When Children's needs Affect Income Earning Ability

Hi, my name is Bo Luan. I am an Associate here at Feldstein Family Law Group.

What happens when one’s parental obligations impact their ability to earn an income? When you separate, you and your former spouse might agree that the children should reside primarily with one parent. When this is the case, that parent will bear the majority of the child care responsibilities. In some situations, that might affect their ability to earn an income.

For example: When a child is home sick from school, a parent will need to take time away from work. When both parents live together, the choice of which parent stays home can be made day to day. But if the same parent has to take time off every sick day, it can add up – especially if the child has medical needs which call for a lot of sick days.

When negotiating a separation agreement, it is important to consider new factors like this which may affect your ability to earn an income. If you and your spouse earned approximately the same income during your relationship, you may be inclined to release your right to spousal support. However, if one of your children has special needs, and if that child will be living with you, think carefully before agreeing to such a release. Your income may be about to drop.

Your agreement can be crafted to deal with this kind of thing. Even if the calculations show that no spousal support is payable based on the circumstances during your relationship, the agreement might specifically establish an entitlement to spousal support based on imminent changes to parenting and the knock-on effects to your income.

Be careful to consider these fine details before closing the door to spousal support, especially if you have children with high or special needs.

For more information regarding spousal support, custody, access and separation agreements, please feel free to visit our website at www.separation.ca or call us at 905-581-7222 to schedule a consultation.

Thank you for listening today.