Hunter v. Hunter

Hunter v. Hunter

The involuntary termination and resultant reduction in income constituted a material change; full‑time retraining was reasonable; the 2008 child support order is varied to reflect annual income of $20,880 with monthly payments of $189 effective Jan 1, 2009 until earlier of May 31, 2010 or obtaining employment; interest on outstanding arrears is suspended effective Dec 1, 2008 provided monthly payments are made; no retroactive reduction of day care obligations prior to Dec 1, 2008 because receipts were not disproven; the child care expense term is deleted effective Dec 1, 2008 and any overpayments since that date shall be applied to arrears.

Citation
2009 BCSC 597
Parties
Plaintiff: Evelyn Ruth Hunter; Defendant: Bruce William Hunter
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
1 May 2009
Procedural Posture
Divorce/child Support Variation Application / Application to Vary Child Support Under S.17 of the Divorce Act
Outcome
Application granted in part and dismissed in part
Legal Topics
Variation of Support Order, Extraordinary Expenses (day Care), Retroactive Variation, Income Reduction and Retraining
Source Language
English
Family Law Child Support Divorce Act Variation of Support Order Extraordinary Expenses (day Care) Retroactive Variation Income Reduction and Retraining

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Parties

Evelyn Ruth Hunter

Plaintiff

Bruce William Hunter

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Divorce/child Support Variation Application / Application to Vary Child Support Under S.17 of the Divorce Act

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether involuntary termination and retraining constitute a material change in circumstances warranting reduction of child support under s.17 Divorce Act
  2. 2 Whether day care extraordinary expense should be reduced retroactively and overpayments applied to arrears
  3. 3 Whether interest on outstanding arrears should be suspended during reduced-payment period

Ratio Decidendi

The involuntary termination and resultant reduction in income constituted a material change; full‑time retraining was reasonable; the 2008 child support order is varied to reflect annual income of $20,880 with monthly payments of $189 effective Jan 1, 2009 until earlier of May 31, 2010 or obtaining employment; interest on outstanding arrears is suspended effective Dec 1, 2008 provided monthly payments are made; no retroactive reduction of day care obligations prior to Dec 1, 2008 because receipts were not disproven; the child care expense term is deleted effective Dec 1, 2008 and any overpayments since that date shall be applied to arrears.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part and dismissed in part

Orders

  • Vary 2008 child support order to reflect respondent's current income of $20,880 per year resulting in monthly child support of $189 effective January 1, 2009 until the earlier of May 31, 2010 or the date he obtains employment
  • Upon obtaining employment payments revert to previous level unless new application is made with updated income information