Dad must pay half of daughter’s education.
‘Proud owner of a new F-150 truck’ must pay for half of daughter’s degree
SYDNEY — A Nova Scotia family court judge has ordered two divorced parents to split the cost of their adult daughter’s dental hygiene degree.
The court heard the mom worked three jobs to help the young woman through school and dad was too broke to assist her — but “is the proud owner of a new F-150 truck, a new ATV and a motorbike which has been overhauled,” his own family home and a rental property.
Krista Dove and Richard MacIntyre have a daughter, “who will shortly turn 26,” according to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court written decision out of Sydney released Wednesday. Dove filed an application in April 2019 seeking retroactive variation of child support for the young woman, who is only identified by the initials MMD in the decision dated Jan. 6.
“Without a student loan, MMD relied on her mother for support. Mr. MacIntyre concedes that without Ms. Dove’s support, MMD would not have been able to take the dental hygiene program. But he characterizes this as her choice. I disagree,” Justice Lee Anne MacLeod-Archer said in her written decision released Wednesday. “MMD was a dependent child for that 18-month period. Both parents were able and should have helped support her. Even though this was a second post-secondary program, taken after MMD had lived independently for three years, she wasn’t qualified in a field where she could earn a living wage until she completed the dental hygiene program. And she couldn’t finance the cost herself, either through savings or loans.”
Their daughter was accepted into a dental hygiene program in Ontario that started in the fall of 2018.
“This was an 18-month accelerated program. MMD contacted Mr. MacIntyre to inform him that she had been accepted into the program, and to inquire into his willingness to assist her with the cost. Mr. MacIntyre declined, saying he was ‘broke,’” said the judge’s decision.
The young woman suggested her dad pay her mother the $5,000 he already owed her in child support so that money could be used to help with her education.
“However, Mr. MacIntyre only paid $2,500 towards the arrears and then a garnishee
order was issued, under which $200 is collected bi-weekly,” MacLeod-Archer said. “Ms. Dove attempted to co-sign for a student loan with MMD, but was denied by the bank. Mr. MacIntyre would not co-sign when requested. Ms. Dove subsequently took on another job to help MMD with her program expenses, and filed this application.”
IS SHE A DEPENDENT CHILD?
Dove argued her daughter was a dependent child during the 18-month dental hygiene program that ended last February.
MacIntyre filed a handwritten response rejecting “the suggestion that MMD is a dependent child. He says that, before she started her Ottawa program, she had been out of school for almost three years, she worked numerous jobs, and she lived out of province for a period of time before moving to P.E.I. with her (now) fiancé,” said the judge.
Dove worked her regular day job, as well as an evening shift with Citizenship and Immigration, MacLeod-Archer said.
“She also worked concessions at Centre 200 when events were held there. As a result of the stress, she was forced to stop working the evening job after several months.”
Without help from MacIntyre to meet their daughter’s expenses, Dove testified she “has been left to rely on credit, which is maxed out.”
Dove reported income from two jobs.
“Her estimated total annual income for 2019 was $58,502.76. In 2018, she earned $60,061.91.”
Her daughter earned $10,006 in 2018. In 2017, she earned $12,307 and in 2016 she earned $12,549.
“Mr. MacIntyre is employed and his wife also works,” said the judge. “He reported income of $63,214.39 in 2019. That includes RRSP income of $4,988.50. He did not produce income information for 2018.”
The judge ruled their daughter’s return to school constituted a material change that justified varying child support.
The young woman’s “education plan was reasonable and she has secured employment as a result,” said the judge.
MacLeod-Archer wasn’t presented with any evidence the parents had made plans for their daughter’s education, “as they separated when she was a young child. However, Mr. MacIntyre acknowledges that he’s proud of what MMD has accomplished.”
Dove “worked two (and at times three) jobs and maxed out her credit to help support MMD during the program,” said the judge. “Mr. MacIntyre sent $200 to MMD on two occasions in 2019. He says that is only part of his contribution, but there’s no evidence of any other payments to her, or monies paid toward
her expenses.”
RENTAL INCOME
MacIntyre is “remarried, with a two-income household,” MacLeod-Archer said. “He cashed an RRSP in 2019 to make a down payment on a second (rental) property. He obtained a consolidation loan when mortgaging the purchase, which included renovations to the rental property. The mortgage exceeds the value he places on the home.”
MacIntyre gets “rental income of $400/month from his stepdaughter that he doesn’t report to (the Canada Revenue Agency),” said the judge.
MacLeod-Archer was “satisfied that MMD was a dependent child for the period of September 2018 through to February 2020 inclusive. She regained her dependent status because she returned to college to pursue a career that would allow her to generate a living wage.”
If her father had co-signed her student loan, the judge said she had “no doubt that she would have been able to pay it. A loan would have placed the burden of her program expenses on MMD’s shoulders. But Mr. MacIntyre’s priority at the time was to purchase his wife’s family home, which they rent to his stepdaughter. Co-signing a loan for MMD would have affected his debt ratio and left him unable to finance that purchase.”
RELIED ON HER MOM
Without a loan, that left the young woman relying on her mother.
“Mr. MacIntyre concedes that without Ms. Dove’s support, MMD would not have been able to take the dental hygiene program,” said the judge. “But he characterizes this as her choice. I disagree.”
Their daughter was “a dependent child for that 18month period,” when she went back to school, said MacLeod-Archer. “Both parents were able and should have helped support her.
The judge calculated the total cost for the dental hygiene program was $53,131.15.
“Of that, MMD should have contributed $10,000 from savings. I direct that the balance be shared equally as follows: $21,565.58 payable by Ms. Dove and $21,565.58 payable by Mr. MacIntyre.”
The judge ordered he pay Dove the money within 30 days.
“Failing payment in full within 30 days, he will pay interest on the outstanding balance at the rate of 10 per cent (compounded monthly) until his share is paid in full. If Ms. Dove had produced credit statements with a higher interest rate, I would have awarded a higher rate payable by Mr. MacIntyre.”
The judge also ordered MacIntyre pay Dove the $1,000 cost of the court application.