Should my daughter let her ex intimidate her into paying for her car, so he can use it, rather than paying child support?

Your daughter’s ex should be paying child support pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines based on his income, which includes both base support and his contribution toward the children’s “special and extraordinary expenses”, which are health, education and child care expenses as well as certain large expenses.

He should not be paying for her car, nor should she be letting him use it. That is prolonging a dependency which sounds like is not healthy as their relationship sounds like a bad one and it is over. They should separate from each other as much as they can while remaining parents to the kids. The car is an extra tie between them.

That said, if your daughter and the father lived together for any period of time, your daughter may be able to seek spousal support as well, which would cover the car payments.

If the father is intimidating, threatening or aggressive, then your daughter really needs to speak to a good family lawyer to “level the playing field.” A lawyer will not be intimidated by him and can advise as to the best options for dealing with that sort of behaviour. (This article explains the current rules of retraining orders). You can reach John Schuman using either the form below or the phone number at the top of the page. 

To get even more information on restraining orders, child support, spousal support and the options for your daughter to pursue her rights, pick up a copy of this easy-to-understand best-selling book on Ontario Family Law ($9.99 as an e-book)

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