A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered a Langley father to pay over half a million dollars in retroactive child support after he was found to have income that was "dramatically higher" than what was disclosed.

The judgment, which does not give names, states the man and his ex-wife signed a separation agreement in 2003 which set out child support for their two daughters at $1,600 per month, based on the husband's guideline income of $90,551.

But that income turned out to be significantly less than what the man was actually earning at the time, and as the years progressed his financial situation greatly improved.

Many years he made over $300,000 with his best earning year coming in 2010 when his income climbed to $773,127.

2010 was also the year he sold his business for $4 million.

Despite federal child support guidelines that set out a monthly child support amount which is tied to the paying parent's level of income, the amount the man paid remained static at $1,600 per month until March 2015, one month after his eldest daughter turned 19, when he unilaterally halved it to $800.

The judgment notes that the mother and daughters suffered "family hardship" as a result.

The mother, who works as a teacher's aide earning $28,000 per year, took on a part-time job as a waitress in order to pay the bills.

She was also forced to move the family from a "comfortable apartment" into a two-bedroom condo where she slept on the couch.

In her judgment Madam Justice Barbara Young writes, "it is clear to me that the respondent in this case is guilty of blameworthy conduct in the extreme."

"The children have done without support from their father for many years and their mother has struggled to support them."

Ironically, it was only when the mother sought legal help to have the payments restored to $1,600 per month that she learned that by law, support payments are supposed to be tied to income.

At the time she was not aware of just how much her ex-husband was worth, nor that he was obliged to file annual financial disclosures.

Besides the $522,408 lump sum, Young also ordered the father pay an ongoing amount of $1,041 per month towards his daughters' post secondary education.

The oldest is studying at university while the youngest — who graduated from high school in June and is now a mother herself — is planning to attend technical college.

Young also noted the father, or a lawyer representing him, failed to show up to numerous court dates including the hearing and reading of the decision and often didn't respond to requests for information.