Post-secondary, 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 calculations

[rockscan]

Thanks for such a speedy reply. Appreciate it.
Yes, itâ€[emoji769]s a program that could have been taken within an hour from home but she chose to do it 6 hours away. I can only guess that maybe a friend was attending that same school and that helped make the decision. Itâ€[emoji769]s a 4 1/2 year university program. Which is great for her and Iâ€[emoji769]m happy about, but Iâ€[emoji769]m not a bank.
I do not make near 150k. But Iâ€[emoji769]m sure I make at least 50k more than mother.
My father had passed away 6 years ago and some believe I inherited a large sum, which is not exactly the case. So my ex thinks I should pay 50% of the total school cost. As per our SA. But our agreement also stated reasonable notice and that I be included in some of these discussions.
I donâ€[emoji769]t want to go to court over it but at the same time I donâ€[emoji769]t want to be walked over with this. I advised my ex that we each split it 1/3 but she laughed and so no, I pay 50%.

Does your agreement not say anything about the child’s contribution? Or is it a section is split 50/50 kind of thing?

I asked about the income as many who make over 150g get stuck with a difficult fight.

Being included means nothing regardless of what your agreement says. Your ex may get her knuckles wrapped for not including you but it’s not a deal breaker as far as the court is concerned.

You didn’t answer my question about whether kid had a job and earned money. She is obligated to contribute. Especially since she decided to go away which means an additional $12,000 (at least) in expenses.

I would remind her that the agreement ALSO SAYS that the decision would include you AND expenses discussed prior to incurring them. Not to mention the program is offered closer to home with a reduced costs. Make her an offer to pay either 50% of the school expenses with kid paying residence and travel costs. Otherwise you will pay your proportionate share of 2/3 the cost as she decided to go against the agreement.

[roryb]

Does your agreement not say anything about the child�s contribution? Or is it a section is split 50/50 kind of thing?

I asked about the income as many who make over 150g get stuck with a difficult fight.

Being included means nothing regardless of what your agreement says. Your ex may get her knuckles wrapped for not including you but it�s not a deal breaker as far as the court is concerned.

You didn�t answer my question about whether kid had a job and earned money. She is obligated to contribute. Especially since she decided to go away which means an additional $12,000 (at least) in expenses.

I would remind her that the agreement ALSO SAYS that the decision would include you AND expenses discussed prior to incurring them. Not to mention the program is offered closer to home with a reduced costs. Make her an offer to pay either 50% of the school expenses with kid paying residence and travel costs. Otherwise you will pay your proportionate share of 2/3 the cost as she decided to go against the agreement.

Sorry, forgot to answer that. She did have a part time job while living at home with her mother but I understand her hours were cut down to almost nothing due to Covid and being a part time employee, so her company cut all the part timers.

Our separation agreement had a section that each parent pays 50/50 and nothing in it about kid contribution.

Residence costs for the year are $15,000
With tuition coming in at $6000

When I told her that 1/3 is a thing she laughed and denied that. her lawyer then sent me a text message this morning saying he’s never heard of 1-3 rule and that I’d take the 50/50 if I were you or it could cost me more in the end. I was surprised that he text me as it doesn’t seem all that professional, but he claimed he’s trying to save us some financial hardships and end this before it goes further.

[rockscan]

What exactly does your agreement say about post secondary?

[roryb]

It says ... “future special or extraordinary expenses may include post secondary education. Father will pay 50% of these future expenses as they arise”

[rockscan]

What does it say about the discussing together part?

[roryb]

“The parties will only contribute to Child’s additional special or extraordinary expenses if the parties consent to the activity and expense in advance, in writing. Neither party will unreasonably withhold consent. If the parties cannot agree, they will use section 6 of the original agreement entitled “dispute resolution” to resolve the issue”

[rockscan]

Ok so like I said tell her that she made a unilateral decision and kid is attending school away from home at an additional expense. You will pay your share of the reasonable expenses but you expect kid to pay a share as they chose a program away from home with an increased cost. If she does not agree you are willing to attend mediation or she is welcome to file a motion to change. You ignore her lawyer’s texts. Never heard of a lawyer sending texts.

Are you still paying full table child support?

[roryb]

I had always sent her 12 post-dated cheques at the start of the year for support. This year was different because we did acknowledge that a school decision would be coming so we agreed that Ill send her cheques up to the end of August. So that is as far as I have contributed so far.
thanks so much for your input and recommendations.

[rockscan]

Has she asked for support checks for sept to december?

[roryb]

No she has not asked for any support cheques at all. Just the 50% share of School tuition and residence.
She did mention that our monthly support amount should be reviewed but I shot that down pretty quickly as I told her that support ends when the child is living away from home for school.

[rockscan]

She did mention that our monthly support amount should be reviewed but I shot that down pretty quickly as I told her that support ends when the child is living away from home for school.

Not technically true. You would be on the hook for four months of summer as the child is expected to return for the summer months.

Was the child eligible for student loans/grants? For instance, OSAP in Ontario? Normally they would receive grants in addition to loans including a direct grant to the tuition amount.

[rockscan]

If its 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3, that means child, mother and father each pay 1/3.
What happens if child's grandparent set up an RESP. Does that belong to the child or can my ex claim that her extended family member's RESP counts as her own contribution?

A friend who just went through trial on RESPs had this case referenced in the decision:

https://www.canlii.org/en/on/oncj/do...&resultIndex=1

The judge in that case held that both parents would benefit from the funds so they were to be applied to the cost first.

[roryb]

Sorry, that is what I meant. As long as she is not living at home during the school year there is no support. If she returns for summer that's different for sure.
As far as Loans etc ... I have no idea, I asked and all that mother said is that they did not apply for any OSAP and "why would they?" "Why would we put our child in debt when its not necessary" is the response i got.
She did say that she got $1700 in bursaries which she told child to put towards books, but then later sent me a receipt for all the books expecting 50/50.

[rockscan]

Sorry, that is what I meant. As long as she is not living at home during the school year there is no support. If she returns for summer that's different for sure.
As far as Loans etc ... I have no idea, I asked and all that mother said is that they did not apply for any OSAP and "why would they?" "Why would we put our child in debt when its not necessary" is the response i got.
She did say that she got $1700 in bursaries which she told child to put towards books, but then later sent me a receipt for all the books expecting 50/50.

She could have taken the loans and put them into an account and earned interest on them. Not necessarily gone into debt.

I still stand by recommendation that you advise mother that you will not contribute to residence costs as kid chose to attend school away from home and you will split the tuition fees accordingly after the bursaries and tax deduction are applied to the total.

With that said, if you aren’t paying residence fees, you would be able to pay 50% of the tuition costs. You would more than likely be ordered to pay it anyway. The residence and personal expenses fees would go to debate with a judge providing a decision.

You could also go on the OSAP estimator site (google it) and enter the information and see what she would have gotten in grants if she had applied. If you get that information you can add it to the email outlining that child should have applied to all programs available especially since she chose to attend school away from home.

For example:

Dear ex, thank you for your update on these costs. As previously noted, I was not involved in the discussions and decisions related to (kid)’s school choice and don’t agree on the decision to attend school away from home or her failure to apply for all eligible grant and loan programs. OSAP provides significant grant funding and based on my initial review of the OSAP estimator, she would have been eligible for approximately $XXXX in non repayable grants for her costs.

Further, as it was (kid)’s decision to attend a program away from home, incurring an additional expense of $xxxxxx for residence and meal plan, I feel it is only fair she be responsible for these expenses.

Please provide me with proof of payment for tuition and I will forward my 50% share accordingly.

[rockscan]

There is zero chance that my ex would suggest that we could mutually benefit from her parent's RESP fund for our child. She will say it belongs to her, and I am on my own.

Then when the time comes you send her the case and any other relevant stuff and you tell her that if she doesnt agree she can file a motion to change.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk