Child Support for a Child Over the Age of Majority

Child support may well continue to be paid for children, even when they are above the age of majority.

The age of majority can be defined under section 2(1) of the Divorce Act. The age of majority is 18 if the child lives outside of Canada. If the child lives in Canada, the age of majority is determined by the province the child lives in and the guidelines set under the province for age of majority. In Ontario, the age of majority is 18 years old.

Child support - generally: 

The Child Support Guidelines includes information on how much to pay for child support. The Guidelines contain various tables pertaining to the number of children in the relationship, and a column that includes income ranges. Using the information from the table, the basic amount of child support can be determined.

Additionally, there can be further expenses payable for the child under Section 7 of the Guidelines. This includes expenses such as medical costs over $100 per year, glasses, contact lenses, and counselling psychiatrist or by a psychologist.

Providing child support for individuals over the age of majority:

A parent is to demonstrate that there is a need to continue providing child support for their child over the age of majority and that parental involvement is still needed. This can be seen in cases such as the child attending post secondary education full time. In this case, they may well not be able to financially support themselves as a result of their educational pursuits during this time.

To assess how much to pay for child support in this circumstance of an adult child, there are two options that can be chosen:

• Using the instructions and tables set out above for paying child support used when the child is under the age of majority; or,
• If the first option is not preferred: Assessing each parent’s monetary ability to support the child, and applying this information to the particular child’s needs to determine parent’s child support payments

Judges have the discretion to choose either option, depending on the facts of each individual case.

If you wish to learn more about child support, contact our lawyers at 905.707.3370.