Child Support and Parenting Plans in PEI Divorce

Divorcing with children in Prince Edward Island adds layers of mandatory requirements to the filing process. The judge has an absolute statutory duty under Section 11(1)(b) of the Divorce Act to verify that reasonable financial arrangements exist for every dependent child before signing a Divorce Judgment. Non-compliant arrangements are the most common reason uncontested divorces are stayed (refused) at the desk review stage.

The Judge's Mandatory Duty

A PEI Supreme Court judge cannot grant your divorce until they are personally satisfied that child support arrangements comply with the Federal Child Support Guidelines table amounts. This isn't discretionary — it's a legal obligation.

The judge will review your Petitioner's Affidavit and financial statements to verify that:

• Every child of the marriage is identified by name and date of birth
• The paying parent's gross income is accurately documented
• Support amounts match the Federal Child Support Guidelines tables for PEI
• Any departure from the guidelines is justified with detailed financial documentation

Mutual consent to waive child support is not sufficient. Two spouses agreeing to $0 child support — or to an arbitrary amount that doesn't match the guidelines — will result in the judge refusing to sign the Divorce Judgment until the support arrangements are corrected.

Who Counts as a "Child of the Marriage"

This is where many self-represented filers make a critical mistake. Under Section 2(1) of the Divorce Act, a "child of the marriage" includes any child who is at or over the age of majority (18 in PEI) but remains under their parents' charge.

The most common reason for ongoing dependency is full-time enrollment in a post-secondary institution. If your 19-year-old is attending university, they're still a "child of the marriage" for support purposes. Your Petitioner's Affidavit must:

• List them by name and date of birth
• Confirm their enrollment status and the institution they attend
• Detail tuition costs and how those expenses are shared
• Specify whether child support for that child should continue, and at what amount

Failing to address post-secondary children is one of the most frequent reasons PEI judges reject draft Divorce Judgments.

Decision-Making Responsibility

The 2021 amendments to the Divorce Act replaced the terms "custody" and "access" with "decision-making responsibility" and "parenting time." Your divorce documents must use the current terminology.

Decision-making responsibility covers major decisions about a child's health, education, religion, and significant extracurricular activities. It can be sole (one parent) or joint (both parents).

Parenting time refers to the schedule of when each parent has the child in their care. This replaces what was previously called "access" for the non-custodial parent.

Your Petitioner's Affidavit must specify how decision-making responsibility is allocated and provide a parenting time schedule. Vague statements like "the parents will share custody" are insufficient — the judge needs specifics.

Parenting Plans

While a formal written parenting plan isn't strictly required, providing one strengthens your filing significantly. A parenting plan typically covers:

• Regular parenting time schedule (weekdays, weekends, overnight arrangements)
• Holiday and vacation schedules
• Transportation arrangements for exchanges
• Communication protocols between parents
• How major decisions will be made
• Process for resolving disagreements

The more specific your plan, the less likely the judge will have questions that delay your Divorce Judgment.

The Maintenance Enforcement Program

Once a support order is part of your Divorce Judgment, it can be registered with the Prince Edward Island Maintenance Enforcement Program. This office monitors compliance with support payments and has enforcement tools including wage garnishment, licence suspension, and passport denial for non-payment.

Registration is optional but strongly recommended, particularly if there's any concern about the paying parent's reliability.

The PEI Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a children's information worksheet and child support calculation reference to help you prepare the parenting and support sections of your Petitioner's Affidavit.

See more Prince Edward Island guides →