Cost of Residence and Child support

[gzy039]

Asking for a friend (the support payor).

Child is in first year university, away from home. Child support is still being paid. Child chose to go away to school although was also accepted into an equivalent university where they could have lived at home. Approval of this extra expense was not requested by the support recipient. The support recipient is now asking for the support payor to cover 1/3 of residency costs in addition to child support.

The support payors stance is that they shouldn't have to pay child support and for part of residency.

Thoughts?

[Berner_Faith]

There are many cases that deal with this, but yes school expenses should be shared 1/3 by the child and both parents, however this is after any student loans, OSAP, grants, bursaries, savings etc. (I believe). Child support is usually still paid, as the custodial parent still has to maintain a home for the child to come home to on weekends, holidays, summer and what not.

Have you searched the forum for similar threads regarding this?

[FWB]

@gzy039

As B_F mentioned in her post, this topic has come up here in the past...but am sure we can all agree on this for starters:

The Family Law Act requires every parent to provide for the support of his or her unmarried child who is under the age of 18 or enrolled in a full-time education program. The Divorce Act, which is the federal statute, requires child support to be paid for a "child of the marriage", which is a child under the age of majority, over the age of majority who is under 18, or who is over 18 but cannot become independent by reason of illness, disability, or another cause (read as an educational pursuit).

While there is some small difference in the wording, the reality is that child support is payable in Ontario up to and including one four-year university degree and/or college equivalent, unless a child stops attending school.

Even if a child stops attending school, if they return to school before their late or mid-20s, the likelihood of your obligation to support the child through their educational studies for a minimum of four years is very high. Courts tend to lean on the side of the child, saying that a child -- even one who does not have a relationship with the parent, unless one can prove that this is the child's specific actions as opposed to the effect of parental discord -- will still receive support.


As Berner also mentioned, there is an onus on the kid to contribute a third towards education costs i.e. the "normal kid" should also contribute toward their educational costs, and the courts tend to see a contribution somewhere in the neighbourhood of $2,000 from summer earnings. The court realizes the difficulty to earn money for kids, and the fact that many kids pay some of their own travel, recreational, or clothing expenses does not set a high standard for contribution by children, even ones going to university.

Here is one way to look at the hypothetical scenario / question you posed:


If the child lives at home while going to university, normal table amounts of child support under the child-support guidelines will still be paid, and the parents will share proportional costs for tuition and books. This is, of course, subject to the contribution by the child.

During the months when the child is away at school, normal child support under the tables may be vastly reduced or stopped completely, and the parents will share (proportional to their income) the educational costs, including residence, or equivalent rent, food, clothing, books, healthcare costs, and transportation, also subject to contribution by the child.


Bottom line...there are various reasons why kids (some of us have been there) choose to go study away from home. You can look at it in a positive light, and say at least the umbilical cord will be gently removed....the kid learning to be independent / learning to fend and do chores for themselves, which later benefits them in life.

[gzy039]

Hello,

I did look for other related posts but this is a slightly different situation.

To me, the key to this is that the child could have stayed local, thus not incurring residence costs. The child chose to go away to school. A 1/3 of the cost of residence was not agreed upon by the support payor. So now they are paying full child support with the child is away at school and being asked to pay (after the fact) 1/3 of residence. Is this not an extraordinary expense? Is it not suppose to be agreed to prior to spending?

Keep in mind the child could have received the same education locally.

[Berner_Faith]

When it comes to education, it is a section 7 expense, but I don't think it follows the same rules generally. It was not an unforeseeable expense. I am sure the payor knew eventually the child was going to go to post secondary. Many schools offer many similar programs and just because a local school offered a similar program, there may have been some differences in the programs.

You may be able to find some case law to back up your point, but I think you will find most Judge's will find in favor of the child. Most people have a to fight to just pay 1/3, I wouldn't take this to court, as I think the Judge would blast the payor for attempting to get out of obligations.

[Mess]

I don't have caselaw onhand, but I have seen judge's decisions where the child support was reduced or eliminated in such a situation, depending on circumstances.

You are exactly right, it is not realistic to pay for housing at both the school and at the other parent's home.

There are going to be multiple points to consider; some may be in your favour and some may be in the other parent's favour. You have to do your best and see how many arguments you can construct and support, and how many of the other parent's arguments you can refute.

What does the child do during the summer? Do they work? Do they come back to reside with the other parent?

[gzy039]

Thank you for the replies.

The father has absolutely no problem with paying for 1/3 of residency, as long as they are not paying full child support at the same time. It is unrealistic to expect to pay full table amount for that child AND 1/3 of residency. I believe the support recipient is expecting him to pay for both. Hopefully they can work something out that is fair, although unfortunately some people just want to stick it to the other.

I believe child support was going to be more expensive then paying for a 1/3 of residency. He chose to continue with the child support. The support recipient has gotten greedy it seems.

The child does have a part time job they work at when home from school. He does come home and resides with the other parent, and stays as his dads as well.