Born in 1979 to parents Hawn and Bill Hudson, Kate Hudson has forged her
own career in acting with roles in films such as Almost Famous, How To
Lose A Guy In 10 Days, The Killer Inside Me and the new romantic comedy
A Little Bit Of Heaven.
Despite the young stars professional success, she has not had the same
luck in her personal life. Hudson was previously married to musician Chris
Robinson, but the marriage ended after six short years. Hudson has tried
her hand at love one more time as she is now dating rocker Matthew Bellamy
with whom she is currently awaiting the arrival of their first child.
While there are no rumors of the Hudson and Bellamy separating, in Ontario,
even if the parents of a child separate, they are still both equally responsible
for the care and upbringing of their child.
In Ontario, the
Family Law Act, as well as the
Divorce Act if the parties are married,dictate that all dependent children have a legal
right to receive financial support from their parents. When parents live
together with the children their costs are assumed to be inter-related
and so, any money the parent with custody spends on the household will
also benefit the child. Upon separation, however, support becomes an issue,
the outcome of which is dependent on the living arrangements determined
to be in the child’s best interests. The child can either reside somewhat
equally with each parent, or one parent may have primary care of the children.
When the children remain in the primary care of one parent, that parent
is said to have primary residence of the child. As such, the parent with
primary residence has the main responsibility for the day-to-day care
of the child. Therefore that parent has most of the ordinary expenses
of raising the child. The other parent must help with those expenses by
paying money to the parent with custody.
In the case of shared parenting, the child resides with each parent no
less than 40% of the time. Therefore, in this residence arrangement it
is typical for Courts to “set-off” the parties’ respective
child support obligations such that the party with the higher income pays
to the party with the lower income the difference between their individually
owed child support payments.
In view of the law regarding child support in Ontario, if Hudson and Bellamy’s
relationship is to dissolve and the newborn remains primarily with her
(as is likely at least while he or she remains an infant), Hudson will
be entitled to receive child support from Bellamy.
How much Support
The issue now becomes of quantum. The
Family Law Act and
Divorce Act both dictate that where children reside primarily with one parent, child
support is calculated using the
Federal Child Support Advisory Guidelines. The
Guidelines specify that unless otherwise stated, the amount of child support payable is:
(a) the amount set out in the applicable table, having regard to the
number of children a couple has and to the
income of the payor spouse, AND
(b) the amount, if any, determined to be a special or extraordinary expense
(ie. post-secondary education, dance lessons, soccer, tutors etc.).
How Long does the Obligation Exist
Also worth consideration is the duration of Bellamy’s child support
obligation towards the child. In Ontario, child support must be paid as
long as a child remains dependent. A dependent child is any child under
the age of 18, unless:
- the child has married, or
- the child is 16 years of age or over and has voluntarily withdrawn from
parental control.
Child support might also continue after a child turns 18 years of age if
the child is unable to be self-supporting because he or she:
- has a disability or illness, or
- is still going to school full-time. Even if the child is not living at
home while going to school, as long as the child’s primary residence
is with the parent with custody, - the parent without custody might have to continue to pay child support.
This usually continues until the child turns 22 years of age or gets one
post-secondary degree or diploma. In some circumstances, a judge might
order support to continue even longer.
When deciding how much support should be paid for a child who is 18 years
of age or older, the judge will take into account any earnings or income
the child receives from other sources.
In all, if Hudson proves unlucky in love for a second time, it is important
to note that the laws in Ontario have in place protective mechanisms to
ensure that any children of their relationship will be taken care of despite
the status of Hudson and Bellamy’s relationship.