by Type of Custody Arrangement and Year of Judgment
   
• Figure 4.4 Percentage of Cases Having Special or Extraordinary Expenses Awarded, by Income of Paying Parent in Sole Custody Cases
   
• Figure 4.5 Median Special or Extraordinary Expenses Awarded per Month by Paying Parent Income for Sole Custody Cases Where Dollar Value Stated for Special Expenses
   
• Figure 4.6 Median Monthly Child Support Award Amount in Sole Custody Cases by Paying Parent Income and Whether Special or Extraordinary Expenses were Awarded
   
• Figure A3.1 The Process of Divorce

LIST OF TABLES

• Table 2.1 Combinations of Source Documents Used to Complete Instrument
   
• Table 3.1 Number of Cases Reporting Most Frequent Combinations of Issues Dealt with in Divorce Orders and Variations
   
• Table 3.2 Type of Access Terms
   
• Table 3.3 Number of Cases Awarding Most Frequent Combinations of Special or Extraordinary Expenses
   
• Table 4.1 Total Child Support Award Amount in Relation to Table Amount by Paying Parent Income in Sole Custody Cases
   
• Table 4.2 Total Child Support Award Amount in Relation to Table Amount by Year of Judgement in Sole Custody Cases
   
• Table 5.1 Type of Divorce Order by Province/Territory
   
• Table 5.2 Disposition of All Orders by Province/Territory
   
• Table 5.3 Legal Representation by Province/Territory
   
• Table 5.4 Issues Dealt With in Divorce Orders by Province/Territory
   
• Table 5.5 Type of Custody by Province/Territory
   
• Table 5.6 Median Monthly Child Support Award Amount and Paying Parent Income by Province/Territory
   
• Table 5.7 Number and Proportion of Cases Having Special or Extraordinary Expenses Awarded by Province/Territory
   
• Table 5.8 Median Monthly Special or Extraordinary Expenses Awarded by Province/Territory
   
• Table A2.1 Types of Courts and Court Titles by Study Site (as of December 2001)

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