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Advice on CS for adult children

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  • Advice on CS for adult children

    So, my daughter graduated high school at 19. When she was done her mom agreed to sign a withdrawal form with FRO. It was submitted and effective October 2016. I agreed I would pay half of my daughter's expenses even though she was not in school anymore to help her out. I didn't know what plans my daughter had for post secondary education or if she was planning to even go to college. I text my daughter one day to see how she was doing and she said she just started college that day. She told me she had applied for osap and was approved. I had no idea of any of this. Then about a week later I got mail from my ex saying she wanted full guidline child support while she was in school. My daughter is taking a 1 year program that goes from May 2017 to January 2018 only. I made an offer to pay half of my daughter's 6000 loan because I didn't have the opportunity to offer education expenses and give my ex 100 per month. My ex is not contributing to her education at all. My daughter also makes 500 minimum per month from her job. My ex declined the offer because she wants more money for herself instead of going to my daughter's education. Anyone have thoughts about this and if they think the offer is fair?

  • #2
    Technically you would be ordered to pay cs for the months she is in school. If she just turned 18 and was out of school for the summer only then you would be on the hook for cs then too. You are obligated to pay cs while she is in school and living at home.

    As for the school expenses, you will be required to pay your proportionate share of the net cost of her tuition, books, supplies, and transportation if its not included in her tuition fees.

    You may want to restart cs for the year and request copies of expenses. It doesnt matter what your ex wants or does with the money, the court would order you to pay it. If she took you to court and won (which she probably would) you would also be open to a costs award to her.

    Comment


    • #3
      Yes, but she was off for a year, not just the summer and I was not involved in any of it. If her mother is not currently contributing anything to her education, how is it fair for me to pay full cs plus education expenses. Then she would be paying nothing.

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      • #4
        Also note that my daughter worked full time for a year at 12 bucks an hour.

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        • #5
          Doesnt matter. You are the support payor. You are obligated to pay cs and part of her expenses.

          Tell her you want full details on her school costs including statements of account for both the school and OSAP, as well as any other receipts. Go back and calculate what you have paid your daughter from May and subtract that from what you owe and then start paying her until December.

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          • #6
            I have read case law where the father has paid for education expenses and the mother did not and the father had the monthly payments terminated due to this. The mother is also obligated to pay her fair share of the education, so if she does not, it's fair for her to pay the living expenses since I am offering to pay more than my share. I can guarantee she would not bring me to court if she thought she could be ordered to pay education expenses too. She refuses to give money to education. So in the end, all those facts should matter.

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            • #7
              Id be interested in seeing this case law as I have found nothing that says cs is not ordered for a child in school full time. It also depends on your income and your ex's income.

              If you want to push her on it you are welcome to do so. Post secondary is open to interpretation by judges and you run the risk of a judge ordering you to pay full cs and your share of expenses plus her costs to fight it.

              The law states shes a child of the marriage and entitled to cs. Not many judges would waver from that fact.

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              • #8
                I will see if I can find it and I will post it.

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                • #9
                  Support Guidelines revised 2016

                  Have a look on page 40 of this document.

                  Child support (plus expenses) typically goes to 18, or longer if the child cannot support themselves due to illness, education, etc. But factors are now taken into consideration for when support is not appropriate. Factors like living away from home, other sources of income sufficient to cover all or most of their education, advanced education degrees, or illness. Other sources of income may include a job, scholarships, RESPs, grandparents, etc.

                  If these conditions apply, then typically a monthly budget is determined for the child, which is then proportionally divided between the parents.

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                  • #10
                    My partner is currently in litigation on cs and section 7 for a child over the age of 18 and older than their agreement laid out for cs cut off. His lawyer has advised him that while certain education expenses can be disputed, cs is a given and set for a child living at home.

                    A support payor cannot force the other parent to pay their share of expenses and in most cases what happens between that parent and child is outside enforcement. In my partners case his ex is responsible for 70% of the costs and because she has no money, claims she needs more cs and a higher percentage of costs from him to cover it all. As his lawyer said, kid probably isnt getting anything from that parent but its not his problem as he is only responsible for his portion and cs. Lawyer has reiterated over and over again that it doesnt matter what other case law says, until you get in front of a judge you cant interpret the law how you think it should be.

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                    • #11
                      You pay full CS to the mother while the child is in school full-time (so for the next year). That covers her food, clothing, bus fare, living expenses, etc, as it did when she was a child who could not support herself. She is not expected to support herself right now as she is supposed to devote herself to her education.

                      Your child pays 1/3 of her tuition and books and school fees. You and your ex divide the remaining 2/3 via your s7 proportional share.

                      Your child's share comes from her savings, her meagre income, her OSAP grants, whatever.

                      If your ex doesn't pay your child anything for her proportional share of the 2/3 remaining, that's between her and your child. Presumably she'll be able to afford something since you are now paying full CS again. If she hogs the money, hopefully this will open the child's eyes to how her mother is using her.

                      Pay your share to the child directly, if possible. She needs to learn to budget, be responsible for bills and loans, etc.

                      The information you need is your child's total tuition fees and her books cost, and your ex's income for the last year. If they choose not to provide statements, receipts and tax return, don't pay anything at all. Just the CS, since your income is all you need to calculate that part.

                      You'll have to do some retroactive calculations for the time she's already been in school.

                      When you have an unreasonable ex, don't deviate from law.

                      Also, take an interest in your child, how she's doing in her classes, etc. It doesn't sound like you have much of a relationship if you didn't know she was planning to go to school again. You definitely want to be in the loop enough to know if she drops out, too.

                      Lastly, be wary of the child possibly jumping from program to program just to keep the CS flowing. If you're not involved in any discussion about how she hates her program and wants to try something else, you shouldn't be on the hook for continuing to pay.

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                      • #12
                        That is a great document to read. I do believe from everything I've been reading that all child support orders for "adult children" are fact driven and discretionary. No 2 cases will be exactly the same. I just wanted someone's thoughts to see if what I'm offering sounds fair. She was charging my daughter 200 per month to cover her expenses when not in school, so I figure 100 would cover my share while she is in school.

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                        • #13
                          Remember that canlii only has a sample of cases and they are heavily leaned towards payors in the higher range of income. There are still hundreds more that arent listed on canlii that follow the guidelines.

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                          • #14
                            Anyone who has an ex like mine probably doesn't have a great relationship with their child either.

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                            • #15
                              Doesn't matter. My partner hasn't spoken to one in months and the other in years. Hes still obligated to pay cs and school expenses.

                              Comment

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