Child Support over 18

Many support payors and recipients in Canada think that child support is payable only until a child turns 18. In fact, that is not correct.

In Canada, child support is payable to young persons, even over the age of 18, who for good reason are not able to withdraw from their parents' financial assistance. What are such "good reasons"? There can be two (or a combination of them):

1. a child attends school (for example, university or college, but there may be other schools which would qualify) - depending on the financial resources of the parents, support may continue even after one degree is completed; or

2. for medical reasons, a young person over 18 cannot become financially independent (for example, the child has a long term disability or was involved in an accident and is recovering).

One very common scenario we get questions about is the following:

Fictional Chloe attends Fictional University and is in her 3rd year. Early in the second term, she is in a car accident and is unable to finish the year. By the beginning of the 4th year, she is not able to return to school full-time and can only take a half-course load, for medical reasons. We get asked: is she still entitled to child support? - the answer is "yes" - that is because she is still "a child of the marriage", which is a phrase used to describe a young person who either for medical reasons or because she remains at school cannot become financially independent. In this scenario, it's a bit of both - she is not in school for medical reasons but would otherwise be - child support remains payable even when she is taking less than a full course load.

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

What is ADR?

ADR stands for alternative dispute resolution (sometimes also referred to as external dispute resolution). This term describes collectively various approaches for resolving disputes between two (or more) parties without having to use the court system.

Alternative dispute resolution encompasses dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation, arbitration, mediation/arbitration, negotiation, collaborative law and other subcategories of dispute resolution. 

ADR has become an increasingly viable and popular method of addressing disputes, including family law disputes, for a number of reasons. The administration of justice, including in Ontario, has faced increasing pressure from a number of fronts. Rapid urban expansion has meant that courts are facing more and more litigants every day. In the meantime, there is competition for financial resources, including from healthcare. As courts become busier and busier, alternative methods of addressing disputes become increasingly attractive. More and more litigants are turning to mediation and arbitration, for example, to sort out their family law problems.

In summary terms, mediation is a process where spouses meet with a third party who is skilled at facilitating negotiation between them. Mediation may be open or closed. In closed mediation, nothing said in the context of the negotiations with the mediator can be repeated in either an existing or a later court proceeding.  In open mediation, the reverse is true and either party may request that the mediator issue a report summarizing the process and outcome of the mediation. Either party may then rely on this report before the court.

Arbitration is essentially "private court". The parties to an arbitration agree that a person selected by them (the arbitrator) will make a binding decision on the issue(s) put before him or her. In Ontario, the arbitrator is bound by the same law that a judge would be bound in making his or her decision for the parties.

Mediation/arbitration is a hybrid of the two processes described above. For a period of time, the parties attempt mediation. Based on specific, agreed-to terms, the mediation ends if the parties are unable to reach a resolution and the mediator then puts on an arbitrator's hat. This means that he/she then convenes a formal hearing of the outstanding issue(s) and after considering evidence and submissions, makes a binding decision for the parties.

For further information about how ADR may be of assistance to you in a family law dispute, speak to a family law lawyer.

Artwork: Kees Van Dongen

Christmas access tips....

With the holidays approaching, many parents are thinking of and planning for Christmas access. Here are some basic tips:

1. Plan and prepare early. Give yourself and the other parent a reasonable opportunity to propose a schedule to each other, discuss it and confirm it. Leave room and time for some negotiation.

2. Always think of your child/children first. This may sound like the most basic of concepts but, surprisingly, it gets lost in so many fights about access over the holidays. This is a special time for kids - yes, it's a special time for you as well but they, and not you, are waiting for presents and the smell of gingerbread. Make the holidays as stress-free for kids as possible - this includes not having to watch parents fight or to hear one parent making disparaging comments about the other.

3. If you plan on travelling with your child/children, advise the other parent as much in advance as possible. Draft, sign and have notarized a detailed Travel Consent so that you are less likely to be turned away at the border when travelling for your holiday. Give the other parent (and include in the Travel Consent) detailed information about your destination, method of travel and contact information.

4. If you and the other parent cannot agree on holiday access, one of you may have to ask the Court to assist. Family Courts are very, very busy before the holidays, precisely because of numerous requests for assistance with access. Try and not be the parent sitting in Court for hours, waiting to be heard by a stranger to your family, a Judge, to make a decision about your children over the holidays. Work with the other parent.

5. There are many different ways of handling the holiday access schedule. For example, you can divide the school holidays in half and alternate those two halves, year to year. Or, you can alternate just Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Other alternatives are available. Speak to a family law lawyer to assist you and tell you about other choices.

Above all, have a safe and restful holiday season....

"Normal" or "usual" access schedule

We are frequently asked by parents about a "standard" or "normal" access schedule. Is there such a thing?

Not really ~ access schedules vary with families, the parents' work commitments and the child's/children's needs but there are some patterns (assuming parents are not sharing the children's residence), for example:

1. Alternating weekends, with a mid-week visit. Here, there may be variations as to:

a. the beginning and end of the weekend access (eg: Friday after school or Saturday morning (for the start) and Sunday evening or Monday morning at school (for the end);

b. the duration and frequency of the mid-week access - it may be an overnight or just dinner, for example. It may also be limited only to weeks which do not end with the access parent's weekend.

2. alternating Saturdays and Sundays (with the parents sharing each weekend but alternating as to the day);

There are a number of other variations of the above themes, depending on each family's needs.  The keys to making any access arrangement work, for the children and the parents, are:  open minds, good faith, patience and a recognition that children must never be caught up in disputes between their parents.

Amedeo Modigliani - Seated Woman in Blue Dress - 1918

Sharing child care expenses in Ontario

Generally speaking, child care costs are what are described by the Child Support Guidelines as "special or extraordinary expenses" (also called "Section 7 expenses" as that is the section in the Guidelines which deals with them).

Note the qualifying wording of the subsection itself - it's a mini-test for whether or not particular child care expenses will fall under this section:

"(a) child care expenses incurred as a result of the custodial parent's employment, illness, disability or education or training for employment;"

A child's or children's expenses which qualify under section 7 of the Guidelines (and this includes child care expenses incurred by a parent by reason of employment, disability, illness or education/training) are shared by the parents proportionately to their respective incomes, taking into account any tax deductions available and taken by the residential parent. In other words, the non-residential parent is expected to share with the other parent only the after-tax-deduction portion of the expense. 

The formula is straightforward when one parent is the primary residential parent. It becomes more complicated in cases of either shared or split custody (addressed in another blog post).

Lawren Harris ~Coldwell Bay