Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin may be back in Court with her ex, Morty Coyle, even though her divorce was just finalized this past September. The parties’ have a shared parenting arrangement, and at the time they divorced, neither party was ordered to pay child support. As reported by TMZ, Mr. Coyle is now claiming that Jodie is earning more money than she did at the time they separated, and he now wants to receive child support. Mr. Coyle earns approximately $2,000.00 per month, and Jodie claimed she was earning $4,000.00 per month at the time they separated. Mr. Coyle believes that Jodie is now earning approximately $600,000.00 per year.
A shared parenting arrangement exists when the child resides with both parties’ 40% of the time or more. Determining child support in respect of a shared parenting arrangement involves a calculation pursuant to Section 9 of the Child Support Guidelines whereby the parties’ respective Table child support obligations are set-off against each other. In effect, the higher income earning spouse pays to the lower income earning spouse the calculated difference between their respective child support obligations. In the case of Jodie and Mr. Coyle, if Jody’s income has increased to $600,000.00 per year, support would be reviewed, and the set-off amount would be payable from Jodie to Mr. Coyle.
If Jodie is earning $600,000.00 per year, she would be classified as a high income earner. In Ontario, child support legislation does permit the Court to Order child support that is different from the Table amount in the case of high-income earners. For child support purposes, high income earners are those people who earn more than $150,000.00 per year. However, there is also jurisprudence which provides that the Guidelines should generally be followed.