Child support for young people over the age of majority (in Ontario, that is 18) is an area of family law about which I receive many questions. In the past, I hosted a Blog on Blogspot, back in the days when blogs were still a novelty, and I can tell you the post on this subject received literally hundreds and hundreds of hits.
Since this remains a topic of much interest, I decided to address it in this Blog as well. Since my goal has always been to speak to the public about legal issues using as little legal lingo as possible, I will try and stick to commonly-understood terms.
When family law lawyers use this term in Ontario, they are usually talking about a multi-page document which creates a "road-map" for parents on how to deal with their child(ren), and each other, after a separation.
A Parenting Plan may be authored by a variety of people. Many Parenting Plans are the result of negotiations between Mom and Dad, with the assistance of lawyers
Questions relating to this issue are quite common, and the answers are not always as straightforward as parents might expect. Here are the BASICS:
University/college costs are what are called “section 7 expenses” - they are a form of child support under the Child Support Guidelines (both federal and provincial - see section 7 of those);
Here is a hypothetical about which we receive a lot of questions:
Question: “My son turned 18 nine months ago. I stopped making child support payments to my ex-wife based on our court order a month later because he is now 18. I just got a letter from the Family Responsibility Office that I have to pay up what I owe for the last 8 months and continue to pay on a monthly basis. But he is 18!!! His mother is also sending me emails that I "do not get it" and have to continue paying. Do I have to?
Question: I am still paying child support for my 16 year old son. Someone just told me he is not in school any more and now working full-time. Am I entitled to know what he is doing? How do I find out?
Question: “My ex-wife is now married to a rich guy. They live in a mansion and she drives an Audi. She does not need child support from me. Do I still have to pay it?”
Some time ago, The New York Times reported on the results of a study of teenagers. The study focused on teenagers’ texting habits and their reactions to being interrupted. Unfortunately, the results are not that surprising, are they? Many such studies, with similar results, have been conducted since then.
