What statutes apply to child support? What is an application for child support?

A number of provisions in the Ontario Family Law Act and the Canada Divorce Act govern child support. The Statutes, along with the Guidelines, designate who may bring an application for child support, what court can hear such an application, who can be held responsible for the payments, and how soon child support cases should be heard. As you will already know from this website, a child support claim may be filed as a separate application or it may be combined with an application for divorce or custody. As you have also learned, the issue of child support may be settled by private agreement, thus avoiding the necessity of going to court unless one party needs the assistance of the court in enforcing such an agreement. In order to obtain support, you have to file an application (Form 8 ) along with a financial statement (Form 13). Section 33 of the Family Law Act empowers the court to make a determination tat support is required and to order the amount of support to be paid.