As September approaches, we are often asked for advice on the issue of contribution to BC private school costs by separated and/or divorced parents.
In addition to paying monthly child support, BC child support orders or agreements may provide for payment of an additional amount to cover all or a portion of certain listed expenses, including primary or secondary school education costs, and other educational programs such as tutoring and of course University tuition.
Pursuant to section 7 of the Child Support Guidelines, the factors taken into account by the Court in determining whether to order this additional BC child support are the necessity of the expense in relation to the child’s best interests and the reasonableness of the expense in relation to the means of the spouses and those of the child and to the family’s spending pattern prior to the separation.
- The entire financial picture of “means” of the parties is relevant, including incomes, assets, debts, and expenses, to determine if the expenses are reasonable, including any contribution from a new partner after separation.
- “Reasonable” is primarily a lifestyle and economic determination. In deciding whether proposed “add-on” expenses including private school fees are “reasonable” and “necessary” a court may take into account whether the parents would have supported the activities if the family had remained intact.
- In addition to being necessary and reasonable, for a claim for contribution to primary or secondary school education to succeed, these expenses must also fall within the definition of an “extraordinary expense” under the Child Support Guidelines. Expenses are extraordinary if they exceed those that the spouse requesting an amount for the extraordinary expenses can reasonably cover. The ability to pay an expense is determined having regard to both the income of the requesting spouse and any child support received. If the expenses do not exceed those that the requesting spouse can reasonable cover, the Court can nevertheless order them to be shared taking into any relevant factors including the overall cost, and any special needs or talents of the children.
- Private schooling fees are generally determined to be extraordinary educational expenses. If ordered, these costs which may include tuition, uniforms, books, and other associated school fees are usually shared by the parents in proportion to their respective incomes. The parents’ own history of private schooling, the child’s history of private schooling including whether the payor was content for the child to attend private school prior to separation, whether the child is doing well at the school or has special talents that are developed by the school, and the continued ability of the payor to pay these expenses are relevant factors in support of these expenses.
- Private school expenses have been denied as additional child support in some cases including where the child attended public school prior to separation and there was no evidence of need for a change from public to private school, or where the parent seeking contribution made the decision to enroll the child in a private school without consulting the payor parent and the added annual expense was not reasonable on the payor’s income.
If you have questions about contributions to private school fees, contact the MacLean Family Law Group to arrange for an initial consultation with one of our lawyers at any of our 4 offices across BC or reach us toll free 1 877 602 9900.
