I have to pay child support. If my job now pays me less, how do I change the amount I have to pay?
Last reviewed October 2024 by the Clicklaw editors
If your BC court order states the specific child support you must pay, you’ll need to apply to the court to get it changed. This is called varying the order. Court orders don’t automatically vary themselves. If your financial situation changes, you need to apply for a variation.
The process will depend on two things:
- Are you applying in Provincial or Supreme Court? Usually, you need to apply to the court that made the original order.
- Do you and your ex-spouse agree about what the new support amount should be? If you agree, you’ll be applying for a consent order.
The Legal Aid BC Family Law website has different guides for the process:
- Provincial Court, if you both agree
- Supreme Court, if you both agree
- Provincial Court, if you don’t agree
- Supreme Court, if you don’t agree
Helpful resource
- JP Boyd on Family Law: Child Support (John-Paul Boyd, KC): This resource has more information on how to vary child support orders.
Helpful services
- Family lawyers offering unbundled legal services: This is a list of family lawyers and paralegals who will perform select legal tasks if you don’t want or can’t afford full representation. You’ll pay for some assistance depending on what help you want and what you can afford.
- Family Justice Counsellors (Government of BC): These counsellors at Family Justice Centres provide services to British Columbians going through separation or divorce. They can help with support issues.
- Find more services.