Specific features of tutorship by parents

Whether custody of the minor is awarded to the mother, the father or some other person, the parents retain the right and the obligation to ensure the child's maintenance and education in a manner appropriate to their financial position.

In addition to the obligations of legal tutorship, parents have specific obligations to their minor child under the Civil Code of Québec.

Parental authority and obligation of support

A child is under the authority of their mother and father. This is known as parental authority. Broadly speaking, parental authority may be defined as all the rights, duties and obligations of the mother and father as regards looking after their minor child's material, psychological, moral, intellectual and physical needs.

Support obligation and loss of legal tutorship

If the parents do not perform their duties as legal tutors properly, the court assigns tutorship to someone else. Regardless of whether the mother and father retain parental authority, they continue to have an obligation of support to the child. The dative tutor to the property who replaces the parents must ask them to contribute to the minor's expenses if they can afford to do so.

Among the responsibilities stemming from this authority, parents have obligations of support and maintenance to their child. The obligation of support covers not only food but also clothing, accommodation, education, personal or health care, transportation, recreation, etc.

Parental authority and the minor's property

If the parents have steady jobs or other sources of income, they must fulfil the obligations of parental authority free of charge, drawing as little as possible on the minor's patrimony.

However, if the child's patrimony comes from a monthly death benefit paid by a public agency, these funds may be used to cover the child's needs. The same thing goes for a death benefit paid by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to a dependant.

In exceptional circumstances (death of mother or father, parents short of money, disabled child, etc.), it is possible to override this obligation; the child's best interests must always be taken into account. With the tutorship council's approval, it is possible to make exceptional use of the patrimony to cover expenses related to the minor's education, health or job integration.

Examples

A minor child receives an indemnity after an accident has left them disabled: this indemnity may be used to make various adaptations to the home or family vehicle, if no government program refunds the cost.
A child is paid an indemnity following the death of their mother. This death drastically undermines the family's finances. If the father's income is insufficient, he could, after consulting the tutorship council ― and, eventually, the Curateur public ―, use part of the minor's capital to provide the child with proper schooling or appropriate health care (e.g., orthodontic treatment).

Reciprocal support obligation

Under the Civil Code of Québec, the support obligation between parents and child works both ways, even if the child is a minor. If the parents are short of money and the child has substantial assets, the court may rule that the child should assume this obligation. (Article 585 of the Civil code.)

When the child's assets are not used to pay for the needs of the mother and father, and remain in the child's name, and the parents receive social assistance or social solidarity programs benefits, the parents continue to be legally entitled to receive these benefits.

If the minor child has substantial funds

In this case, under exceptional circumstances, the child may be called upon to:

defray some of their own expenses, bearing in mind the parents' financial situation and their own personal needs (in this case, it is appropriate to consult the tutorship council and the Curateur public);
help to pay for the parents' essential needs if the parents cannot afford to do so; in this case, the court will decide, and set the amount to be paid by the child.

If the assets administered exceed $25,000

If the amounts or assets administered since the beginning of the tutorship exceed $25,000, the parents must:

undertake the formalities for setting up a tutorship council;
notify the Curateur public.