If you cannot come to an agreement on your own, the following services may be able to help you:​

• Parenting After Separation Program (free)
• Mediation (free and for a fee)
• Collaborative family law services (for a fee)

If even after trying these services you still can’t reach an agreement, you will have to go to court.

Parenting After Separation Program

Parenting After Separation is a six hour seminar offering information to parents about the separation and divorce process, the effects of separation and divorce on children, techniques for communication and legal information that affects parents and children.

Separating or divorcing parents who live near a judicial centre and have issues concerning child support or parenting time may access this service.

PAS teaches parents the importance of working together to meet children’s health, social, educational and emotional needs. The program encourages parents to attend mediation and to consider other dispute resolution options.

Attending PAS is voluntary. However, in most cases, before filing an application in the Court of Queen’s Bench, the party applying must file a certificate showing that they completed PAS. In Provincial Court, the judge can order that a party complete the course before going ahead with their court application.

For more information, see Alberta Courts’ Parenting After Separation.

Mediation

Family mediation is an interest-based process that gives parties an opportunity to meet together with a neutral mediator. Mediators encourage the parties to communicate, negotiate and cooperate to resolve disputes outside of court. A mediator will:

• Provide a neutral place for you and the other parent to meet
• Help define the issues you need to resolve
• Keep the discussions on track
• Help you maintain a working relationship with the other parent

A mediator will not make decisions for you, but can help you and the other parent communicate with each other about all of the issues involved in your separation.

Mediation gives you more control over what happens. It allows for more creative and flexible arrangements that suit your particular circumstances. If you go to court, the judge will decide for you, using the limited range of options available under a court order.

People who use mediation are usually more satisfied with the outcome than those who don’t. This means they are more likely to follow the terms of the agreement.

It is informal and private. While a lawyer can attend mediation with you, there is usually no one else there but you, the other parent, and the mediator. No one else has to know the details of your agreement.

In Alberta, there is no cost to qualifying families. To qualify, there must be at least one dependent child, under the age of 18 years and one or both parties must have an income of less than $40,000 per year.

There does not have to be a court action started to make use of the Family Mediation Services. However, the services are also available to families with court actions in either Provincial Court or the Court of Queen’s Bench.

Parties who want to attend mediation are pre-screened to make sure that mediation will be appropriate for them. Both parties must agree to attend mediation.

For more information, visit Alberta Courts’ Family Mediation.

If you have to go to court

It is a lot less stressful if parents can work out a child support agreement on their own, but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes court is the only option left available to ensure that children get the financial support they need when their parents separate.

Parents can apply for a child support order in either Provincial Court or the Court of Queen's Bench. It’s simpler and less expensive to get an order in Provincial Court — which is often called Family Court. Since family circumstances can change, requiring a change to your order, it is better to apply at the Provincial Court level. (However, you can only get a divorce and divide property in the Court of Queen's Bench.)

The paying parent will be required by the court to provide proof of their present income, together with their recent income tax returns, and other financial documents that may be important. In most cases, such as when the parents are paying for special or extraordinary expenses, or when the parenting arrangement is shared, the receiving parent will also be required to provide financial documents.

The judge will make a child support order based on the Child Support Guidelines. The judge will make a decision about how much child support should be paid, who should pay it, and how often. Parents have to obey court orders.

The Family Law Information Centre can give you more information about going to court. It is also a good idea to get legal advice before going to court. Some services provide legal help for free or for a small fee.

What if a parent doesn’t pay child support?

The Alberta Maintenance Enforcement Program is a service established by the provincial government to help parents receive their child support payments. “Maintenance” is another term used to describe support.

You can register your order with the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP). The procedure for registering is available on its website. MEP can enforce an order if the payments are not being made in full, or on time, or if the partner who has to pay the support hasn’t made payment arrangements with MEP.

The Maintenance Enforcement Program has many different ways to enforce a court order, including:

• garnishing funds from the federal government, employer and bank accounts;
• restricting licences including driver’s licence, hunting and fishing licences, and federal licences, including passports;
• registering against real property or personal property;
• seizing assets;
• affecting your credit rating; and
• other actions.