How Child Support Works If You Can’t Work (Ontario) -

How Does Child Support Work If I’m Too Sick or Injured to Work in Ontario?

Written by Separy Law — May 7, 2026

Person with cast - injury and unable to work

Olivia Maley, Articling Student
February 5, 2026

Determining income for child support purposes is often straightforward in family court, if the parent is a full-time employee. In many instances, however, one parent has been ill or injured and is seeking a reduced child support amount, on the basis that they are not able to work full-time (or at all) in Ontario. How do courts generally handle child support when you can’t work in Ontario in these situations?

How Courts Determine Income for Child Support

Courts generally expect a parent to work full-time to support their children in Ontario. In child support can’t work Ontario situations, if one parent is not working full-time, a court can impute them with an income (assign them an income for the purposes of child support, regardless of what their income actually is) on the basis that they are intentionally under-employed or unemployed. The Child Support Guidelines set out the most common scenarios where courts will find it necessary to impute an income to a parent, but the list is not exhaustive. The test for imputation of income was recently restated by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Kohli v Thom, 2025 ONCA 200 at para 123 as follows:

“Is the party intentionally under-employed or unemployed?
ii) If so, is the intentional under-employment or unemployment required by virtue of his or her reasonable educational needs, the needs of the child or reasonable health needs?
iii) If not, what income is appropriately imputed?”

Medical Evidence Required in Child Support When You Can’t Work in Ontario

Reasonable health needs can justify a parent not working full-time, depending on the specific health needs of the parent and other evidence regarding their ability to work (for example, their qualifications and training). If a parent who is not working full-time seeks to justify this because of their reasonable health needs, the courts will expect them to provide evidence regarding their health and the impact that their medical condition has on their ability to work.

Judges typically look for medical evidence from the parent’s treating healthcare provider that shows that they are unable to work for medical reasons and that contains the following information to assist the judge in making a finding on this issue:

Diagnosis
Prognosis
Treatment plan (is there a treatment plan? And what is it?)
The parent’s compliance with the treatment plan; and
Specific and detailed information connecting the medical condition to the ability to work (e.g, this person cannot work at the pre-injury job; this person cannot work for three months; this person cannot work at physical labour; this person cannot return to work ever)” (Davidson v Patten, 2021 ONCJ 437, at para 15).

How Courts Evaluate Medical Evidence

Judges will look carefully at the medical evidence provided and will determine exactly what limitations the parent has, and how that affects their ability to work. Medical evidence that suggests the parent cannot do manual labour, for example, may not necessarily mean that the parent cannot work full-time at a less physically demanding position.

Courts will require detailed medical evidence on a parent’s inability to work. In previous cases, courts have refused to accept as sufficient a parent’s assertion that they cannot work (e.g. Stoangi v. Petersen, 2006 CanLII 24124 (ON SC)) or a doctor’s brief note that a person is unable to work (Felix Perez v. Samuel, 2025 ONCJ 692).

There are some limited situations where a court has accepted a parent’s detailed evidence regarding their medical limitations. For example, in M.D. v A.H., 2026 ONCJ 46, Justice Sherr found that the mother was unable to work because of her reasonable health needs, even though she had been unable to produce medical evidence regarding her health. Justice Sherr noted at paragraph 46 of his written reasons that “there is a small segment of our litigants who have legitimate medical issues but who are too overwhelmed by the process to obtain the necessary medical evidence to corroborate it. Their medical issues are often the very reason they are overwhelmed and cannot produce this evidence”.

Can a Parent Still Be Expected to Work?

Courts generally do not take an all-or-nothing approach when they are determining whether a parent with health needs can work. For example, courts will consider whether a parent can work part-time and whether they can retrain in a different career.

In addition, courts will look at the other evidence in the case that may shed further light on the parent’s true abilities beyond what is set out in a report from a healthcare professional. For example, in Rilli v. Rilli, 2006 CanLII 34451 (ON SC) the court considered surveillance tapes showing the father’s ability to do manual labour and concluded that he was able to work part-time, even though he was medically unable to work full-time as a welder.

Efforts to Address Health Needs

In addition, courts want parents to make reasonable efforts to address their reasonable health needs (where possible). In Cole v Freiwald and Freiwald, 2011 ONCJ 395, for example, the father was diagnosed with medical issues that had a legitimate impact on his ability to work, but he did not obtain referrals to the multiple specialists that his family physician noted were needed to treat him.

In some situations, it may not be feasible for a parent to make these efforts, or the parent may be dealing with health issues that cannot be addressed.

When Courts Accept a Lower Income

If a parent provides sufficient evidence to prove that they have reasonable health needs that justify the fact that they are not working full-time, a court may accept their reported income as their true income, rather than imputing them with a higher income based on what they should be earning were they working full-time.

Each case is fact-specific and depends heavily on the payor parent’s specific medical condition, the medical evidence available, and the other evidence in the case surrounding the payor parent’s health.

Get Guidance on Child Support When You Can’t Work in Ontario

Our Child Support lawyers are very experienced in handling cases involving a claim for child support where one parent is ill or injured and unable to work full-time. If your case involves a claim for reduced child support on this basis and you are seeking guidance on the child support that may be payable in your case and on what evidence should be provided to support your claim, contact one of our Toronto Child Support lawyers for a consultation today.

Call 647-352-4529 ext. 1 to speak with one of our intake specialists, or fill out the online consultation form on our website to schedule your consultation.