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  • Post Secondary and Co-op programs

    Hey folks,

    Looking for a little guidance as I'm trying to navigate my child getting older and going being away for university. I have two somewhat pretty straight forward questions regarding child support in this case.

    1) What is the typical number of months that support is payable if a child is home during the summer. I would assume that 4 is the standard, but I the other parent inisisting that Thanksgiving, Christmas and reading weeks is at least an extra month of support.

    2) If the child is enrolled in a full time in a 5 year co-op program with no reasonable chance of coming home durring the summer (with the exception of 1st year), I'm assuming that child support would not be payable if the child is away 12 months of the year? While trying to negotiate, I have the other parent insisting on 5 months of support throughout the entierty of their degree (6 hours away) and no termionation, which would require me to bring this back to court again.

    I have done a fair bit of digging around and know that CS is payable when the child is home, but these details seem to be somewhat discretionary.

    Appreciate anybodies experience.


    Cheers,

  • #2
    My husband’s ex was told by a judge in the GTA four months regardless of how often kids came home. A friend went through a different GTA court and the judge (who was very confused about facts) said 6 months. In both those cases the payor earned less than the recipient.

    As for the five year program…one of those years may be a paid schedule. It would be best to speak to the child.

    An aside is that if the program was available closer to home then kid will have an additional responsibility. As the judge in my husband’s case said if kid chose to go away because they wanted a social life then kid has to pay more.

    Comment


    • #3
      There's more to it then just summer months; depends on many factors.

      Is ex low income, do they visit child often, supply them with items, does child come home often, are they still supporting child while you're not... While most may be no support, there are many reasons why cs could still be paid throughout the year.

      Comment


      • #4
        The child is going into a co-op program
        ,it is assumed they will get a co-op spot
        ,they can make a lot of money doing co-op
        ,they wont be going home unless it is for their working term
        ,they may not be going home at all.
        ,they may work up to 8 months of a year on co-op; 4 months on other years. I don't know.

        So it is not so straight forward due to the unknown income and employment status. The child may be making 20-60K any given year...

        Need details on the program and I certainly don't know the answer.
        If my child becomes a journeyman and still doing courses and working learning on the job what does that translate to?

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks for the information. It's a university business program in an accredited feild in southern ontario. It's much more likely to get coop work-terms in that area or the GTA, so it's much more likely that they will be away for the 12 months.

          There is a fair discrepency in income as mom doesn't work and is on LTD / CPP / Pension.

          I've been trying to negotiate but it's a challenge because mom wants CS for maintaining her lifestyle. To date, she has not contributed a dime toword any post-secondary costs, and I'm currently paying full offset + all post-secondary (with a reasonable contribution from child).

          Given the lack of consistency, it seems like I'm rolling the dice and not sure where things would land if it went to a motion.


          Cheers,

          Comment


          • #6
            If the child is living away from home during the school year child support is not due. Now they are living away from home 12 months a year.
            I am no lawyer but it seems clear cut to me.

            I don't understand how your ex contributes nothing, she must be earning more than 12K per year.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by pinkHouses View Post
              If the child is living away from home during the school year child support is not due. Now they are living away from home 12 months a year.
              I am no lawyer but it seems clear cut to me.

              I don't understand how your ex contributes nothing, she must be earning more than 12K per year.
              I agree, I think it's pretty clear, but I want to make sure that I'm not off here.

              In terms of her cooperation, she's just in breach... We had some joint RESP, but she's locked the account and refuses to sign, basically holding the child hostage. I took the high road and paid for post-secondary because he would otherwise not be able to attend. Ex is OK with child going away, but not paying for it.

              You can see my other posts, but mom's income is closer to $50K with most of being net due to tax right offs... top that off with her recieving the child's cpp payments tax free (x2) on top of child support, she's doing pretty well.

              My previous order was with FRO and because I pay offset only, it's setup with Payer -> Recipient, and they will not enforce anything where a recipient ows a payer. And there is nothing requiring a recipient to actually pay for stuff, although it's expected. I am of the view that FRO is great in situation where the other party isn't involved, but it's not built for 50/50 - joint custody.

              Comment


              • #8
                Because you are paying directly for kids schooling and can’t change cs I think you need a motion. At this point it will take a while which is why I say do it now. If there is a big amount owing to you, you won’t see it as she is unemployed. Plus it will order the RESP to be unlocked.

                Your case is one of those unique ones and since post secondary is grey to begin with, you need a judge to weigh in. If you don’t I fear you will end up out tens of thousands by the time kid is done school and your ex will walk away with the RESP funds which are the child’s monies.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by pinkHouses View Post
                  If the child is living away from home during the school year child support is not due.
                  I don't believe it is that straight forward. It's said that table amounts are not appropriate, not that no support is due. Again, there are many reason why support is still paid throughout the year - full table while at home and a reduced amount for the rest of the year. I believe the onus would be on the CP to show what child still costs them and how much support they need.

                  When you get to post secondary, you no longer have to follow guidelines, but that doesn't mean zero support. With 50/50, where the child will be spending time at both houses, it's less likely to be owed. Or 1 parent could spend more on school costs in lieu of cs.

                  If you're saying 4 or 0 months and ex wants 5, I would agree to 5 with the exception that child must be sleeping their at least 16 days a month. Otherwise court could be 4 months full table and 8 months reduced.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by StillPaying View Post
                    I don't believe it is that straight forward. It's said that table amounts are not appropriate, not that no support is due. Again, there are many reason why support is still paid throughout the year - full table while at home and a reduced amount for the rest of the year. I believe the onus would be on the CP to show what child still costs them and how much support they need.

                    When you get to post secondary, you no longer have to follow guidelines, but that doesn't mean zero support. With 50/50, where the child will be spending time at both houses, it's less likely to be owed. Or 1 parent could spend more on school costs in lieu of cs.

                    If you're saying 4 or 0 months and ex wants 5, I would agree to 5 with the exception that child must be sleeping their at least 16 days a month. Otherwise court could be 4 months full table and 8 months reduced.

                    This is true. Post secondary is considered in different ways for different situations. A friend was just ordered to pay 50% support despite kid living away. It was because the RESP was used for residence and kid still came home. My husband just had to pay four months because mom couldn’t prove kid came home and dad paid a share of residence and food. Ive seen cases where cs was still paid at a certain amount outside the summer only due to discrepancies in income.

                    This is why lawyer’s say it’s a grey area. Every judge has a different view and there is no set case law other than Lewi v Lewi on the costs.

                    Comment

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