Changes to The Divorce Act of Canada and the Ontario Family Law Act regarding mandated support of Adult Children

. That the Divorce Act be amended to provide that the definition of "the child of the marriage" not include children above the age of majority who are engaged in post-secondary education, save and except those with disabilities or identified as having "special needs". The Ontario Family Law Act shall be amended accordingly to reflect the proposed changes. Namely: 31. (1) Obligation of Parent to Support Child – Every parent has an obligation to provide support for his or her unmarried child who is a minor or is enrolled in a full time program of education, (last phrase should be deleted) Taken from the December 1988 Report of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access: One of the contentious issues relates to the definition of "child of the marriage" in the Divorce Act, which has been interpreted judicially to include children over the age of majority sometimes into their 20s) if they are engaged in post-secondary education. The effect of this judicially established rule has often been to compel non-custodial parents to pay for their children to attend post-secondary institutions, even though parents in intact families obviously are not required to do so. Non-custodial parents' and fathers' groups that testified before the Committee often raised this issue, especially in relation to the perceived unfairness of this financial obligation in cases where there was little or no contact between the paying parent and the child. It often has a major impact on the payor's ability to meet financial obligations to the children of second or subsequent relationships. It was also seen as an unfair restriction on the non-residential parent's discretion to choose where to devote financial resources. Divorced parents are not entitled to the same choices in their parenting that non-divorced parents take for granted. Divorced parents can be forced to pay the post-secondary education costs of their adult children. Unlike their non-divorced counterparts, the financial obligations of the divorced parents to their children do not end when their children reach the age of majority. (Cynthia Marchildon, Meeting #13, Toronto) Many presenters asked that the Divorce Act be amended to provide that the definition of "the child of the marriage" not include children above the age of majority who are engaged in post-secondary education, save and except those with disabilities or identified as having "special needs".