Guardianship and foster care / government ward

Living with someone other than a birth-parent, step-parent or adoptive parent can have an effect on your student status. This is important because your student status is used to determine your need and your student assistance funding.

Being under guardianship means you live with and are supported by a guardian who is not your parent but assumes a parental role. A guardian may be a grandparent or another relative. Guardianship is different from being in foster care or being a ward of a government agency.

In Nova Scotia, a legal guardian is a person who has been formally granted responsibility for a minor through a court order under the Parenting and Support Act or through other legally recognized arrangements. You will be required to submit legal documentation to support these arrangements if reporting a guardianship. A legal guardian has the authority and responsibility to make decisions about the child’s care, upbringing and financial support.

If you have a legal guardian, we expect your guardian(s) to contribute financially toward your education. As part of your application, your guardian(s) must provide their income information, which is used to assess your eligibility for student assistance.

If you have a legal guardian, you will generally be considered a single dependent student.

If you are in foster care or if you are a ward of a government agency for some other reason, you are financially dependent on the government. For the purposes of student assistance, your student status is probably single independent.