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Monday, October 5, 2015

My child does not attend school or work - Child Support

We are frequently asked questions related to the widely held misconception that child support is not payable for children/young persons over the age of 18

Unlike many other jurisdictions, Canada does not automatically cut off child support when a young person reaches "the age of majority". There are a number of important circumstances in which child support for such a young person would continue, and that includes cases in which the young person is medically disabled or attending school with a reasonable plan to complete their education.

There is also a corresponding, widely held misconception that child support is always payable for young persons under the age of 18, no matter what they do with their time. In other words, many parents believe that they are entitled to receive child support from the non-residential parent even if a 16-year-old young man stops attending school, does not have a job and continues to live with the other parent. In these instances, child support is no longer payable unless there are provable medical reasons why the 16-year-old is neither attending school nor working (unable to support himself or herself financially).

While both provincial and federal legislation in Canada provides us with guidelines as to who is eligible to receive child support and how that child support is to be calculated, it is important to consider the specific facts of each case (and the relevant judicial decisions) to determine child support (if any) for each child. There are many cases in which child support is payable for young persons over the age of 18 and conversely, there are many other cases in which child support is no longer payable for young persons under the age of 18

Our strong suggestion is that you contact a family law lawyer and discuss your specific case with him or her while it is natural for parents  (both recipients and payors of child support) to look for "one size fits all" formulas, and there is a danger to applying such formulas to every case, as one size does not fit all.


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