Heron and Alden (Child support)

Heron and Alden concerned a dispute regarding the percentage of care for a child, brought before the court for review. The applicant sought to revoke existing percentage of care determinations and have new determinations made, alleging a change in the likely pattern of care.

The central legal issue before the court was whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care for the child, which would necessitate the revocation of existing percentage of care determinations and the making of new ones. The court was required to assess the evidence presented to determine if the established care arrangements had altered sufficiently to warrant a recalculation of the child support percentages.

The court affirmed the decision under review, finding that the evidence did not establish a sufficient change in the likely pattern of care to justify revoking the existing determinations. The court applied the principles governing changes to care arrangements under the relevant child support legislation, which require a demonstrable and likely ongoing shift in the care provided to the child before new percentage of care determinations can be made.