Toronto woman sues Rogers after husband leaves, will need divorce lawyer

Normally, it’s a hassle to get information on an account from a cable company, or even to request a self-addressed, stamped envelope to pay the bills if you’re not the designated account holder.

However, Rogers Communications thought nothing of bundling a woman’s cell phone services with her husband’s phone, internet and cable bill. Unfortunately for the woman, the slew of secret phone calls on her cell phone bill revealed she was having an affair, and her husband walked out

The woman, Gabriella Nagy, is suing Rogers for an invasion of privacy and breach of contract to the tune of $600,000

Her cell phone account was under her maiden name, and the rest of the home’s services were under her husband’s name. In June 2007, her husband set up an internet account and soon after, Rogers sent the husband a bill with all of the home’s services listed – including her cell phone. Her husband called the suspicious number on the bill – which she’d called repeatedly and spoke with for hours – and the person on the other end confirmed the affair.

Rogers maintains it’s not their fault that the woman had an affair or that the marriage broke down

“The marriage breakup and its effects happened, or alternatively would have happened, regardless of the form in which the plaintiff and her husband received their invoices for Rogers services in July 2007,” says Rogers’ statement of defense

Nagy also claims that her marriage falling apart upset her so much that she lost her well-paying job.

This should be an interesting case for the divorce lawyer who handles this one!

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By michael - Last updated: Sunday, May 23, 2010
Filed in Divorce, Divorce Lawyer • Tags: , , , ,


Ontario Family lawyers can help Common Law couples with spousal support; Harder in Quebec

In Ontario, an unmarried couple is considered to be in a common law marriage if they’ve lived together for over three years or have a child and live in a relationship of some kind of permanence. As such, when they break up they may be entitled to spousal support and a division of assets just as if the couple were legally married originally.

In Quebec, unmarried couples (even if they are common law) are not entitled to any such support.lola-and-eric

The case of Eric and Lola, a billionaire and his ex-spouse, was heard last year in a Quebec court and a judge decided that only legally married spouses should be entitled to support in the event of a marriage breakdown. Their full names are not currently publishable due to a publication ban, but the media has dubbed them “Eric and Lola”.

The case is to be heard in the Quebec Court of Appeal this week, and should prove why not allowing spousal support for unmarried but conjugal couples is unconstitutional. Eric and Lola are also parents, and only a few years ago almost 60 per cent of children in Quebec were born to parents who weren’t married.

Without the appropriate spousal support in place for these two, as with any common-law parenting couple that breaks up, one parent may not be financially stable enough to provide for a child adequately.

Ontario couples are lucky, because the work, financial contributions and time that goes into a common law relationship is recognized by Ontario family law when the union breaks up. Hopefully, those in Quebec will soon be just as fairly treated.

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By michael - Last updated: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Filed in Common Law Marriage, Spousal Support •


In Family law in Ontario Financial Disclosure is Key

Personal financial information is a private matter that most people guard carefully. On occasion one may release it for the purposes of applying for credit or for taxes. In the case of family law, it’s one of the most important components when it comes to spousal and child support.

Many family law disputes are the result of some kind of financial issue – from income statements for child and spousal support to the proper division of assets.income

These financial statements, as well as many other statements, are expected to be sworn statements. The statements can include things like tax assessments, tax returns, statements of earnings and other income forms depending on whether the person in question is employed or is the owner of a business.

These statements are extremely important because they’re used to determine things such as spousal and child support amounts, as well as the lengths of time they’ll be paid for.

If the financial statements are not accurate or provided, there are a slew of consequences. These consequences can include hefty fines if the financial statements are inaccurate or not forthcoming by a certain date, being forced to cover the fees of the other ex-spouse during the proceedings, or one can even be held in contempt.

A family lawyer can help you make sure all of your financial statements are accurate and in order so that any family law proceedings go as smoothly as possible.

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By heather - Last updated: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Filed in Divorce Lawyer, Family Law Changes Ontario • Tags:


New Ontario online tool won’t replace a Qualified Family Lawyer

On Monday, May 3rd, the office of the Ontario Attorney General announced that they’ve created a new online, interactive website to assist people in filling out various family and civil law forms, as well as forms that include launching family court cases, obtaining restraining orders and changing child custody agreements.computer

“We’re making family courts more affordable and less complicated. This new tool simplifies the process and we are also making progress in providing the information upfront to help families make informed decisions,” Ontario’s Attorney General, Chris Bentley said in a press release.

This new website is a part of the promised reform of the Ontario family court system in an effort to make the family court system easier to use. In December, when the overhaul of the system was announced, the government also promised to improve legal advise, provide more support to families and take more steps to prevent an excess of cases from actually going to court.

On the website, a cartoon “assistant” provides information regarding the form you’re about to fill out and information on how to hide your tracks. However, as with most government websites – If you’re working on something and don’t save it within 30 minutes of being idle, it’s gone.

This new system may aid those who are computer savvy, but not everyone involved in family court cases. The selection of forms on the site for family law purposes are also very limited. The site itself is even careful to warn, “a lawyer is in the best position to advise you on your rights and responsibilities in this situation”.

And if any error is made on your form, even accidentally, it may be rejected. A family lawyer is indeed in the best position to advise you on your rights and responsibilities, along with ensuring that the form is accurately and completely filled out.

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By michael - Last updated: Thursday, May 6, 2010
Filed in Toronto Divorce Lawyers, Toronto Family Lawyers •


How a Family Lawyer can help you during Custody Disagreements

Nearly 38 per cent of Canadian marriages end in divorce, many of which involve children. Some soon-to-be divorced parents feel that child custody is something simple, and that if it were to play out in court the judge will see things fairly and dole out child custody arrangements as they should.

However, that’s not always the case and a good family lawyer can assist in child custody arrangements because they know the ins and outs of Ontario family law. A family lawyer can also help you avoid the court process alone-childaltogether through alternative dispute resolution.

There are several different types of child custody, and family law courts don’t always assign just one or the other when it comes to joint or sole custody.

Access

Access is also called visitation, and this access may be supervised or unsupervised. Access is what the non-custodial parent gets when the other parent receives custody, and if the court is concerned about the abilities of the parent with visitation, this access will be supervised. This supervision is often provided by some kind of social worker at a neutral location, but can take place in the non-custodial parent’s home too.

Legal custody

Legal custody is the right to make decisions on the needs of the child, whether it be related to education, health care or religion.

Sole custody

Only one parent has complete custody of the children.

Split custody

In a case of multiple children, one parent has custody of some of the children and the other parent has custody over the rest of the children.

Joint custody

Both parents have custody and are generally amicable in their decisions regarding the welfare of the children.

Physical custody

A child lives with one parent and the other typically has visitation. Joint physical custody is also an option.

Shared custody

Both parents have custody of the children, and each parent must spend at least 40 per cent of the time with the children.

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By michael - Last updated: Sunday, May 2, 2010
Filed in Child Custody in Ontario •