A number of of my clients have children who are on finishing up secondary school and are now looking to post-secondary education. The costs of post secondary education have exploded in recent years and parents who have divorced are often left wondering what the child support obligations are for parents whose children are pursuing post-secondary education.
The approach to determining if child support should be awarded to an adult child has been distilled by the courts to a three step test:
Step 1: Is the person for whom child support is being sought a "child of the marriage"?
Step 2: Is the Federal Child Support Guideline amount inappropriate? If not, then the Guideline amount should be awarded?
Step 3: If the answer to Step 2 is "yes," what level of child support is appropriate?
The fact that a child is attending an educational institute is no sufficient to qualify an adult child as a child of the marriage. The case law has focused on the child's continued dependence on his/her parents for support throughout the time in question. The case of Farden v. Farden from the British Columbia Superior Court established a set of non-exhaustive factors that the court should look to when looking at dependency. The "Farden Factors" are as follows:
(1) Whether the child is in enrolled in a course of post-secondary studies and whether it is full-time or part-time;
(2) Has the child applied for grants or other financial aid;
(3) The career plans of the child - does the child have a reasonable and appropriate plan/path to complete the educational program;
(4) The ability of the child to contribute to his/her own school through part-time employment;
(5) The age of the child;
(6) The child's past academic performance, whether the child is demonstrating success in the chosen course of studies;
(7) What plans the parents made for the education of their children, particular attention is paid to the plans made during the marriage;
(8) In the case of a mature child, did the child terminate the relationship with the parent from whom they are seeking support.
The Farden Factors are not an exhaustive list, nor do all of the factors need to be considered in every case. Some factors may be relevant in some cases while others may not be. The case law in this area is fact driven and will vary from case to case.
The approach to determining if child support should be awarded to an adult child has been distilled by the courts to a three step test:
Step 1: Is the person for whom child support is being sought a "child of the marriage"?
Step 2: Is the Federal Child Support Guideline amount inappropriate? If not, then the Guideline amount should be awarded?
Step 3: If the answer to Step 2 is "yes," what level of child support is appropriate?
The fact that a child is attending an educational institute is no sufficient to qualify an adult child as a child of the marriage. The case law has focused on the child's continued dependence on his/her parents for support throughout the time in question. The case of Farden v. Farden from the British Columbia Superior Court established a set of non-exhaustive factors that the court should look to when looking at dependency. The "Farden Factors" are as follows:
(1) Whether the child is in enrolled in a course of post-secondary studies and whether it is full-time or part-time;
(2) Has the child applied for grants or other financial aid;
(3) The career plans of the child - does the child have a reasonable and appropriate plan/path to complete the educational program;
(4) The ability of the child to contribute to his/her own school through part-time employment;
(5) The age of the child;
(6) The child's past academic performance, whether the child is demonstrating success in the chosen course of studies;
(7) What plans the parents made for the education of their children, particular attention is paid to the plans made during the marriage;
(8) In the case of a mature child, did the child terminate the relationship with the parent from whom they are seeking support.
The Farden Factors are not an exhaustive list, nor do all of the factors need to be considered in every case. Some factors may be relevant in some cases while others may not be. The case law in this area is fact driven and will vary from case to case.