Post final settlement

[d4k]

Good day forum,

Have a child, 50/50, there is final settlement.
I am required by court order to open RESP account for my child this year, and deposit certain amount (to match the amount deposited by ex so we get equal share of grants). The challenge with this order my ex took all documents for the child including birth certificate, SIN, and even health card. Without a SIN I can't open RESP account and comply with order (and later I will have less money to pay for child's education). I did ask ex several times for SIN in writing, but she ignores these requests, like many other.

Can I create a motion on the "settled" case, or do I have to fill form 20 - request for information, do I create a completely new court application? Do I need a new Application number to serve form 20 once case settled?
Any other options I have, like going to small claim court?

Thank you

[blinkandimgone]

Small claims...no.

Were the child's documents adressed in your agreement as to who holds them? If you have joint custody, you are both legally entitled to have/use them. If a parent is being unreasonable and withholding them, you can make a request for the documents or copies of. If they refuse to provide them, you can file a motion to have them transferred to you, amd seek costs for having to involve the courts since the other party is being unreasonable.

[d4k]

Thank you. It is a joint decision making for this child, and 50/50 living arrangement. The separation agreement doesn't state where the documents are stored, but I do need them for certain things like to fulfil this RESP condition in final order.

Can I use the same court file that was when we had a divorce, or do I need a completely new court application?
I was a respondent in original court proceedings. Would I remain a respondent despite I am a moving party for this motion? Finally, would you happen to know what form do I use to file a motion?


Thank you for your help!

[StillPaying]

I wouldn't waste 2 years in court, starting a new application (mtc) over this. Kid documents are supposed to follow the kid but there's no dire need for them.

The "final order" is the agreement you came to. You both agreed to contribute equally to kid's resp in order to both benefit from it. Everyone will pay their part when the time comes. You could give ex your half to put into her resp, or put it yourself in a gic or high interest savings account. You have options - so it's not like you have to save it now or the money is gone, or you should sue your ex...

Otherwise, yes - you're still the respondent with the same court number in your new motion to change application.

[d4k]

You could give ex your half to put into her resp

Right, give my ex money, what could possibly go wrong?
By just setting money aside, I won't get government grant, growth on that, as I will also end up paying taxes on Capital Gain. And besides, she will then request I pay increased offset CS due to that gain.

Otherwise, yes - you're still the respondent with the same court number in your new motion to change application.

Thank you for your help.

[rockscan]

Don't give her anything for the RESP she owns.

You won't get grants if she has already invested money in her own RESP. That's why they need the SIN. They track how much goes in. You may want to ask your financial advisor if you would be eligible for future grants if you put money in in January of the next year. If the child is no longer eligible, invest in a GIC or some other investment that gets you interest. Even a high interest savings account. There are plenty of options that have limited tax implications but still offer growth incentives.

(How I know this is because my husband invested a good chunk of funds into an RESP after their settlement and when his ex went to open one for herself, there were no grant funds available—he had scored them all.)

Send her a registered letter advising that should she refuse to provide the SIN in accordance with the agreement, you will be filing a motion to get the legal documents transferred to you and will request costs. That way you have proof she received the request prior to you filing especially if she has a habit of ignoring you.

You will be the Respondent but moving party in the updated action.

Talk to a financial advisor first!!

[d4k]

Don't give her anything for the RESP she owns.

You won't get grants if she has already invested money in her own RESP. That's why they need the SIN. They track how much goes in. You may want to ask your financial advisor if you would be eligible for future grants if you put money in in January of the next year. If the child is no longer eligible, invest in a GIC or some other investment that gets you interest. Even a high interest savings account. There are plenty of options that have limited tax implications but still offer growth incentives.

(How I know this is because my husband invested a good chunk of funds into an RESP after their settlement and when his ex went to open one for herself, there were no grant funds available—he had scored them all.)

Send her a registered letter advising that should she refuse to provide the SIN in accordance with the agreement, you will be filing a motion to get the legal documents transferred to you and will request costs. That way you have proof she received the request prior to you filing especially if she has a habit of ignoring you.

You will be the Respondent but moving party in the updated action.

Talk to a financial advisor first!!

We have a schedule specifying which year what is being put and by which parent, so that everyone gets equal share of grants, just my ex being my ex found a creative way not letting me opening the RESP in a first place. Next year won't be my year, and chances if she doesn't give it now, she won't give it later as well, unless of course I bring it to court.

As for the catch up contribution, you are allowed to contribute any amount you missed in prior years, but no more than 2500 catch up in a single year, i.e. you can contribute 5,000 max in a given year, provided you had sufficient missed contribution.



Thank you

[rockscan]

There is a max grant amount of $7200 so yes you may not be eligible to get an equal amount if she beats you to it. Plus, if you have funds in the RESP when the child is done, you may not be able to move them until the child reaches 22 or 25 depending on your institution. You may want to look at other savings options that allow you to maximize your growth potential.

[Tayken]

Request new documents if you have joint custody directly from the government agency. I would recommend for birth certificates that you ask government for the replacement of the long form birth certificate. For the SIN just file it lost and have them send you a copy. The number doesn't change. They just send you a copy of the new documents. You are a joint custodial parent and if there are no document restrictions you can get copies of them. Most people will give the long form to one parent and short form to the other (for birth certificates).

No need to go to court for simple documents if you are a joint custodial parent. You can do it all online too.

The only document that gives you grief is Passports. But, you don't need a passport to open an RESP.

[Gilligan]

I will agree with Tayken on this and maybe offer a different perspective than most as I've dealt with simillar issues with my ex and the RESP.

Court will be long, extremely costly and I'm not sure you will get the releif you are seeking. You are going to have to open a motion that may last up to 2 or more years only to have to ask for a SIN card, which should have never have been witheld. I've seen a lot of judges not award costs against a mother for doing this sort of stuff (ask me how I know) and there are no consequences if the behaviour continues, meaning you can try to proove contempt after repeated offences, but ever court action can be this long. In addition, the courts don't seem to understand RESP's and how to apply them. Just based on what you said the agreement was shows me that its not easily done.

If I were to offer advice, it would be to 1) Get your own copy for the birth certificate, 2) also get the SIN Card, 3) make the max RESP contribution to maximize government grants on January 1 of every year to ensure you get the grant portion and have time on your side for investments to grow.

It will be very difficult to argue who got the grants in future years.

I went through a very simillar situation but in my case, the mom changed our joint RESP to a double signature and wouldn't sign when the child went to school... had to go to court while I paid full offset support (still am) for a child living 6 hours away and 100% of post-secondary costs while this worked it's way through court. My child is not almost done their 3rd year of school and this matter isn't fully settled... The courts didn't have much issue with mom's "reasonableness". All this to say, if you have the oppertunity to get the documents yourself, I would do that instead of court. I would probably be careful what I disclosed to my ex as well (based on my experience).

Good luck

[Gilligan]

(duplicate post)

[d4k]

3) make the max RESP contribution to maximize government grants on January 1 of every year to ensure you get the grant portion and have time on your side for investments to grow.

Good luck

How much court would be concerned if I do it on the year that my ex had to do it, according to final agreement? It is breach of an order, but I somewhat doubt they would do anything if she did the same.

[Gilligan]

My comments are based on my personal experience and should not be considered as being "right" or "Legal"... but in my case, the courts didn't seem to care one bit about pre-existing agreements or court orders. My ex would be in breach constantly and this was never addressed and I would even go as far as to say that my ex was even rewarded for her poor behaviour and never be required to follow the previous order with regards to the RESP. In fact, she has essentally taken a previous joint RESP and uses it for her share / contribution only towards Section 7 expenses.

Given this, I would just open my own RESP and make investments into it and just be quiet about it. Good luck trying to figure out who receive what grant money and how much interest was accrued based on that sum.

There is truely nothing legally binding in your agreement, as it's a future obligation that you will need to share in accordance to your respective incomes should your child attend post-secondary education. If you ex makes this an issue, it was a product of their own doing. End of story.

Good luck