Discussions

When someone is going thru a divorce and one child lives with the mother and one child lives with the father, is there somewhere to actually go to to speak to someone about dealing with that or is it just a phone call to revenue canada. Like does service Canada deal with this to?

I know when my son went to go live with his dad for a while, I (the mother), wrote a letter to Child Family Allowance stating that my son is now in the care of his father and I would like the Child tax to be transferred to his account, for the time he remains in his fathers care. All child tax goes to the mother, unless the mother is willing to part with the child tax that she receives for that child, that is another battle. You can request it to be sent to you. If you and the mother are compliant, as always, things are way easier to sort out.  
If you have expenses written down and factual information that your child lives with you, you don't necessarily need a letter from the mother. In the end, during tax season, you can state your cause if you claim that child, indicating that child is in full custody with you and the other party would have to pay back the child tax that they took from that child, leaving you getting the child family's allowance which you deserve if you have that child on a full time basis. Good luck I hope its not messy.  
(This is just what I know from past experiences, please correct me if I am wrong. But going through all this is something I am familiar with.)

I used to work in Child Tax. If one kid is living with you, send in an application effective the date the child started living with you. If you've always lived with the child and the child moved out with you, for example, put the date you moved.  
 
The benefit should go to the parent with whom the child primarily resides. If one kid lives 100% with you, and the other lives 100% with the other parent, then you each get for the child that resides with you. If there's a shared agreement (say, you have each kid 50% of the time but never both kids at once), there are sharing options available although I'm out of date as to what they are.  
 
You can get more info and apply at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-child-benefit-overview/canada-child-benefit-apply.html  
 
If you're applying by mail, you can enclose a letter detailing your situation. If they need more info, they will contact you by letter or through My Account.  
 
Edit to add: If you think you're eligible, send in an application. They really can't do a whole lot beyond regurgitate the info from the website before then. That's pretty much what they'll tell you to do.  
 
Edited by Abbysmum, 2023-03-03 12:39:24