Child Support when young person attends a co-op program or undertakes apprenticeship - BlogBite (20)

More and more young adults ("children" over the age of 18) attend co-op programs which include periods of both study and work, or undertake apprenticeship programs.

We receive a lot of questions on how such programs impact of child support. Here are some key points on this issue:

1. There are circumstances in which a young person over the age of 18 will continue to be eligible for child support. We have posted on this issue before - we invite you to search for earlier discussions.

2. Generally speaking, a young person who continues with their education past the age of 18 will continue to be eligible for support. That being said, the facts of each specific case need to be considered to determine whether child support continues to be owing.

3. A young person over 18 does not automatically become disentitled to child support just because he or she is in a program of study which involves a work component or even some form of income.

4. When this happens, the focus should be on the a) form of child support payable and b) amount of child support payable. If the student receives income in connection with the work component of the program of study a) he/she may be expected to contribute at least a portion of the income to their own costs and b) the amount of financial assistance that young person will receive from his or her parents may be affected.

Again, each case is unique - inform yourself and get legal advice.

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! 

A serene Ontario vista - Photo by AJ

My child does not attend school or work - Child Support

We are frequently asked questions related to the widely – held misconception that child support is not payable for children/young persons over the age of 18. 

Unlike many other jurisdictions, Canada does not automatically cut off child support when a young person reaches "the age of majority". There are a number of important circumstances in which child support for such a young person would continue, and that includes cases in which the young person is medically disabled or attending school with a reasonable plan to complete their education.

There is also a corresponding, widely – held misconception that child support is always payable for young persons under the age of 18, no matter what they do with their time. In other words, many parents believe that they are entitled to receive child support from the non-residential parent even if a 16-year-old young man stops attending school, does not have a job and continues to live with the other parent. In these instances, child support is no longer payable unless there are provable medical reasons why the 16-year-old is neither attending school nor working (unable to support himself or herself financially).

While both provincial and federal legislation in Canada provides us with guidelines as to who is eligible to receive child support and how that child support is to be calculated, it is important to consider the specific facts of each case (and the relevant judicial decisions) to determine child support (if any) for each child. There are many cases in which child support is payable for young persons over the age of 18 and conversely, there are many other cases in which child support is no longer payable for young persons under the age of 18. 

Our strong suggestion is that you contact a family law lawyer and discuss your specific case with him or her – while it is natural for parents  (both recipients and payors of child support) to look for "one size fits all" formulas, and there is a danger to applying such formulas to every case, as one size does not fit all.

Can I pay child support directly to my child?

We are asked this question frequently: - the answer depends on a number of factors, including the type of child support you are paying (is it the "table" amount, it is tuition for university, is it the cost of books for college?), and the age of the child.

Child support cannot be paid directly to a 7-year-old child.  There are no exceptions to this rule. While child support is technically the right of the child and not either parent, it is the parents who incur costs related to the child and require contribution from the other parent to those costs.

Table child support (the monthly, recurring amount) is generally paid to the other parent and not to the child (and in this "to the other parent" we are including payment through the Family Responsibility Office).

Child support in the form of contribution to special or extraordinary expenses (section 7 expenses) is also generally paid to the parent incurring the expense but there are situations involving older children (eg: those attending university) where payments may be made directly to the child so that he/she can meet the required expenses (eg: for tuition, books or apartment). These situations need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis - the default should not be payment to the child.

We advise that all payments be made to the other parent or directly to the service provider. For example, parents can agree that their respective contributions to tuition be made by them directly to the university. All effort should be made not to involve children in financial issues, including those older than 16. Parents should make financial arrangements for their support with each other and without burdening the children with payments for any of their expenses, where at all possible.

For more information, speak to a family law lawyer.

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! 

"When do my child support payments end?" (2)

We have previously posted in response to this question, here:

http://ontariofamilylawblog.blogspot.ca/2010/03/when-do-my-child-support-payments-end.html?showComment=1379060235828#c1072379374379690057

The post generated many comments and questions so we decided to provide more guidance in the form of the following "flash cards" on this topic:

1. Contrary to a wide-held view, in Ontario child support does not end automatically when a young person turns 18. It also does not continue automatically until a young person is 18, without regard to what the young person is doing. For example, if a 16-year-old leaves school, begins working and moves in with friends, child support will end then and not continue for another two years until he/she turns 18.

2. A young person may continue to be considered "a child" for the purposes of child support even when they are 23-24.  Whether or not they remain eligible to receive support depends on the specific circumstances of each case but generally speaking, if a young person cannot become financially independent because they are still at school or unable to attend school or work for medical reasons, child support may continue to be payable.

3. Child support is the right of the child and not the right of the recipient parent. Parents do not have the right to bargain away, between themselves, the child's right to support.

4. There are different forms of child support contemplated by the Child Support Guidelines. The form and the amount of child support is likely to change when a young person enrolls in post-secondary education and in particular, if they live away from home for part of the year to attend school.

5. The overall means (ie: what is available in funds) of the parents and the child are always relevant to the issue of child support - particularly when post-secondary education is involved. This means, for example, that a parent earning $40,000 a year will not be expected to participate in covering any significant portion of a child's attendance at an Ivy League university in the US, at considerable cost. That parent will only be expected to contribute proportionately to their actual income.

6. The Courts do not simply accept line 150 of a payor's income tax return as an indication of their actual income for child support purposes. Self-employed individuals, in particular, will be subject to much closer scrutiny as to income and benefits available to them, pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines.

Making an important point once again - there are some general guidelines from the law on the issue of child support - there is no doubt about that  - BUT, each case also turns on its own facts and you should consider those specific facts with an actual lawyer to make sure that your particular circumstances are properly addressed.