RESP going to be lost
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wretchedotis
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I read that to mean you both must agree to any section 7 expense in writing - so if he doesn't agree, it's not?
If he has the means, and is interested in helping his own kid out, you can probably get this very thing in writing from him. Might I suggest you do it as tactfully as possible.
Well, he signed the RESP
that's in writing as we both signed the contract when our daughter was a baby, - so it should by all intents and purposes be considered a Sec 7 as far as I;m concerned. However that being said, I'd be willing to settle for a 50-50 split in this case and split the contributions down the middle instead of 75-25 (his/mine) - because it's for our daughter. I'm drawing up an offer to settle.
As for the rest of them, it's going to be a battle - he's not agreed to pay for any of the expenses that I've incurred, even though things like her ballet, riding lessons, camps etc were things that were pre-existing and things we both paid for prior to our split up - which I think should be considered as a carry over to the Sec 7 Expenses.....but then again I'm no lawyer. It just makes sense. He has the means....but is just plain mean.
The RESP is not an expense, it is an investment. Your child may never go to post-secondary.
If the child doesn't, the fund is collapsed, you get your share, your ex gets his, the government gets theirs. There is no expense.
Section 7 expenses are expenses you are incurring now. If you do not incur an expense, it is not an expense. That is completely fundamental. If "as far as you are concerned" the RESP is an elephant, that doesn't make it so, regardless of what contract you signed with your husband before you were divorced.
When your child enters post-sec, you may start to discuss how the RESP fits into your section 7 obligations. Between the two of you, you may agree that it covers each of your contributions THEN. Or you may not agree, in which case the court may decide that the RESP now belongs to the child (which it will) and the two of you will still be responsible for your share of post-secondary expenses.
I have never come across any paying parent who has been happy with a court decision about how to fund the child's post-secondary expenses. The court doesn't care about arguments, it just orders the expenses paid for.
If the child doesn't, the fund is collapsed, you get your share, your ex gets his, the government gets theirs. There is no expense.
Section 7 expenses are expenses you are incurring now. If you do not incur an expense, it is not an expense. That is completely fundamental. If "as far as you are concerned" the RESP is an elephant, that doesn't make it so, regardless of what contract you signed with your husband before you were divorced.
When your child enters post-sec, you may start to discuss how the RESP fits into your section 7 obligations. Between the two of you, you may agree that it covers each of your contributions THEN. Or you may not agree, in which case the court may decide that the RESP now belongs to the child (which it will) and the two of you will still be responsible for your share of post-secondary expenses.
I have never come across any paying parent who has been happy with a court decision about how to fund the child's post-secondary expenses. The court doesn't care about arguments, it just orders the expenses paid for.
I expect it is a particular investment fund that may have a guarenteed payout if the money is left in for a certain time.
The existing investment certainly wouldn't be lost if it were cashed out now, or if you stopped making payments. What would lost is the potential gain over the next few years.
The existing investment certainly wouldn't be lost if it were cashed out now, or if you stopped making payments. What would lost is the potential gain over the next few years.
The contract is with the Federal Government in setting up the RESP, not with you. It sounds like you have a particular arrangement with an investment fund, so that contract is with the fund, not you. In neither case does the contract force the parents to pay no matter what. What happens is, if you opt out later, you don't get the benefits of the contract.Well, he signed the RESP
And again, the contract is not with you; you can't claim that this forces him to keep paying, no matter how much you want that to be true.
UPDATE: The RESP has now been taken care of. He paid 2/3rds and 1 paid 1/3 giving him an opportunity deduct some of the debt he owes me when we take care of our financials. The good news is moving forward we will both pay half towards the plan. At least that's taken care of for our child.
It was either that or I was going to court this past monday. Thankfully I don't have to . I'm happy our daughter is going to be looked after and she will get the $60K when she turns 18. ...Also we both signed that the principal which gets paid out first, goes directly to her educational needs and that the cheque will be made out to her rather than to the two of us.
So all in all a good day.
Thanks to all for your help
It was either that or I was going to court this past monday. Thankfully I don't have to . I'm happy our daughter is going to be looked after and she will get the $60K when she turns 18. ...Also we both signed that the principal which gets paid out first, goes directly to her educational needs and that the cheque will be made out to her rather than to the two of us.
So all in all a good day.
Thanks to all for your help
Hi Mess - yes you are correct. I never thought about it that way. Point taken. I never thought about it that way. However, we do have a written contract taking care of the future payments between us signed and witnessed so we should be fine from now on and it will be put in part of our separation agreement.
Glad this worked out, in the end.
There was initial confusion about the RESP in this thread, and why someone would lose the RESP money, if they didn't keep up on payments. I know I was confused by this, and some other posters as well.
Sounds like the original poster and their ex likely had a "Scholarship Trust RESP" or something similar. ie. Not your typical bank RESP product.
- If one closes this kind of RESP before maturity, one usually forfeits the enrolment fee plus any investment gains and government grant money. So if you can’t keep up with the preset contribution schedule, you lose. And, no, you can’t simply transfer the plan. They won’t let you.
- If the group scholarship plan is cancelled for any reason, one gets the contributions back, net of fees and *without* the investment income. The grant money is also repaid to the government, and cannot be earned back later if new contributions are made for the same beneficiary.
Most financial advisors and sources do not recommended that people use these "plans", for these exact reasons.
There was initial confusion about the RESP in this thread, and why someone would lose the RESP money, if they didn't keep up on payments. I know I was confused by this, and some other posters as well.
Sounds like the original poster and their ex likely had a "Scholarship Trust RESP" or something similar. ie. Not your typical bank RESP product.
- If one closes this kind of RESP before maturity, one usually forfeits the enrolment fee plus any investment gains and government grant money. So if you can’t keep up with the preset contribution schedule, you lose. And, no, you can’t simply transfer the plan. They won’t let you.
- If the group scholarship plan is cancelled for any reason, one gets the contributions back, net of fees and *without* the investment income. The grant money is also repaid to the government, and cannot be earned back later if new contributions are made for the same beneficiary.
Most financial advisors and sources do not recommended that people use these "plans", for these exact reasons.
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