Posted on 01/12/2005 6:35:37 AM PST by GMMAC
Court tells doctor to foot daughter's med school bill
Last Updated Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:59:20 EST
CBC News
SURREY, B.C. - British Columbia's highest court has ruled that a doctor must pay 50 per cent of the cost of putting his 23-year-old daughter through medical school, referring to the money as "child support."
The decision by the province's Court of Appeal could set a precedent because previous decisions have decreed that parents with sufficient means are responsible only for seeing their children through undergraduate degree programs.
As far as the courts were concerned, adult children have been on their own when it came to paying for postgraduate education in most circumstances.
The doctor at the centre of the case, William Neufeld, is angry that he must shell out as much as $22,000 a year to see his daughter Jennifer through at least three years of medical school at the University of Calgary.
"It's just very wrong to teach the children of this province that if they happen to be the children of a person who makes more than an average amount of money, they can just sit on their ass and do absolutely nothing and expect to be paid for it, as long as they're making good marks," he told the Vancouver Province Tuesday.
In making the ruling, one judge referred to Jennifer as "an exemplary student."
The appeals court based its ruling on the fact that a separation agreement Neufeld signed after splitting with Jennifer's mother Barbara in 1999 did not set a cap on his educational support for either Jennifer or her younger brother.
Barbara Neufeld's only income is from spousal support, the ruling noted.
The ruling also took into account William Neufeld's income of $170,000 a year, and said it might have come to a different conclusion for a child "simply going to college because there is nothing better to do."
A lawyer acting for Barbara Neufeld said adult children would be unlikely to receive such support in future court rulings if they took a long break between degrees or went back to school to pursue a second career at some point later in life.
Since the father is a doctor, he could easily immigrate tot he U.S., increase his salary and avoid paying "child support" to his adult child. He would be outside the jurisdiction of the Canadian family courts.
Question: If she is an "exemplary student", why does she need/want daddy to kick in half the cost of med school? You'd think she'd have her pick of scholorships, grants, etc.
Ummm.....he'd be doing his daughter a favor by NOT paying....if you know anything about medical practice in Canada!
Men who walk away from Mom -probably to a young trophy wife- walk away from their kids in far too many cases. Some men -not all- seem to think Mom and the kids are a package deal. Personally, I don't think this guy should be forced to pay, but he is a loser for not wanting to help his daughter.
Yes, you are correct...in Canada, child support was deductable until recently, when some exwife appealed, and henceforth child support, is not/not deductable, however exwife support is deductable....still doesn't alter,the male-hate that is persuasive in Canada.....
It's *expensive* to get divorced. Married parents aren't forced to pay for their kids' college expenses.
I know four women who are raising kids by themselves. Dad sends money but never shows up to visit. One Dad told his child not to call as it wakes the new baby...he'll call when he gets a chance. A little girl comes home with my daughter and my teenage girl watches her sister and the other little girl. I have seen this child cry when Dad didn't show up-no phone calls or anything. When I called he said he meant to call...it's a sad situation. This is not a conservative issue. It happens The Dads have started new families and the kids were part of their old life. I know several woman who left their kids too. I feel bad for the kids. If you read my Blurb on Free Republic, you know I am happily married to a terrific guy. But it's a sad world out there. I have been a Director of a Day Care and taught Chemistry. Kid are treated like dirt today in my opinion. I work in business now because I am home one hour after my kids get home. My husband is usally home when they arrive. All the kids in the neighborhood come to our house in the afternoon for snacks and/or homework help (no one is home at quite a few houses). I live in a upper middle class neighborhood; this is not a class issue either.
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