What Can Be Considered A Section 7 Expense?

When two parties have dependant children, they may be required to pay special or extraordinary expenses alongside their basic monthly child support obligations. The definition of these expenses are outlined in Section 7 of the Child Support Guidelines.

Section 7 reads that in an order for the support of a child, the court may, on request of either parent or spouse provide for an amount to cover all or any portion of applicable expenses. What is qualified as a "section 7 expense" is determined based on various considerations. The court will take into account the necessity of the expense in relation to the child's best interests, the reasonableness of the expense in relation to the means of the parents or spouses, and those of the child with respect to the family's spending pattern before separation. Applicable expenses may include child care expenses, health-related expenses such as braces, expenses for post-secondary education (tuition, meal plans, textbooks) and