Forms
Below you will find standard forms that may be of use to you in family matters. Where possible, we provide detailed explanations of their use.
Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)
This benefit is a single non-taxable monthly payment made to the custodial parent of children under the age of 18. In order to receive the Canadian child tax benefit you must be the person mainly responsible for the care and upbringing of your children, you must live with your children, and you must be a Canadian resident or citizen.
Both parents must file income tax returns so that Canada Revenue Agency can calculate the benefit and send payment. Once the parties have separated, the custodial parent may notify the Canada Revenue Agency within 11 months of the separation and the base year income of the parents will be deemed to be that of the custodial parent only. Please note you must be separated for at least 90 days.
Beginning in July 2011, each eligible parent in a shared custody situation will get half of the child benefit and credit payments for that child every month that they qualify.
The Basic Benefit includes (from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012):
- Basic amount of $1,367 per year ($113.91 per month) for each child up to age 17
- Supplement of $95 per year ($7.91 per month) for the third child and each additional child
The basic benefit is reduced when the net family income exceeds $41,544. For families with only one child, subtract 2% of the net family income that exceeds $41,544. For families with two or more children, subtract 4% of this amount.
The National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) amounts are:
- $176.50 per month for the first child;
- $156.08 per month for the second child; and
- $148.50 per month for each additional child.
The NCBS will be reduced as follows:
- For a family with one child, the reduction is 12.2% of the amount of the adjusted family net income that is more than $24,183.
- For a family with two children, the reduction is 23% of the amount of the adjusted family net income that is more than $24,183.
- For families with three or more children, the reduction is 33.3% of the amount of the adjusted family net income that is more than $24,183.
The Child Disability Benefit (CDB), which is based on the adjusted family net income, provides up to a maximum of $208.66 per month for each child eligible for the disability tax credit. The CDB starts being reduced when the adjusted family net income is more than $41,544.
For more information, please read "Your Canada Child Tax Benefit" below.
Canadian Passport Application
The following digital passport application forms furnished by Passport Canada in .pdf can be completed interactively and printed for submission, or printed and completed by hand. It is faster and easier to complete these digital forms on-line (entering all information on your computer screen), and this reduces the risk of mistakes which can delay the processing of your application.
Remember that for a child's passport, both parents must sign the child's passport application form. In addition, if one parent wishes to travel with the child outside the country, an authorization letter signed by the other parent is now required to prevent unpleasant situations where Customs agents may refuse the child permission to cross the border. Such an authorization letter must indicate the duration of the trip, the precise destination, and the coordinates of the parent giving the authorization (in the event the Customs agent wishes to verify the authenticity of the signature). In addition, it is preferable to have a witness to the signature of the authorization letter (such as a notary or attorney).
Be sure when settling your separation or divorce to have a provision as to which parent will be entitled to hold the child's passport, and how the use of the child's passport will be shared between the parents during vacation periods.
For more information about the rules governing issuance of Canadian passports, especially for children, please refer to the Canadian Passport Order, SI/81-86.
Child Support Determination Form ("Annex I")
The Child Support Determination Form ("Annex I"): Both parents must complete this form to permit the court to fix or to modify child support. It must also be completed even if both parents come to an agreement on child support. You must also include these documents, where applicable: your employment earnings slip (T-4), financial statements of your earnings from business or self-employment, and a statement of rental revenues and expenses. You must also provide your federal and provincial income tax returns and notices of assessment for the most current year. Current income tax returns and notices of assessment must also be filed along with the Annex I.
If you fail to include these documents, the judge may estimate your true revenue, which may lead him to attribute a higher income, with all the risks this entails.
Do not forget to complete the Assets and Liabilities page, or the form will be rejected by the Court!
This form covers a wide range of custodial arrangements (such as split custody, or joint custody for some children and sole custody for others within the same family), and so permits an exact calculation of child support even in complex custodial situations. You need only complete the section that applies to you.
Each party must indicate the date upon which he or she completed the form and sign it. In cases of a joint application, only one Annex I is produced both the two parties, who sign it together. Each party must be sworn in before a commissioner of oaths, who signs and indicates the date of swearing in.
Child Support Payments - Regulations
Child Support Regulations: Since January 01 2004, there have been new Regulations with respect to the determination of child support payments. The Regulations are easy to understand, and explain the principles upon which child support calculations are based.
Most important, the Regulations define the legal meaning of annual income, child care expenses, custody time, disposable income, post-secondary education expenses and special expenses, so that it is easier to complete the Child Support Determination Form ("Annex I").
Table of Parental Contributions 2011: In addition, the actual table of parental contributions (by annual revenue and number of children) for the year 2011 is also available here (as well as for 2010 and 2009).
Deduction of Spousal Support (Alimony) at Source!
If you pay spousal support (alimony) to your ex-wife, you are entitled to reduce your income tax deductions at source! Many men find themselves paying support out of their net pay cheques, which is often difficult, if not impossible, to afford. Correcting the amount your employer withholds at source can provide instant relief for your budget, instead of waiting to file your income tax return in April.
Here are the two forms to be filled out, both of which must be provided to your employer, along with a copy of the judgment by which you agreed, or were ordered, to pay spousal support. (This does not apply to child support, which is not deductible).
In the Minister of Revenue of Quebec form, line 15 (on page 2) is where you declare the annual value of the spousal support. In the Canada Revenue Agency form, it is entered on the third line of the one page document.
Formulaire T2220 Transfert provenant d'un REER
Les REERs que les époux accumulent pendant leur mariage doivent être partagés lors d'une séparation ou divorce. Il ne faut pas encaisser un REER pour éffectuer ce partage, car des impôts considérables pourraient être imposés à l'époux payeur, et l'avantage fiscale serait perdu pour l'époux récipiendaire.
En ce qui concerne les conjoints de fait, ils peuvent partager leurs REERs, mais le partage n'est pas obligatoire.
Afin de procéder au partage des deniers investis dans un REER sans conséquence fiscale néfaste, vous n'avez qu'à remplir le formulaire T2220 Transfert provenant d'un REER, et assurez-vous de signer les deux sections! Cliquez ici: t2220-11f.pdf
Simulation of Partition of QPP Contributions
When spouses divorce, they are entitled to the partition of the contributions they have made to the Quebec Pension Plan for the period they were married and cohabiting. This partition has a direct impact on the government benefits to which you will be entitled to receive upon retirement. The greatest benefit is to the stay-at-home spouse who would otherwise have no sums credited to his or her name for retirement; the least impact is in relationship where both spouses work full-time and have already have made maximum contributions to the QPP.
Renunciation to the partition of QPP contributions must be expressly stated in an agreement (i.e. opting out must be a clear choice), and the Court will only accept this is if the spouses know the impact of the renunciation.
For the year 2011, maximum pensionable earnings for a person working in Québec is $ 48,300 per annum, in which case the QPP contribution is $ 2,217.60.
To know precisely what the impact will be of the partition of QPP contributions, you must apply for a simulation of partition. The form below will open in your brower, and you may fill it out on-line. Then print it out and mail it to: Régie des rentes du Québec, C.P. 5200, Québec, Québec, G1K 7S9. You will eventually receive a report explaining how you and your spouse will be affected by the partition!
You can consult the Act Respecting the Québec Pension Plan, R.S.Q., c.R-9 directly!
Spousal and Child Support: Sworn Statement under Article 827.5 C.C.P.
In Quebec, the Minister of Revenue collects spousal support and child support, free of charge, by means of automatic deductions at source from salaried workers, by means of orders of payment from self-employed workers and professionals, and by forced seizures against defaulting debtors. And now, thanks to our firm's lawsuit against the government, self-employed workers with single payers, such as doctors and surgeons, will be subject to deductions at source and support will be collected automatically from the RAMQ.
The Minister of Revenue of Quebec also has the right to seize income tax refunds, employment insurance payments and other government benefits, which are all then directed to the payment of spousal support and child support.
The purpose of the Sworn Statement under Article 827.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure is to permit the Minister of Revenue to open a file for the alimentary creditor (usually the wife, on her own behalf and/or for the children) and the alimentary debtor (usually the husband).
This document provides the Minister of Revenue the necessary information to be able to collect spousal or child support. The information in this Form is communicated directly to the Minister of Revenue, and then the original document is destroyed, to protect confidentiality. The Minister of Revenue is not entitled to use this information for purposes of tax collection.
Spousal Support: Statement of Income and Expenses and Balance Sheet (Form III)
Both spouses (or ex-spouses) must complete this form to permit the court to fix or modify spousal alimony. It must also be completed even if both spouses come to an agreement on spousal alimony. You must also include these documents, where applicable: your employment earnings slip (T-4), financial statements of your earnings from business or self-employment, and a statement of rental revenues and expenses. You must also provide your federal and provincial income tax returns and notices of assessment for the most current year. Current income tax returns and notices of assessment must also be filed.
If you fail to include these documents, the judge may estimate your true revenue, which may lead him to attribute a higher income, with all the risks this entails. In the same vein, be prepared to provide evidence of your expenses and indebtedness, or he may cut your budgeted expenses.
Do not forget to complete the Assets and Liabilities page, or the form will be rejected by the Court!
Each party must indicate the date upon which he or she completed the form and sign it. Each party must be sworn in before a commissioner of oaths, who signs and indicates the date of swearing in.
There are income tax calculations which must be done using tax software, to calculate how much income tax the receiving spouse would have to pay upon payment of alimony, and how much income tax the paying spouse would save. This calculation is necessary because spousal alimony is taxable for the receiving spouse and tax-deductible for the payer spouse. Also, a low income receiving spouse (usually the wife) will likely lose certain tax credits and deductions upon receipt of alimony, because her gross income will increase - tax software will calculate this loss of tax credits!
Statement of the Family Patrimony (Form IV)
Every married couple has a family patrimony. Upon separation, nullity of marriage, divorce or death, the value of the family patrimony must be partitioned, based on technical legal rules. For most couples, this means that following family patrimony assets must be partitioned equally: the city house, the country chalet, the furniture garnishing both homes, the car(s) used by the couple and their children, their RRSPs, their private pension plans, and their QPP contributions. Any debt contracted for the acquisition, maintenance or improvement of a family patrimony asset mut be taken into consideration at the time of partition.
Any sum which either spouse receives by gift or inheritance during the marriage, which is then used for the purchaes or improvement of a family patrimony asset, is excluded from partition, as well as the increase in value of the asset attributable to that contribution. (The calculations can be very complex!)
Finally, any family patrimony asset which is which is acquired and entirely paid before the marriage is excluded from this partition of values.
The Court requires each spouse to file a "Statement of the Family Patrimony (Form IV)," under oath, to set out the values of the family patrimony assets, as well as any debts related to these assets (such as a car loan, RRSP loan or home mortgage).