June 7, 2023 – RESPs as Section 7 Expenses?

“Section 7(1) of the CSG provides the court with the ability to provide for an amount to cover all or a portion of certain expenses, taking into account the necessity of the expense in relation to the child’s best interests and the reasonableness of the expense in relation to the means of the spouses and those of the child and to the family’s spending pattern prior to separation. Contributions to an RESP do not fit into any of the categories of s.7 set out in s.7(1)(a) – (f).  While RESPs are savings vehicles, earmarked for post-secondary education for a child, they are not necessarily required to be used for that purpose. Parents cannot be compelled by a court order to contribute into an RESP, absent an agreement: see C.S. v. D.A.S., 2020 ONCJ 16, at para. 143; Popovski v. Pirkova, 2017 ONSC 2363, at para. 49; and Smith v. Smith, 2011 NSSC 269, at para. 80.”

         de Vasquez v. Mendoza, 2022 ONSC 3398 (CanLII) at 91