Is a former spouse required to pay child support for a child from a previous marriage?
In the event that your former spouse has accepted the responsibilities of being a parent to your child from a previous marriage throughout the duration of your marriage, then the child may be considered to be a child of your current marriage. If the child is deemed a child of the marriage, then you have a right to ask your spouse to pay child support, even though he or she is not your child’s biological parent.
In other words, if a judge rules that your former spouse acted as a parent to your child (or what is referred to as acting ‘in loco parentis’), then your spouse will be required to pay child support in accordance with the Child Support Guidelines. While referred to as "Guidelines," this legislation is mandatory.
According to section 5 of the Child Support Guidelines: Where the spouse against whom a child support order is sought stands in the place of a parent for a child, the amount of a child support order is an amount that the court considers appropriate, having regard to the Guidelines and any other parent’s legal duty to support the child.
However, you should be careful when asking for support payments from your spouse, who is not the biological parent of the child, as there may be unintended consequences. It should be noted that if the judge does believe that your spouse is obligated to pay child support, then your spouse may also be granted other rights of being a parent. Specifically, your spouse will be able to ask either you, or the court, for access or custody of the child, even though they are not biologically related.
Based on the information provided in this article, it is clear that acting in the place of a parent for a child can have significant consequences. Nevertheless, many step-parents and/or partners do not understand the potential financial obligations that may result from this sort of situation.
For more information on custody, support, and the services provided by our team of experienced lawyers, contact Krol & Krol at 905.707.3370.
