While child support payments are intended to cover many of the child rearing expenses incurred by the custodial parent, there are some expenses that are not covered by standard child support payments. These expenses are known as Special/Extraordinary Expenses, or Section 7 expenses (from s. 7 of the Child Support Guidelines).
In order to qualify under s. 7, education (other than post-secondary) and extracurricular activity expenses must be “extraordinary”.
“Extraordinary” expenses are those expenses that, given the combined income of the parties, would not be incurred for the children as a matter of course. They are deemed to be additional costs of raising a child that are not incorporated into the standard child support table amounts.
The definition is:
expenses that exceed those that the parent or spouse requesting an amount for the extraordinary expenses can reasonably cover, taking into account that parent’s or spouse’s income and the amount that the parent or spouse would receive under the applicable table or, where the court has determined that the table amount is inappropriate, the amount that the court has otherwise determined is appropriate, or
where that is not applicable, expenses that the court considers are extraordinary taking into account,
the amount of the expense in relation to the income of the parent or spouse requesting the amount, including the amount that the parent or spouse would receive under the applicable table or, where the court has determined that the table amount is inappropriate, the amount that the court has otherwise determined is appropriate,
the nature and number of the educational programs and extracurricular activities,
any special needs and talents of the child,
the overall cost of the programs and activities, and
any other similar factors that the court considers relevant.
For a court to order an “extraordinary expense” to be shared, it also must be “reasonable and necessary”. If it is determined that the expense incurred was disproportionate and not economically justifiable given the party’s income and the support received, the expense may not meet the test for being “reasonable and necessary,” and no contribution will be ordered.
Courts can get creative when determining contribution amounts.
With multiple expenses, the court may determine that while each on their own would be considered extraordinary expenses, they are not all necessary, and limit a parent’s contribution. For example, in a case where a Mother wanted a child to participate in Tae Kwon Do and swimming, the court looked at the cost of the activities and what the Father’s proportionate share of each would be ($93.79 for swimming, and $135.00 for Tae Kwon Do), and ordered the Respondent Father contribute an average amount of $115.00 to the children’s extra-curricular activities. It was then left up to the Applicant Mother which activity to enrol the children in.