Hard-Luck Case Leads to Cancellation of Child Support Arrears

There’s a saying “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all”, a sentiment that the litigants in K.S. v. M.B. 2017 BCSC 2390 should heartily embrace.

The parties lived together for 9 years and had a daughter born in 1986. They separated two years later with mother having custody of their child and father paying regular child support. In 2004 a court found their daughter was no longer eligible for child support as she was living independently and working in the sex trade.

In 2010 another judge of the court heard evidence from the parties and made an order that the father owed arrears of child support of $18,543 for the period between May of 1991 and April of 2003. However, the order was not entered until January 2017 and the mother made no efforts to collect the child support monies she was owed.

Tragically in 2014 their daughter, who had been living in California, was found murdered in New Orleans.

The father, who graduated from high school in 1976, began working as a long-haul truck driver, however, in 1990 he fell off the truck roof, a fall that damaged rods in his back placed there in 1974 to treat his scoliosis. He was in a full body cast for a year as a result.

The nineties were not good times for the father. Between 1992 and 1995 he was involved in criminal law proceedings and was convicted for criminal negligence causing death, He served one year of a three-year sentence. Trying to work his way back to productivity he obtained a diploma in computer networking and telecommunications and found work as a computer technician, until his employer went bankrupt.

He went back to truck driving but injured himself on the job and broke three ribs, an injury that compromised his already damaged spine. While recovering he was diagnosed with two different types of cancer and was on chemotherapy from 2013 to 2016. He welcomed the remission, but was unable to be gainfully employed as he could not stand for long periods of time and even walking was difficult. He was also diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in his lower back and hands.

The issue before the court was whether is would be “grossly unfair” to cancel the arrears of child support arising from the 2010 order. At the time of the hearing he was 59 years old and surviving on a pension of $1,600 per month, which would terminate at age 65.

On the other side, the recipient parent was also living on a disability pension which was to end in November 2017, following which she would have only her Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits. She had also suffered from bad health and in 2010 had taken legal custody of their daughter’s child. She advised the court that she needed the arrears to support herself and her grandchild.

The court reviewed the legal principles relevant to an application to cancel arrears, noting the following:

1. Arrears will only be cancelled if the person has no present and no future ability to pay;
2. Delay in enforcing an order for arrears is generally not a legal basis to cancel or reduce child support;
3. Arrears will not be cancelled because the children were “taken care of” financially by others;
4. Arrears payments of a large sum will not be considered a windfall to the recipient parent.

The court commented that the death of a child does not automatically cancel arrears of support, however, it is a factor the court may consider to determine if it would be “grossly unfair” not to do. The court also promptly dismissed the mother’s argument that she required the child support arrears to support her grandchild, a submission that very likely hurt the mother’s case.

Taking into account all of the circumstances, Mr. Justice Ball ordered that all arrears, interest and penalties be cancelled and that each party pay their own costs.

Another sad family law case where poverty plays a central role.

Lawdiva aka Georgialee Lang