Do you ever have a legal obligation to pay RESP money back to your parents?

Barbara took a multi-year break from her studies and funded her schooling through a mix of loans, grants and her parents' RESP, and she is left wondering whether the money she pulled from that plan is truly hers or something she is expected to pay back. Allan walks through how a registered education savings plan actually works, drawing the line between the parents' original contributions and the educational assistance payments made up of government grants and growth, which are taxed in the student's hands. The reassuring part of his answer is that once those funds are properly paid out to the beneficiary, they belong to the student with no obligation to repay a parent. He also touches on practical timing, since a plan does not last forever and unused growth can face a clawback. It is a clarifying read for any family navigating RESP withdrawals around a pause in studies.