After finding that a letter signed by the two separated spouses did not constitute an “agreement” for purposes of the “support amount” and “commencement day” definitions, the Directorate went on to state:
A written agreement subsequent to an order could, in certain circumstances, be valid for the purposes of applying the terms "commencement day", "support amount" and "child support amount" if such an agreement corresponded to the reality of a situation of shared financial and parental responsibilities and if the agreement was a valid contract between two parties having the effect of creating mutual obligations. This would mean recognizing not only changes in support payments but also changes in custody of a child or children. Consequently, it would allow eligibility in certain cases for the wholly dependent person credit pursuant to paragraph 118(1)(b).