17 year old refuses to attend high school

Hi,

My husband's child from his first marriage whom he has been paying child support for for the past 17 years (almost 18) refuses to attend most of her high school classes and is habitually late for others. As a result, she has failed high school by ONE CREDIT. She was initially going to repeat the failed subject (which would have taken two months) but has since decided to repeat the WHOLE YEAR because her mother told her she would not get child support from her father unless she was in school. This child is in no way academic and turns 18 just after she commences school (again). Does her father have to continue paying child support for a kid who is only registered in school to collect money from him? She lives in Canada. If he was to bring the matter in front of a Judge what would be the likelihood of the Judge seeing right through this kid? Any advice you can offer is greatly appreciated. This is a kid who can be in school for the next 20 years if it means getting money from her estranged father. She won't even get a summer job. Says she's above working. That doesn't seem right to me.

FedUp

Do you mean if he brings the matter up in front of a judge in Canada, or is there an order for chid maintenance in the Uk?

It's worth checking the exact terms of the order. I don't know about the courts in Canada but in England & Wales it the courts don't consider it unreasonable for parents to contribute to maintaining over 18s in education if the parent has the means. However, the courts have made it quite clear that parents cannot be expected to support their offspring for ever and maintenance should be limited to three years (first degree) with perhaps allowing for a gap year.

Thanks Fiona.

It's in Canada and the support order is Canadian. It does say until she completes her first degree as long as she's getting passing grades but she is obviously not academic and will not be getting passing grades. My concern is that she has effectively secured herself another year of child support by deliberately failing high school and wanting to repeat the whole year again. We are hoping to vary the existing order by showing the Judge she has no intention of working towards a tertiary education when she won't even take her secondary education seriously. Perhaps it's time she got off her behind and got a job like most kids her age.