BC Child Support for Children over 19 Years Old

Our Vancouver child support lawyers are fully familiar with BC Child Support law and the latest cases on it. In her most recent and beautiful decision on child support, the Honourable Madam Justice Young not only addresses child support for adult children, but also provide  kind and compassionate advise to a 20 year-old girl who is going to college to study criminal justice but still acts immaturely and recklessly in her private life.

I have had the pleasure of appearing before Madam Justice Young. She is one of those rare judges who doesn’t need to meet you to know who you are. She sees your case behind what you write and what you say. She has compassion in her eyes. She stays neutral, fair and positive in any situation. I am so honoured to be in her or any other judge’s presence because these people are some of the most intelligent and humble people you will ever meet in your life.  In this decision, not only does she support the girl to become better, but also tells her some wise words and teaches her very important life lessons. Let’s see what happens in this case:

BC Child Support for University Students

The girl was going to college to study criminal justice.

The girl’s step-father brought an Application to court to terminate his BC child support obligations because he said the girl:

• Was going on social media and posting pictures of doing drugs and herself almost nude;
• Hinted towards being drunk often and smoking weed on her twitter account;
• Wasn’t doing well at school;
• Wasn’t taking full time courses;
• Wasn’t talking to him and didn’t want to have anything to do with him;
• Her mother had remarried and the new partner could support the girl; etc.

The step-father earned more than $150,000 per year and the girl had always lived with her mother. The girl stated that:

• her step father hated her and was trying to make her life difficult;
• that his use of her pictures on social media for court purposes just showed that the step-father was trying to ruin her life;
• that she was studying full time;
• that she received nasty emails from the step-father’s sister saying she deserves everything that will happen to her because her mother was requesting child support;
• that she didn’t do drugs and drank very rarely.

The Judgement

Justice Young said as follows:

[58]         In an effort to explain her conduct, J.L.G. [the girl] …said that the photograph of the handful of pills were pills that her best friend’s mother takes every morning. The photograph was a joke. The image of her smoking what appears to be a joint is apparently her “vaping”. These explanations miss the point. The images give the viewer the distinct impression of illegal drug use. [redacted] is or was J.L.G.’s Twitter account name. This is a poor choice of handle for someone interested in working in the criminal justice system.

[59]         J.L.G. denies using drugs. She says that she has never been in trouble with the law. She says that she only consumes alcohol sparingly which begs the question why she would use the handle “redacted]. She swears that she is no longer using the Twitter account [redacted] This was an address that she adopted when she was much younger.

[60]         J.L.G. does not consider the scantily clad photographs to be nude. She says they are posted on her blog to show her progress as she is actively attending a gym.

Her Ladyship goes on to say:

[64]         I accept W.D.G.’s [the step-father’s] argument that if J.L.G. truly wishes to pursue a career in the criminal justice field, it is highly inappropriate for her to be posting images on Facebook of drug paraphernalia and/or semi-nude photographs of herself. These photographs will follow her everywhere and would be a source of great embarrassment to her as an adult pursuing a career in criminal justice. Having said that, I do not believe that this conduct disqualifies J.L.G. from getting an education. If every student was disqualified from funding for education because of their reckless behaviour, then it is likely that very few young people would qualify for educational funding. I do, however, urge J.L.G. to rethink her social media presence if she is serious about pursuing a career in the criminal justice system.

Finally the judge looks at the behaviour of the step-father and his sister and says:

She [the girl]attaches a very offensive message sent by W.D.G.’s sister to J.L.G. berating J.L.G. for applying to Court for child support from W.D.G. In that message, W.D.G.’s sister makes offensive statements about D.S.. She concludes by saying she is ashamed and embarrassed to even think of what J.L.G. is doing by applying for child support so she can continue her studies. She says:

Karma will come your way in one form or another and I hate to say it but you’ll deserve it. I wish you success in your future endeavors. You are officially dead to me now.

[80]         How an adult could think that this was an appropriate way to communicate with a 19-year-old whose mother seeks financial aid for the child’s education escapes me. If J.L.G. [the girl] has required ongoing counselling, then I am not surprised. 

[81]         J.L.G. has suffered the consequences of the hostile divorce of her parents. A counsellor was retained to attempt to reduce the hostility. D.S. attaches a letter from the counsellor, Mr. Bruce Muir, dated March 2010. In that letter, Mr. Muir is canvassing the possibility of a joint parenting relationship between D.S. and W.D.G..  D.S. told Mr. Muir that she was willing to work with W.D.G. but W.D.G. said he refused to have anything to do with D.S. because he cannot trust her. In the March 2010 letter, Mr. Muir says that he hopes that W.D.G. will let go of his rage toward D.S. He says W.D.G.’s anger is so strong that he is unable to refrain from making negative comments about D.S. while he is in session with J.L.G.

The judge finally concluded that the girl was entitled to reduced child support at $750 per month. While the judge made sure the girl is financially supported to finish her degree, she also told the girl that if she wants to become successful, she should change her behaviour online.

The decision is beautiful in that it doesn’t encourage the girl’s behaviour, but doesn’t punish her for it. It just says that the girl could improve, and until she finds her way, she will be financially supported in her pursuit of better education and life, despite a nasty and emotionally damaging divorce by her parents.

BC Child support for children over 19 is a very complex issue that requires legal analysis and is dependent on the particular facts of each situation. Our Vancouver child support lawyers are here to help and provide you with invaluable consultation to know your rights better – whether you want child support for a child over the age of 19, or if you want to reduce or terminate child support because you do not think you should pay it any longer. Call us at 604-974-9529 or email info@ylaw.ca.