Guidelines cover all children (LaViolette v. Koe (1998) N.W.T.R. 337).

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa

Recent court decisions are making it clear that the federal Child Support Guidelines, while they form a part of the Divorce Act, also apply to situations involving children whose parents were never married. One case from the Northwest Territories case involved an infant born as a result of a brief encounter between her mother and an already married man with three other children. The Mother applied for child support under the federal guidelines. The father argued that the guidelines should not apply because the parents were not married. The Judge dismissed that argument, saying "...it is appropriate to apply those...