SARPA

An administrative child support recalculation service officially known as the Service administratif de rajustement des pensions alimentaires pour enfants (SARPA) is a purely administrative service that allows parents to recalculate child support payments for a minor child that has already been determined by a judgment, without the parents having to return to court. The "Commission des services juridiques" (CSJ) is responsible for the administration of this service. 

This service is available to the entire eligible population at the cost of $54. Persons who are financially eligible for legal aid under the free component are exempt from payment of fees. 

The application for recalculation may be submitted to the SARPA by either parent or by only one parent. It refers only to child support recalculation situations that do not require judicial review. 

Once SARPA has received an application for recalculation from a parent and the $54 payment of the proceeding fees, it will examine the application to determine its eligibility to the service.

When SARPA determines that an application is eligible, it will send a request for information to the other parent to which the parent must respond within 30 days. When the other parent fails to provide the information and documents requested to establish his/her income, SARPA may determine the income by increasing the last known annual income in accordance with the criteria prescribed by the regulation. 

Once the parents' income is known or determined by the SARPA, the SARPA uses the Québec tables to determine the basic parental contribution to calculate the child support. The SARPA adjusts the child support retroactively to one year prior to the application date when the income of either parent has increased. 

The SARPA will then forward to the parties the notice of adjustment that takes effect on the expiry of a 30-day period in which the parties may challenge the amendment to support. Thereafter, this pension will be collected under the Revenu Québec Support Collection Program or deemed to be payable in cases of exemption from collection. 

Before applying to the SARPA, parents can fill out the interactive questionnaire available at www.sarpaquebec.ca to check their eligibility for the service. Once this questionnaire has been completed, they will be able to access the SARPA application form. 

Parents may also obtain a hard copy of the questionnaire and application form from the legal aid office nearest their residence or by printing the documentation available on the "Documents and Processes" tab of the site www.sarpaquebec.ca. 

Parents wishing to avail themselves of this service may contact the 1-855-LeSARPA telephone service (1 855 537-2772) or, for the Montréal area, 514 873-3563 or visit the Web site: www.sarpaquebec

CONTACT US
General Inquiries
1 855-537-2772 (toll-free)
or in the Montreal area:
Telephone: 514 873-3563
Fax.: 514 864-8979
Email: sarpaquebec@csj.qc.ca