COVID-19 and Child Support: What Do You Do When You Have Lost Your Job?

COVID-19 and Child Support: What Do You Do When You Have Lost Your Job?

It’s a fact of life that COVID-19 has caused so many changes and disruptions in our lives, including job loss.

More people have returned to their jobs over the last two or three months.

Unfortunately, many people are still unemployed in Ontario as a result of COVID-19.

Can these people decrease their financial burden with their child support obligations during these difficult times?

You can certainly reduce your child support when you have lost your job for any legitimate reason, including losing your job as a result of COVID-19.

The key is that you have a loss in income as a result of your job loss.

You will have to start a court procedure in Ontario called a motion to change.

You state in this motion to change that you have had a significant change in your circumstances.  This significant change in circumstance is the loss of your job.

You need to attach your Record of Employment with your motion to change court materials that shows you were laid off as result of shortage of work.

If you were only laid off for a short period of time and received employment insurance benefits or the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), it might not be worth your time to bring a motion to change since the court the will take into account monies you received from EI or CERB.

You must also attach your last three years’ Notices of Assessment to your motion to change court materials.

When you have shown that you were legitimately laid off as a result of the loss of work, including a loss of work from the COVID-19 crisis, the court will reduce your child support to an amount based on your current level of income, including any benefits yoru are receiving from employment insurance or CERB.

You should also show in your motion to change materials that you are looking for employment that is similar to the type of work you were doing when you were laid off.

If you have any questions about your separation, divorce or family law case and you would like our help, there’s a few ways to contact our office.  You can leave a message on my Facebook law office page or call me directly at 905-434-8837.  We would be happy to speak to you.

Oh, by the way, did you know you can protect your family law rights and get essential information on settling your family law issues with your former spouse with the daily indispensable family law advice and tips at my FREE Facebook group?

Go here to find out more: Durham Region Separation and Divorce Legal Support Group