Adult Child Support
s. 2(1) of the Divorce Act provides that a “Child of the Marriage” includes a child of two spouses (or former spouses) who is the age of majority or over and “under their charge but unable, by reason of illness, disability or other cause, to withdraw from their charge or to obtain the necessities of life”. If the child has an illness or disability, you must provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the child is a dependent.
Furthermore, just because a child receives disability benefits from the state, does not automatically absolve the parents from contribuing to the child’s expenses if the government assistance is not sufficient to satisfy the child’s needs.
The other heading..”other cause”..has been interpreted very liberally by the courts, including the pursuit of education by a child.
If a child leaves school, and is, therefore, no longer a “child of the marriage”, he/she can again become a dependent once he/she returns to school. Therefore, a child can take a break from school to work etc. and then be entitled to support again once he/she returns to work.
Furthermore, just because a child does not live with a parent in order to go to school, does not necessarily result in the child not being entitled to support.
A child may even be entitled to support if he/she is unable to obtain employment after school. This will likely be for a short duration and is dependent on the facts.
Child support is not intended to last forever. The obligation eventually ends
Each individual Toronto family lawyer at Fine & Associates will be able to assist you, no matter how big the problem may be. Divorce lawyers come in all shapes and sizes, so choose one that fits your needs.