Do I still have to pay child support if my kids and my ex move in with a new partner?

Yes, but the amount may be reduced/changed.

Parents have a financial obligation to support their children until they are eighteen, or if they are over the age of eighteen then parents may be required to support them for reasons of illness/disability, enrolment in a full-time education program, etc.

Children also have a right to benefit from their parent’s financial means. This right cannot be discarded simply because a former spouse/partner has moved in with a new partner as your obligation is towards your children is unaffected by your former spouse/partner and any new developments in his or her life.

This reasoning was affirmed by a 1998 decision from the Ontario Superior Court. Here, the court ordered that a father had to pay support to his children despite the fact that the mother had moved in with a new partner who had a good and steady income and was willing to support the children.

The obligation towards the children may change if your former spouse/partner’s new partner decides to adopt the children and wants to support them financially.

Or, it may change if you and your former spouse/partner have a shared custody arrangement as this may impact on your condition, means, needs and other circumstances as set out in s. 9(c) of the guidelines as well as the test enunciated by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The presence of a new partner, and his or her financial contributions, may increase the ability of your former spouse/partner to bear the burden of the costs associated with raising your children and as a result you may be able to pay a reduced amount of child support.