Does child support apply to older children? Even if they leave the house?

Child support can apply to older children, even if they leave the house. The age of majority in Ontario is 18, but it is possible for child support to go past this age, even if they move-out. For example, if a child goes to university, or if they have a disability or illness that leaves them unable to be independent from their parents.

Section 31(1) of  The Family Law Act states that parents must provide support for their child as much as they are able to for their unmarried child if:

1. They are a minor
2. They are an adult, but a full-time student/enrolled in a full-time educational program
3. They cannot withdraw from the charge of their parents due to illness, disability, or other cause

Keep in mind that if your child is a minor but is sixteen years of age or older and has withdrawn from your parental control, then they are not eligible to receive child support. 

What is a “child of the marriage”?

A child of the marriage is, as defined by the divorce act, is a minor and has not withdrawn from their charge or is 18 years of age or older but cannot, because of illness, disability, or other reason, withdrawn from their charge.

Can a child over the age of 18 with a disability or illness be considered a dependent?

There is an Ontario case from 2014 that we can refer to as an example; Senos v. Karcz deals with a couple who married, had a son, then divorced. The son lived with the mother and the father paid child support. Due to the son’s schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, making him dependent on the parents, after he turned 18 he continued to live with his mom and receive child support from his father; both parties agreed that he was still a “child of the marriage”.  The son was receiving child support as well as ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program). There was a debate as to whether or not the father’s child support amount should be reduced because the son was receiving ODSP payments. To put it briefly, it was agreed upon that the amount paid in child support should be looked at again, and the Court of Appeal sent this case back to trial. Currently, ODSP does not affect support payments. An important thing to note in this trial though, is that they said “the support, care, and treatment of a 24 year old with a serious psychiatric disability may require a greater financial contribution from his parents than the support of a young child or a teenager without a disability.”

Does child support apply to children who go to university? How about part-time students?

According to the Family Law Act, unmarried children enrolled in a full-time education program are eligible to receive child support. This can be a college, university, trade-school, etc., as long as it is a full-time education program. Keep in mind that if the child withdrew from parental control, then this does not apply. Now, there is some debate as to what full-time means, and if part-time students can still receive child-support; some may consider part-time students still eligible for child-support if they are in a full-time program. Of course, there will be numerous factors considered, essentially looking for an explanation as to why the child is a part-time student (such as physical and mental health concerns), and the decision will go from there as to whether or not it is reasonable. 

For part-time students, we can look at many cases, since every situation is of course treated differently. One case we can look at is the 2008 case of Maybee v. Preston; it deals with a mother who was seeking child support and extraordinary expenses for the daughter that lived with her; let’s call the daughter “A”. Not only that, the father was seeking child support for the daughter that lived with him, “B”. “A”, who resided with the mother, was a 17-year old high school student and B, who resided with the father, was a 20-year old part-time college student. “A” had moved in with her mother in 2007, whereas “B” had always lived with the father. In respect to “A”, the father claimed that he could not pay her child support due to undue hardship, but this was unfounded; it was decided that the table/base amount of child support from the father was appropriate, and part of her extraordinary expenses would also be paid for by the father (horseback riding lessons, etc). Now, for “B”, she was a part-time student in a 2-year college program, taking about 1-2 courses a semester. “B” had refused to speak or have contact with the mother since 2002. She worked part-time and lived with her father rent-free. The father was claiming that “B” was dependent and should receive child-support from the mother. It was noted that “B” chose to be in a part-time education program, and could be working more hours to better support herself; all things considered, it was ruled that the mother would not have to pay child support to the father for “B”. 

There are many reasons that someone would decide to pursue their education part-time, for example, physical or mental health issues, disabilities, and more, and the courts will take this into consideration when looking at whether or not child support should continue for a part-time student. Here is another case that we will look at as an example that deals with a part-time student and child support; the case is M.M.D v. J.A.H. from 2019. The case deals with a divorced couple with a 24 year-old child, who at the time was a part-time student pursuing her bachelor’s degree. As we’ve discussed, according to the Family Law Act if a child is above the age of 18 they are generally not eligible to receive child support unless they are dependent on their parent due to disability, illness, etc., or enrolled in a full-time program of study. In this case, the daughter claimed that she was a part-time student because of her disabilities, and had academic accommodations at school. The father was of the opinion that the daughter was not eligible for child support because having academic accommodations is not evidence of having disabilities or not being able to withdraw from parental charge. He also argued that there was no other evidence of this, either. For some more background, the daughter did not have a relationship with her father; the mother said this was due to the father being emotionally abusive and being dismissive of the daughter’s struggles, and the father said the strain in relationship was due to the mother’s alienation and false reporting to the Children’s Aid Society, the parenting assessor, etc. The onus was on the mother to prove that their daughter was still a child of the marriage, and therefore eligible for child support payments. The mother met the burden of proof, so it was found that the daughter was suffering in her day-to-day life due to her health challenges which made it harder for her to function academically, so she was entitled to receive child support even though she was a part-time student. This is a brief overview of the case but shows an example of how part-time students suffering from health issues, disabilities, etc., could still receive child support. 

If my child does an extra year of high school, do I need to pay child support?

If your child does an extra year of high school, whether or not you need to pay child support will depend. For example, if the extra year of high school is required to get into a post-secondary program, or to graduate, the child is more likely to still be eligible for child-support than if the child is doing another year of high school by choice to hang out with friends and have more time in school before heading to the workforce. If the child is enrolled in their extra year of high school full-time or part-time is also considered to be an important factor. 

Wilson v. Wilson is a case from 2002 that deals with this issue. An important quote we can take from this case is, “A child can be found to be enrolled in a full time program of education while taking less than a full course load, so long as his or her participation was meaningful and consistent with the program’s purposes and objectives”. In this case, a mother was seeking child support from the father for a period of a year while the son was doing an extra year of high school. The father stopped paying child support the summer before the son’s extra year of high school, then continued paying the summer before his first year of university. He claimed that while doing the extra year of high school, the son was not enrolled in a full-time program of education since he was taking 4 out of a possible maximum 8 classes; S. 31(1) of the Family Law Act states that a parent is obligated to support their child if they are enrolled in a full-time program of education, which the husband noted that their child was not. Many factors were considered, and it was determined that since during this extra year of high school, he was completely engaged in his education, attended everyday and was there for most of the day, and was engaged in a meaningful way (for example, his extracurricular music program) it was decided that he was indeed enrolled in a full time program and would receive child support as such. 

There is another case that we can look at as an example; the 1991 case of Figueiredo v. Figueiredo deals with a man who lived with his aunt and uncle but received child support from his father. He was enrolled in a full-time education program, but many factors were considered and it was determined that since school was last on his list of priorities, after his car and hanging out with friends, he was not enrolled meaningfully and was not entitled to child support from his father. 

As you can see with these examples, many factors are considered when deciding whether or not a child doing an extra year of high school should be eligible for child support.

Can an adult student be considered a child of the marriage?

The Family Law Act defines a child as someone that a parent demonstrates an intention to treat as a child of the family (unless the child is in a foster home). However, we get a clearer picture of an adult child being a child of the marriage when we look at the Divorce Act; an adult child that is considered a child of the marriage is entitled to child support. 

A child of the marriage, according to the Divorce Act, is:

1. A minor who has not withdrawn from parental charge, or
2. An adult who cannot withdraw from parental charge due to illness, disability, or other cause

You may be wondering, if an adult student can be considered a child of the marriage? You are not alone, this is a very common question, especially since nothing above specifically mentions adult children that are pursuing post-secondary studies. It is possible for a child to remain a child of the marriage for the purposes of extending child support, if the child is in a full-time educational program. Essentially, the main determination is whether or not the child is dependent on the parents, whether due to disability, illness, education, etc. There is a 1993 case, Farden v. Farden, which essentially included an outline to determine whether or not an adult child in post-secondary is still a child of the marriage; the factors listed below are simply a way to assist in the determination, and are not all-encompassing. 

1. Is the child enrolled in a course of studies, and are they enrolled part-time or full-time?
2. Is the child eligible for student loans or other financial assistance, and if so, have they applied for it?
3. Does the child have plans for their career after school? Or are they just going to school for no solid reason?
4. Is the child employed part-time? Does the child contribute to their finances in any way?
5. How old is the child?
6. In the past, has the child been successful academically? Currently, are they successful in their chosen studies?
7. Did the parents make any plans for the child’s studies? Furthermore, were these plans made during cohabitation?
8. For a mature child (reached the age of majority), has the child unilaterally terminated a relationship from the parent from whom they seek support from?

Now, here is some more background on the case where these factors came from to give you an example of these factors being considered. It involved a divorced couple with a 19 year-old son. The son refused to see the father or have anything to do with him, and lived with his mother. In this case the mother was seeking for the father to pay interim support for their son, since he was attending university. It was found, based on the factors above, that this was not reasonable, because the son was not meaningfully enrolled in an educational program (he was not taking a full course load); even though he was not taking a full course load he was only working 8-12 hours a week, he refused to consider developing a relationship with his father, and could contribute to his own school costs from working part-time, student loans, and/or his savings. Furthermore, it was noted that he lived with his mother in a house that was fully paid-off.

How much do you have to pay?

As you can see, it is clear that if your child falls under these conditions, then you will likely have to provide child support for your child. Now, the question is, to what extent? It says as much as you are capable, but what does this really mean? 

You will basically pay what is deemed as fair based on your income, the province where you live, and how many children you are paying child support for. For example, if your income decreases significantly, then you can bring an order to have your payments adjusted based on your decreased income. Now, if the amount is still too high, you can claim undue hardship, which, if found to be true, will allow the judge to declare an amount lower than the table value to be paid for child support. This is covered under s.10 of the Child Support Guidelines; the circumstances that could cause undue hardship include:

1. The parent/spouse is responsible for an unusually large amount of debt that was reasonably incurred during cohabitation to support the parents/spouse as well as their children
2. The parent/spouse has unusually high expenses in relation to, with respect to the child, exercising parenting time
3. The parent/spouse has a legal duty to, under an order, judgment, or written separation agreement support any person
4. The spouse has the legal duty to support a child, other than a child of the marriage, who is
   1. A minor, or
   2. An adult, but due to illness, disability, or other cause cannot obtain the necessaries of life
5. The parent has the legal duty of supporting a child, other than the one who is the subject of the undue hardship application, that is a minor or enrolled in a full-time education program
6. The parent/spouse has the legal duty to support anyone unable to obtain the necessaries of life because of illness or disability

Keep in mind though that undue hardship is held to a very high standard, and you have to prove that the standards of living test is indeed met; basically, the standards of living test is met if the parent that is claiming undue hardship has a lower standard of living than the other household does. 

Now, the opposite applies as well. If your income increases significantly, your former spouse is able to bring an application that can vary an existing order, so the child support payment can be made higher to match your increased income.

Note that if you and your former spouse have sorted your child support in an agreement, then you can change the agreement yourselves and file it with the FRO (Family Responsibility Office). 

What is the “table amount” of child support?

The table amount of child support is essentially the basic amount. It is based on how many children the parent needs to support, the province in which they live, and their gross annual income. This table/basic amount is meant to cover school supplies, food, clothes, etc., for the child. There are also other expenses though that the parents might have to share, special or extraordinary expenses. This would cover extracurricular activities, medical/dental expenses, etc. Now, these will only be considered special/extraordinary if they are reasonable and necessary. 

Now, it’s important to note that according to s. 3(1) of the Child Support Guidelines, the amount of child support minor children are entitled to is the table amount, whereas s. 3(2) of the Guidelines says that adult children that are entitled to child support could be entitled to the table amount as if they are a minor, however, it says the court can also decide to deviate from the table amount for adult children, and find an amount more appropriate given the specific circumstances. 

What is the 3 step process to determine support for adult children?

The 2007 case of Rebenchuk v. Rebenchuk developed a three-step process to determine support for adult children in relation to the child support guidelines:

1. Is the person for whom support is sought considered to be a child of the marriage?
2. Is the table amount in the Child Support Guidelines inappropriate? If not, then the amount based on the Guidelines should be awarded
3. If the answer to Step 2 is yes, what level of support is appropriate, taking all factors into consideration?

How is child support handled for an adult child living away from home for university?

An example of the table amount being deviated from for an adult child is when they are entitled to child support, but live away from home for university. With these cases the parent will be entitled to the table amount of child support for the months that the child lives at home (summer break, etc). 

Albert v. Albert (2007) gives us an example of where full table support according to the Child Support Guidelines is not followed for an adult student. This case deals with a divorced couple with two children at university; the father was seeking a review of his obligations in regards to child support seeing as his children attended university away from home. The table amount was deemed to be inappropriate while the children were away at post-secondary. During the period when both children were home (summer break), the full table amount was considered appropriate. The amount to be paid when one child was away was $250 per month, and while both children were away was $350 per month; these costs were for the mother to maintain the home, since they returned to it during breaks. 

When deciding whether or not to follow the table amount for an adult child, these are just some of the things that could be taken into consideration:

1. Is the child a full-time student, or a part-time student?
2. Does the child work during the school year or during summers to help contribute to their expenses?
3. If the child is seeking more education after their first degree/diploma, is it reasonable? Will it help them in their future career, for example, make more money?
4. Are they studying away from home, or studying at a local university and living at home? If living away from home, could they have gone to a university (of the same quality, etc) closeby and lived at home so as to save money? 

Are there situations in which child support is stopped when a child is at university?

There are very few situations where child support could potentially be terminated while a child is attending university. For example, if an adult child is a full-time student receiving child support, then all of a sudden drops to one course a semester for no good reason and begins to work full time. They would still be in university, yes, but would they be considered dependent on their parents? As we have discussed, the FLA states that a parent is obliged to pay child support for their adult child if they are in a full-time educational program; however, this does not mean starting full-time and dropping to part-time. We have discussed how some part-time students receive child support because they cannot do a full-time course load for valid reasons (disability, health issues, etc). Overall though, there would not be many situations where an adult full-time student pursuing education would all of a sudden not be eligible for child support. 

Does child support continue after university? 

Child support will not continue after a full-time education program, as it states in s. 31(1) of the Family Law Act, you are obligated to pay child support if the child is:

1. A minor
2. An adult, but enrolled in a full-time educational program 
3. Unable to withdraw from their parents charge due to disability, illness, or other cause

So as you can see, there is nothing here that states that after university an adult child will still be entitled to support, unless they have an illness or disability that makes them unable to withdraw from their parents charge

What is the age limit for a child at university to receive child support?

There is no specific age limit for a child at university when it comes to receiving child support. It is even possible for child support to be ordered to continue after a child’s first degree. Typically, a child is only entitled to their first degree or diploma for child support, but of course, every case is different. Also, keep in mind that nothing is done automatically. When your child finishes their first degree, child support does not automatically terminate; the court decides whether to terminate or continue child support based on a wide array of factors. 

As an example, we can look at K.M.O v. L.O. (2004), which deals with the question as to whether not a 25-year old should’ve received retroactive child support from her father for the two years when she pursued her masters degree, and furthermore, if she should’ve received child support for the PhD degree she was about to start. Certain things were noted throughout this case, such as the fact that the father was a dentist, it was always clear that education was very important to the parents, the father provided financial assistance to some family that came to Canada to pursue education, etc. Furthermore, at the time of the parents separation, the son had completed his education and had most of his masters degree paid for (except for his last semester due to a personal fallout). From this we can infer that there was already precedent that a masters degree was to be paid for by the parents, but there was no precedent for a PhD. Her masters degree allowed her to practice as a clinical psychologist, but a PhD would give her a higher salary. The issue was whether or not she had withdrawn from parental control, seeing as she was 25 years old and had been living by herself in California for two years leading up to this. It was noted that financial dependency can be considered as a factor being indicative of parental control. While the daughter was technically independent of her parents financial support since August 2002, she was essentially living almost entirely on borrowed money (one of the loans being co-signed by her mother). It was also her choice to go to the United States for her masters degree instead of staying in Canada. It was decided that she would not be able to receive child support for her PhD that she would be pursuing, but for the masters degree she had already obtained, she was entitled to child support for that period.  

As you can see, there is no age limit. In the case above, the child was essentially entitled to child support up until the age of 25. A 25-year old can be found as being entitled to support and an 18-year old might not be; age is definitely an important factor, but it is not the be-all and end-all. 

What is the process for stopping child support payments?

If after a child has turned 18 and they are not in a full-time educational program or dependent on the parent for care due to disability and/or illness, then child support can be terminated. Please note though that if your child turns 18 while they are still in high school, child support will continue until they graduate or turn 19, whichever comes first. There is an official way to go about this though, you should not just stop making payments; keep making payments until you officially have it in writing that you can stop. The parent that pays child support must file a motion with the court, or make an agreement with the parent that receives the child support. The court will decide if child support should be continued or terminated; many factors will be considered to make this decision. 

Now, in Ontario child support orders are all filed through the FRO, the Family Responsibility Office. You can go directly to the FRO to end child support, or go to the court. Generally though, going to court to terminate child support should be seen as a last resort. 

If you file to terminate child support through the FRO, the FRO will send a letter to the recipient parent to confirm whether or not child support should indeed be terminated. There are a few possible outcomes:

1. If the recipient parent agrees that child support shall be terminated, then the FRO will let you know, officially and in writing, that child support payments can be stopped.
2. If the recipient parent does not agree that child support shall be terminated, then you will be obligated to continue paying child support. If after this you still think that child support should be terminated, you may have to take this to court.
3. If the recipient parent does not respond at all, then the FRO is able to lower the child support amount or even stop payments; however, if the recipient parent says after this that payments should not have stopped, then the FRO is able to start enforcing the payments again. 

What if my child works while in university, do I still have to pay child support?

An adult child’s income could be taken into consideration when determining the amount of child support you must pay; however, just because your child works does not mean that you are off-the-hook for child support payments. In fact, it is usually expected that a child will try to contribute to their own education costs, whether through grants, OSAP, working, etc. 

We can look at the 1999 case of Sherlow v. Zubko as an example. This case deals with a couple that divorced, and the husband stopped paying child support as soon as their twins turned 18, and rather gave them cheques for $125 per month. The mother felt that this was not sufficient, so took the matter to court. It was determined that the twins were still considered children of the marriage according to the Divorce Act, so would still be eligible for child support. However, there were some requirements to be able to receive child support in this case, for example, the twins would have to try to secure a job and student loans to contribute to their expenses. 

Please note that the case discussed above is an Albertan case, but it still demonstrates how children are not only allowed to work and receive child support, but could possibly even be expected and/or encouraged to. 

What if my child wants to pursue more than one degree?

The rule of thumb is that usually a parent will be obligated to pay child support for the child’s first degree, but none after the first (medical school, law school, grad school, etc). There are situations though where child support will extend past the first degree, but this is based on numerous factors and will change from case to case. 

There is a case from 2018 we can look at as an example, Hess v. Hamilton. To give a brief background, the husband and wife had 2 daughters, and then divorced. Both daughters went to university, and one of them was attending medical school at the time of the trial. In this trial, the specific issue that we will be looking at is the question as to whether or not the father should have continued to pay child support for the child in medical school, seeing as the daughter was indeed enrolled in a full-time program of education. The following things were considered:

1. Was the daughter still considered a child of the marriage?
2. If she was still considered a child of the marriage, then was it appropriate for child support to be determined by looking at the Guidelines as if she was a minor?
3. Should the husband have been required to pay for one-half of the medical school expenses? Taking into account the necessity of said expense as well as the reasonableness of the expense and if it was in the child’s best interest.

With all of these things and more considered, child support for the daughter attending medical school was terminated. The parents never made plans for her to go to medical school, and never expected her to. There was an RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) for her, but it is assumed that it was meant to only cover an undergraduate degree. She also took out a loan herself to cover the costs of medical school. It was found that she was no longer a child of the marriage at that point, as well. It should also be noted that she attended medical school outside of Canada. Of course, this is a very brief summary just to give you an example of some of the factors considered when deciding if a child pursuing more than one degree should continue to receive child support after the first degree. 

Is there a difference if the child goes away for university vs. if they stay home and live with a parent during university?

It is stated in s. 31(1) of the Family Law Act (FLA) that parents have the obligation to pay child support for their children if they are:

1. A minor
2. An adult, but enrolled in a full-time educational program 
3. Unable to withdraw from their parents charge due to disability, illness, or other cause

But, how about if my child goes away for university? Wouldn’t that make them independent of their parents? This is a common misconception, but your child going away for university does not automatically terminate child support. The FLA does not say the child has to be living at home while enrolled in post-secondary to be entitled to child support; however, this is a consideration when determining the amount of child support to be paid. For example, the table/base amount of child support might be found to be disproportionate for the amount of time the child is spending at home; the amount will be determined based on the needs of the child. Circumstances are different for each child, some will come home on the weekends, some will not even come home at all in the summer, etc. 

In Lewi v. Lewi (2006), one of the issues brought up was child support being different for a child choosing to attend university away from home vs. if they chose to attend university and live at home. The couple were divorced with two sons, the father paid child support, and both sons attended university but one lived at home and one lived away from home. It was decided that the father would pay the table amount of child support for the child that lived at home for the entire year, and for the child that lived away from home, child support was only to be paid for the four months that he was home for summer. 

So, you can see with the case above that while living away from home during university can change the amount of child support paid, it is not a termination of it. 

If my child receives OSAP for post-secondary, do I still need to pay child support?

Even if your child is eligible for OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) funding, this does not mean that you do not have to pay child support. If the financial means are available for the child to not have to graduate with a large amount of debt, that is ideal when looking at the best interests of the child. This does not mean that children are not expected to contribute to their education, though; they can contribute in many ways, such as their savings, getting a part-time job, OSAP funding, grants, etc. The child contributing to their education fees make it possible for child support payments to potentially be lowered, but does not mean that child support will be terminated. Now, according to the Child Support Guidelines, post-secondary expenses are considered to be special/extraordinary expenses under section 7(1); this section of the CSG also makes it clear that the parents are to share the cost of any special/extraordinary expenses (after subtracting what the child contributes). 

We can look at past cases for example where a child obtained OSAP funding and still received child support. For example, in Blaschuk v. Johnson (2005); this case deals with a divorced couple with a 22-year old daughter. The daughter was a full-time student, and to make this work obtained OSAP funding as well as worked part-time. It was calculated that between these two sources she made enough to cover her school fees with a bit of money leftover. It was noted though that she still would need spending money, so it was decided that the father would still pay some child support for the daughter.

What if the child takes a gap year (or gap years) and then decides to go to post-secondary? Do I still need to pay child support? 

Whether or not a child takes a gap year before pursuing post-secondary will be considered as a factor when determining whether or not child support is appropriate. For example, did the child work during their year(s) off of school? Did they save this money for school expenses? Is the child now pursuing, meaningfully, education full-time? Furthermore, did the child become self-sufficient during the time off? How many years did they take off from education?

There are many cases that we can look at for examples, such as Edwards v. Edwards from 2021. It deals with a case where a mother was paying child support for her 2 adult sons that lived with their father. Son M graduated from high school in June 2018 and turned 18 that October. He did not attend school until Fall 2019, only attending for one semester. He worked full time seasonally from August 2018 to June 2019 (seasonal since it was landscaping and snow removal, so he had a few months of unemployment during this period). He worked part-time through 2020, and he did work part-time while in his one semester of post-secondary in Fall 2019. Son A graduated from high school in June 2019, and turned 18 that November. He worked from his 18th birthday to the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and did not attend post-secondary. Not even 2 weeks after the mother filed her Notice of Motion to terminate child support, both sons applied for post-secondary and were admitted. An important quote in this case is, “Adult children cannot simply choose to remain economically dependent on a parent, they must be ‘unable’ to withdraw from the parent’s charge. Nor can adult children accumulate multiple gap years to forestall their independence.” It was noted that virtual learning may have not been ideal (neither of them were enrolled in post-secondary in 2020-2021, which was during the COVID-19 Pandemic), it was their choice not to pursue school and to instead take time off and work. The earnings that the children made while working between graduating high school and enrolling in post-secondary can also be taken into consideration. Another important quote in this case is, “An adult child cannot, however, indefinitely postpone the commencement of post-secondary education and expect to remain a dependent, entitled to parental financial support”. It was decided that during the time off after high school for both sons that child support should not have been paid; however, they could still apply for child support once they started post-secondary, saying that once you lose dependent status, it is not lost forever; there is a chance to regain dependent status after it is lost. 

What is a termination by agreement? Or a termination by court order?

A termination by agreement is an agreement that can end on a certain date. For example, a couple, during the separation process, can decide that as soon as the child is done with their first post-secondary degree, child support will be terminated. Keep in mind though that a provision like this would not prevail if the court decided to override it. However, for example, if in the agreement the provision stated that the child would be entitled to child support for their first degree but none thereafter, and then after the child finishes their first degree they decide to go to medical school, they could bring the issue to court to seek child support for their second degree. However, the provision in the contract/agreement would be of help when it comes to showing that there was no expectation that child support would be paid for more than one degree. Many factors are weighed in situations like this, so it is important to have all of the facts and documentation needed to help your stance. Now, a provision like this has to be included in one of the following official documents:

1. Marriage Contract
2. Paternity Agreement
3. Cohabitation Agreement
4. Family Arbitration Agreement
5. Separation Agreement

For an example of a child support provision being included in a marriage contract, we can look at case Knight v. Knight (2018). The husband and wife were in court to sort out their net family property, as well as child and spousal support. For our purposes, we will be focusing on the child support aspect of this case, more specifically the provisions for child support set out in this couple’s marriage contract. The wife had two sons from a previous relationship, then the two parties had a daughter together. In the marriage contract, it stated that the wife’s two sons would also receive child support should the parties divorce. The husband said that he had no issue paying child support for the daughter that the parties shared, but wanted the provision stating that he would pay child support for the wife’s two sons to be set aside. There was no question that the husband would have to pay child support for the daughter they shared, but there was a question as to whether or not he would need to provide child support for the wife’s 2 sons. It was noted during this trial that, “It is rare to see child support provisions in a marriage contract”. There were two paragraphs in the marriage contract that showed the husband’s intention to pay child support for the two sons. One paragraph stated that he acknowledges she has two sons from a previous marriage, and the other stating that he acknowledges that he stands in place of a parent for the wife’s sons (“in loco parentis”) and would support them as if they were children of his own family, including providing child support until they turn 18, or until they are considered to be independent adults. He cited section 33(4)(a) of the Family Law Act, because in relation to this situation it would allow the court to set aside a support provision if it results in circumstances that are deemed to be unconscionable. The trial was proceeding under the Divorce Act, but he brought examples of past cases to help support his argument that the FLA could still be applied. His reasoning for the provision being unconscionable is that he and the wife’s two sons did not have a relationship. 

Now, the wife said that he could not depend on s. 33(4)(a) of the Family Law Act because this situation was being dealt with using the Divorce Act; furthermore, she said that s. 33(4)(a) can only be used when a child support issue falls under s. 31(1) of the Family Law Act (s. 31(1) is the section of the family law act that states child support is obligatory for parents to pay if their child is a minor, or an adult in a full-time educational program). She brought up other cases as well to support her stance. 

Many points were made, but all-in-all it was decided that the husband would pay child support to the wife’s two biological sons; within the meaning of the marriage contract, the husband was still considered to be in place of a parent for them. 

The case above demonstrates that a provision in a contract/agreement can still be argued in court, but is considered to be a very important factor in determining child support. 

A termination by court order is essentially just when the termination of child support is done by court order. The court order will be filed with the FRO (Family Responsibility Office) and the support payments will not continue. 

Do common-law couples have to pay child support if they separate? How about when the child turns 18?

Yes, if a common-law couple separates, they will also have an obligation to pay child support. Whether you were married or not does not change the fact that if you have children, you are responsible for the care that they need, as long as they are considered dependent. Even if the child is not yours biologically, if you showed that you intended to treat the child as your own, you may be obligated to pay child support. Choices will be made with the best interest of the child in mind. In terms of child support continuing after a child turns 18, the child support rules will be the same for common-law couples and married couples. As we have mentioned before, according to the Family Law Act the child should receive child support after the if:

1. They are a minor
2. They are a full-time student/enrolled in a full-time educational program
3. They cannot withdraw from the charge of their parents due to illness, disability, or other cause

What if my child takes more than 4 years to do a 4-year degree?

As we’ve discussed, according to the Family Law Act parents are obligated to support their unmarried children if:

1. They are a minor
2. They are a full-time student/enrolled in a full-time educational program
3. They cannot withdraw from the charge of their parents due to illness, disability, or other cause

Note that this does not include children 16 years of age or older who have withdrawn from parental charge

This question has a similar answer to whether or not there is an age-limit to child support as an adult child. There are many factors that will be considered when deciding how long an adult child attending post-secondary will be entitled to child support for. A general rule of thumb (of course there are exceptions depending on different circumstances) is that while pursuing a first degree as a full-time student, child support will likely be required. Now, what if your child is in their 5th, 6th, or even 7th year of a 4-year degree? Since they are technically doing their first degree, wouldn’t the general rule of thumb apply? This is a case that would take in numerous factors to decide whether or not child support should continue. There is no one answer, but the longer it takes the less likely child support would continue. The court will look at whether or not the time being taken to finish the degree is reasonable, the reasons for taking longer than the expected time, etc. 

Am I also responsible for my child’s tuition, books, housing, etc.?    

To put it briefly, it depends. There are a number of factors that are considered when deciding if you are responsible, on top of child support, for your adult child’s other expenses while they are pursuing full-time education. Expenses like books, transportation, etc. might be considered as, under the Child Support Guidelines, section 7 expenses which are extraordinary and/or special expenses. These expenses would be, as it says in section 7(2), split proportionately between the parents based on their incomes, after deducting any contributions that the child makes. However, parents are not always ordered to contribute to extraordinary expenses for their adult children, each case is different. It is also important to remember that child support and section 7 expenses are different; you can receive child support but not section 7 payments, but you are only eligible for section 7 payments if you receive child support.