Adult Children of Divorce – Cash for Information

In Lewis v. Correia, 2014 ABQB 314, a recent Alberta Court of King’s Bench decision, the Honourable Justice Veit held that an adult child is obligated to provide basic information to the payor parent if the child is seeking contribution to section 7 expenses. In this case, the child and father were estranged, and the father had applied to reduce or terminate child support because he had no real evidence of attendance by the child in full-time studies.

Justice Veit finds that proof of enrollment is not enough; the child must provide evidence that establishes active attendance in a post-secondary program. In this case, the Court ordered that the father had no obligation to pay his share of the child’s section 7 expenses unless the child provided him with a copy of the child’s final grades. Justice Veit is clear that this obligation does not mean that an adult child is required to have a relationship with a parent to ensure financial support, merely that the payor parent is entitled to receive basic information.

Justice Veit continues, stating that the kind of proof required will vary with the circumstances. In this case, not only were final grades required, but final passing grades.