The federal government passed changes to the Divorce Act that affect the calculation of child support payments for new or revised court orders as of May 1, 1997. This affects parents with child support orders as a result of divorce proceedings.

Many other parents obtain child support under Ontario's Family Law Act. The Family Law Act covers child support cases where parents are separated or where they never married. On December 1, 1997, the Ontario government changed its Family Law Act to reflect the changes to the federal Divorce Act. This provides one consistent method of calculating child support for all Ontario children.

As a result of these changes, all Ontario families will now use the same method to calculate the amount of support for their children. It does not matter whether parents are divorced, separated or were never married.

This information kit is designed to help you understand these changes.

Information materials in this kit provided by the federal government include:

• a pamphlet explaining the Guidelines
• a booklet on how to use the simplified child support tables to determine the amount of child support to be paid
• a guide on the new approach to calculating child support.

Information materials provided by the Ontario government include:

• a series of questions and answers about what is happening with child support in Ontario and a list of important telephone numbers to call to obtain more information
• a form to request a copy of your court order for child support, if you cannot locate your order
• a checklist of new income information required to determine the amount of child support payable under the Child Support Guidelines
• a form requesting the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services (MCFCS) to confirm whether you owe child support arrears to MCSS or to a municipality.

We've tried to make this information package as complete as possible. Many of your questions will likely be answered by reading it. We encourage you to take the time to read the entire package. Should you have additional questions, you may want to go to a courthouse or call the toll-free lines listed in the Question and Answer document.