Child Support: The College Years

Tandia Wallace-Hawken

Time flies when you’re having fun, and when you’re a parent. You blink and they’ve gone from taking their first steps, to driving their first car, to preparing to leave the nest. As children become more independent, the type of support they need from their parents changes. In Alberta, a parent has a financial obligation to support their child until they are 18 years old. However, this obligation may extend past age 18 if the child remains dependent on the parent to meet their necessities of life due to illness, disability, or some other cause, such as attending post-secondary school. (DGS v HAS, (“DGS v HAS”) 2019 ABQB 887). In determining whether a child over the age of 18 meets the criteria for receiving financial support during their post secondary studies, the courts will consider a variety of factors, including:

• enrollment status;
• whether it is a full-time or part-time course of studies;
• whether or not the child has applied for, or is eligible for, student loans or other financial assistance;
• the career plans of the child, such as whether the child has some reasonable and appropriate plan or is simply going to college because there is nothing better to do;
• the ability of the child to contribute to their own support through part-time employment;
• the age of the child;
• the child’s past academic performance, and whether the child is demonstrating success in the chosen course of studies;
• what plans the parents made for the education of their children, particularly where those plans were made during cohabitation; and
• if the adult child has ended their relationship with their parent(s) on their own accord.

(DGS v HAS citing Farden v Farden)

If a parent does owe child support to their child while they attend college or university, there may also be an expectation that the adult child will make a reasonable contribution to their education. This may be by way of part-time employment, student loans, bursaries, scholarships, RESPS or other funds that were specifically ear-marked for post-secondary education (DGS v HAS). What is ‘reasonable’ is fact specific and will depend on the financial circumstances of both the parents and the child.  The parent would then be expected to contribute to the extent that the child is not able to cover these expenses through their own resources (DGS v HAS).

The amount of child support owed by the parent will vary based on the circumstances, taking into consideration the financial ability of each parent to contribute. For example, if both parents struggle to make ends meet from month-to-month, it may not be reasonable to expect the parent to fully support their child’s education (DGS v HAS). On the other hand, if the family has a substantial income and access to a RESP, the child may not be required to use their own funds to cover educational expenses (Damphouse v Damphouse, 2020 ABQB 101).

The experienced family lawyers at Vogel LLP can guide you through your options and obligations towards your child and help you set them up for success as they enter this next stage of life.