Does Child Support Continue for a Child Still in High School at 19?

Your child has turned 18 or 19 but is still finishing high school. You may be paying support and wondering whether it must stop, or you may be receiving it and worried it will end on a birthday.

There is no single birthday rule. What happens depends on the wording of your order or agreement and on the law that applies to your family. This article walks through the general approach so you can ask better questions.

There is no automatic end date

Ontario laws do not set automatic end dates for child or spousal support payments. Support may end on a date or terminating event written into the order. Otherwise both parties must agree, or a judge must decide.

For an adult child, support is generally paid to the other parent, not the child. It continues until the end date in the order or agreement, or until a court or the parents change it, and if no end date is stated, the obligation continues.

So the first step is to read your order or agreement closely. A clause that says support ends at 18, at a graduation date, or when the child stops being a dependant will matter more than anything general.

What the Divorce Act says about older children

In a divorce, a 'child of the marriage' includes a child under the age of majority who has not withdrawn from the parents' charge. It also includes a child at or over the age of majority who remains under their charge but is unable, by reason of illness, disability or other cause, to withdraw from it or obtain the necessaries of life. The age of majority is set by the law of the province where the child habitually resides.

For a child at or over the age of majority, the court orders either the Guidelines amount as if the child were a minor, or another amount it considers appropriate if that approach is inappropriate. Whether your child's situation fits this test depends on the facts, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

If you were never married, or are separated without a divorce

The Federal Child Support Guidelines apply in divorce cases unless both parents live in a province with its own designated guidelines. Provincial or territorial guidelines apply when parents were never married, or married parents separate without divorcing.

That means the wording that decides support for an older child can differ depending on whether you divorced. Because the exact wording of the provincial rules on age, school attendance and dependency should be checked, a lawyer can confirm how it applies to your child.

How much support for an older child

If the Guidelines amount applies, it is based on the number of children, the province where the paying parent lives and that parent's annual income. Under the 2025 Ontario table for one child, a payer earning $60,000 has a monthly table amount of $554, and at $100,000 it is $932.

A court may also consider special or extraordinary expenses, including post-secondary education costs and extraordinary school costs. If the court decides the table is not an appropriate fit for an adult child, it can set another amount.

The 2025 tables took effect on October 1, 2025. They do not automatically change orders made before that date, though a different table amount may count as a change in circumstances.

Changing or ending an order

A change in circumstances for varying a table-based order is any change that would result in a different child support order. A court can vary, rescind or suspend a support order retroactively or prospectively under the Divorce Act, but must first find a change of circumstances as provided for in the applicable guidelines.

• Only a judge can change the amount of support in an order, and FRO cannot.
• FRO cannot reduce or forgive arrears itself and enforces the order as written.
• Reducing or cancelling arrears requires a court to vary or rescind the order, or a written agreement from the recipient filed with FRO.
• If you stop paying because you believe support has ended, arrears may still build up unless the order or agreement says otherwise.

If you are paying and fall behind, FRO says to contact them right away, and it offers a voluntary arrears payment schedule.

What to do next

• Find the end date or terminating event in your order or agreement.
• Confirm whether you were divorced, separated or never married.
• Gather proof of the child's enrolment, living arrangements and any expenses.
• Keep paying as ordered until a judge or a filed agreement changes it.
• Speak to a family lawyer before you stop, reduce or demand payments.

Frequently asked questions