As a general rule, if both you and the other parent live in Nova Scotia, you can contact the court nearest to you to start the court process, or you may have to contact the court where the other parent is living, if the children also live there.
The Supreme Court (Family Division), will have an intake process, where you can get help from a court officer to start your application. You may also find help in our application guides:
If the other person lives outside of Nova Scotia and you would like to establish or change child support, there may be a cross-border process available to you. This process is referred to as “Divorce Act ISO” (interjurisdictional support) in relation to processes under the Divorce Act or “Nova Scotia ISO” (interjurisdictional support orders) in relation to processes under provincial support order law.
Click here to read more about the ISO process.
If you are addressing child support issues as part of an ongoing (not yet final) divorce proceeding, you will deal with these issues wherever the divorce was filed. Once the divorce is finalized, and you apply to change your order for support, you may have to speak to a court officer or get advice from a lawyer to figure out which court you should apply to.
Click here for locations and contact information for the Supreme Court (Family Division) in Nova Scotia.
Click here for more information about the Courts of Nova Scotia.