Hi there,
My situation was similar when my wife was filling out her forms. My 3 children mostly lived with my ex-wife but as I was supporting them they still counted as dependant children.
I would say that a child over 18 is not dependant although the Child Support Agency class any child still in education as dependant up until 19. To quote their website...
Child maintenance is payable all the time that Child Benefit is being paid and the child is:
aged under 16; or
aged 16 to 19 and in full-time non-advanced education
If the qualifying child is in advanced or higher education they would no longer qualify for child support maintenance. Some examples of advanced and higher education are:
Advanced Education and Higher Education
Degree
NVQ level 4 and above
DHE
HND
BTEC HNC / HND
SCOTVEC HNC / HND
Teacher Training
When a child leaves full time education in the summer, Child Benefit generally continues until the first week of September.
I hope this helps
