Federal Child Support Guidelines — 25
Continuing obligation to provide income information 25 (1) Every spouse against whom a child support order has been made must, on the written request of the other spouse or the order assignee, not more than once a year after the making of the order and as long as the child is a child within the meaning of these Guidelines, provide that other spouse or the order assignee with (a) the documents referred to in subsection 21(1) for any of the three most recent taxation years for which the spouse has not previously provided the documents; (b) as applicable, any current information, in writing, about the status of any expenses included in the order pursuant to subsection 7(1); and (c) as applicable, any current information, in writing, about the circumstances relied on by the court in a determination of undue hardship. Below minimum income (2) Where a court has determined that the spouse against whom a child support order is sought does not have to pay child support because his or her income level is below the minimum amount required for application of the tables, that spouse must, on the written request of the other spouse, not more than once a year after the determination and as long as the child is a child within the meaning of these Guidelines, provide the other spouse with the documents referred to in subsection 21(1) for any of the three most recent taxation years for which the spouse has not previously provided the documents. Obligation of receiving spouse (3) Where the income information of the spouse in favour of whom a child support order is made is used to determine the amount of the order, the spouse must, not more than once a year after the making of the order and as long as the child is a child within the meaning of these Guidelines, on the written request of the other spouse, provide the other spouse with the documents and information referred to in subsection (1). Information requests (4) Where a spouse or an order assignee requests information from the other spouse under any of subsections (1) to (3) and the income information of the requesting spouse is used to determine the amount of the child support order, the requesting spouse or order assignee must include the documents and information referred to in subsection (1) with the request. Time limit (5) A spouse who receives a request made under any of subsections (1) to (3) must provide the required documents within 30 days after the request’s receipt if the spouse resides in Canada or the United States and within 60 days after the request’s receipt if the spouse resides elsewhere. Deemed receipt (6) A request made under any of subsections (1) to (3) is deemed to have been received 10 days after it is sent. Failure to comply (7) A court may, on application by either spouse or an order assignee, where the other spouse has failed to comply with any of subsections (1) to (3) (a) consider the other spouse to be in contempt of court and award costs in favour of the applicant up to an amount that fully compensates the applicant for all costs incurred in the proceedings; or (b) make an order requiring the other spouse to provide the required documents to the court, as well as to the spouse or order assignee, as the case may be. Unenforceable provision (8) A provision in a judgment, order or agreement purporting to limit a spouse’s obligation to provide documents under this section is unenforceable. SOR/97-563, s. 3(E)