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Questions and answers

Whose duty is it to pay for the baby’s needs?

Under the law, parents owe their children a duty of support. This means they have to help provide for regular needs like food, housing, clothing, heating, medication, and even leisure and sports.

This is why when parents do not live together, one will usually have to pay child support to the other. In our little story above, both Ali and Maria will have to contribute to paying for their child’s needs for many, many years!

Can a court order Ali to provide financial support to Maria to assist with her needs?

No. Only couples who are married or in a civil union, or were married or joined in a civil union, have an obligation of support toward each other. This basically means that if the couple separates, one of them can request spousal support from the other to pay for her own day-to-day needs.

Spouses in a de facto (or “common-law”) union, meaning that they live together without being married or in a civil union, don’t have an obligation of support toward each other. Neither do parents who (like Ali and Maria) don’t live together or are not a couple.

So this means that Maria can’t claim spousal support payments from Ali to provide for her own needs.

But be careful – this is a completely separate issue from “child support”! Whether they are married or not, even if they have never been a couple, all parents have an obligation of support toward their children.

Ali is still a minor. Does that mean he won’t have to pay child support?

No, he’s not off the hook just because of his age! If Ali’s name appears on the baby’s act of birth or if he behaves as though he is the child’s father, he will be considered a parent and will have to chip in for everything that’s needed for the little one - formula, jumpers, crib, bottle, 4X4 stroller, one million diapers, pacifier, stain-resistant bibs, you name it!

Many people mistakenly believe that a father can escape his child support obligations simply by refusing to sign the act of birth or neglecting to get involved with the baby. That’s just not true at all. Obviously, if Ali refuses to help out, it’s going to make it harder for Maria to get his share. But she can take him to court to seek a paternity judgment and, if a DNA test supports it, establish that her ex did in fact father the little tyke.

Obviously, Ali’s parents or grandparents are free to help out financially if they want to, but there is no legal obligation to do so on their part.

How much child support will Ali have to pay?

Child support is calculated on the basis of the parents’ resources and the children’s needs, so the amount differs from case to case. The amount is determined using a form filled out by the parents that outlines things like their income, specific child-rearing costs, etc.

Let’s say that Maria goes to court asking for child support. Ali will then be ordered to contribute to the child’s needs depending on his financial situation at the time that the court examines Maria’s request. Since he is working part-time as a supermarket cashier, the support payments certainly won’t be high. But if one day Ali owns the whole supermarket chain, then he’d have to make higher child support payments.

When does Ali’s child support obligation end?

A parent generally has to pay support until his child is able to pay for his own needs himself. The obligation of support does not automatically end when the child reaches 18 years of age. In fact, it often continues past that age if the child is not yet financially independent.

For example, let’s say that Ali and Maria’s child eventually goes to university, but can’t yet support himself. In such a case, Ali may have to continue paying support even after their child reaches adulthood.

However, keep in mind that a young adult is expected to make reasonable efforts to gain financial independence. So Ali wouldn’t be forced to support his child’s taste for designer clothes, or pay for his two bachelor’s degrees, three graduate degrees, and private skydiving lessons!

In the case of an adopted child, do the parents have an obligation to support him or her?

Yes. The obligation of support applies as soon as there is a family relationship, called “filiation” between the parent and the child.

There are two types of filiation:

• Filiation by blood, where children are conceived in the usual way, or using assisted procreation (like artificial insemination);
  
• Filiation by adoption.

No matter what the circumstances of the birth, the parents of a child – adopted or not – have an obligation of support to him.

Since Maria is a minor, will her mother have the right to make decisions about the new baby?

No. As the child’s parents, Maria and Ali are the only ones who can make important decisions concerning him.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Maria won’t be open to taking her mom’s advice, food, money and whatever else she offers!