Post-Secondary Child Support After Divorce
In Alberta, your child becomes a legal adult at 18. They can vote, sign a lease, and buy property in their own name. Many parents assume that this is also when child support ends. If your child goes on to university, college, or a trade program, that assumption is often wrong.
Post-secondary child support can continue well past your child’s 18th birthday, even if you separated or divorced years before they started school. Here is how it works and what it may mean for you.
What Is an Adult Dependent Child?
In Alberta, child support may continue after a child turns 18 if they still depend on their parents financially. This can happen when a child has a disability, an illness or is continuing their education. For many families, this means a child who is attending college or university and cannot yet support themselves.
Your child may qualify for continued child support if they:
- Are enrolled in a post-secondary program, often after completing high school
- Attend school full-time and demonstrate reasonable academic progress
- Are not yet able to support themselves independently while pursuing their education
Full-time students are generally in a stronger position to qualify for continued support. Part-time studies do not automatically end eligibility for support. When determining entitlement to support for part-time students, the Law in Alberta looks at the child’s overall circumstances, including why they are studying part-time and whether they can support themselves.
Taking time off between high school and post-secondary education does not automatically disqualify a child from support. However, in these cases, whether support must be paid for education will depend upon how long the break was and why it was taken. The child’s education plans, academic progress and ability to contribute to their own expenses can also determine whether support must be paid after a break, or the amount that must be paid.
If an adult child is able to support themselves but chooses not to work or pursue further education, they may have a harder time qualifying for continued support.
Does Child Support End at 18 in Alberta?
Not necessarily. Whether or not you were married to your child’s other parent, support can continue past 18 while your child remains dependent.
If You Were Married
Divorced parents fall under the federal Divorce Act. It sets no fixed upper age limit. Support can continue for as long as your child remains dependent, which often means through a first undergraduate degree or diploma.
If You Were Never Married
Parents who were not married, including common-law partners, fall under Alberta’s Family Law Act. Under this law, parents may still have to pay child support to adult students regardless of whether the parents were married or not.
In most cases, separating or divorcing before your child turns 18 does not cancel your obligation to help with their education.
Who Pays, and How Much?
There is no single formula for determining post-secondary child support in Alberta. Instead, the law will look at the unique circumstances of each family and adult student, including estimated costs of education, each parent’s financial circumstances and the adult child’s ability to contribute.
1. How much can each parent afford?
Both parents’ incomes and financial circumstances help determine their respective contributions. Tuition, books, accommodation and other reasonable education-related expenses may be shared in proportion to their incomes, depending on the circumstances.
2. How much can your child reasonably contribute?
Adult children may be expected to contribute toward their education and living expenses. Factors such available savings by your child, scholarships, bursaries, employment income and other financial resources are all taken into account when deciding how much support is appropriate. However, there is no automatic rule that a child must use all these resources before receiving parental support.
What If Your Child Did Not Live With You?
You may still be required to contribute even if your child lived with your former spouse before starting school.
Consider a couple who separated in July 2025, just before their child began grade 12. During grade 12, the child lived with their mother, while their father lived on his own. The father earned a high income, and the mother’s earnings were low.
When the child starts university in September 2026, the father would likely still be expected to help pay for it, even though the child did not live with him the year before. Where your child lived immediately before attending post-secondary education matters far less than their need and each parent’s ability to pay.
Your Senior Lawyer
Christopher Bungay
Every family’s finances are different, and the rules for adult children leave a lot of room for interpretation. Christopher Bungay, senior lawyer at Advantage Family Law, helps Calgary parents work out fair, realistic arrangements for post-secondary costs, whether you are negotiating a new agreement or revisiting an existing one.
