Visit our Website

• DivorceSupport.CA

About this Blog

• Family Law Blog by Niren Family Law Practice, Family and Divorce Lawyers

Latest Blogs

• Untitled
• Wife to sue Ontario Family Responsibility Office for suicide of man who couldn’t pay child support
• New and exciting alternative dispute resolution for divorcing couples?
• Will Canadian Family Law Cover Polygamy Divorce?
• Insurance for couples who divorce in Ontario?

Categories

• Alternative dispute resolution
• Artificial insemination
• Child Adoption
• child custody
• Child Custody in Ontario
• Child Support
• Child Visitation
• Cohabitation Agreements
• Collaborative Law
• Common Law Marriage
• Current trends
• Divorce
• Divorce Lawyer
• Enforcement
• Family Law Changes Ontario
• Family Property Division
• Family Responsibility Office
• Family structure
• Marriage Contracts
• Mediation
• Motion to Change
• Polygamy
• Prenuptial Agreements
• Process server
• Provincial legislation
• Questions and Answers
• Religious ceremony
• Same Sex Marriage
• separation
• Separation Agreements
• Service of documents
• Spousal Support
• Support Orders
• Surrogacy
• Toronto Divorce Lawyers
• Toronto Family Lawyers
• Variation

Archives

• December 2010
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• July 2010
• June 2010
• May 2010
• April 2010
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• March 2009

Related Blogs

• The Divorce Collaborative

Tag Cloud

Bill C-422 breakdown of marriage Calder-vs-Calder child custody Children’s Law Reform Act Child Support choosing divorce lawyers CLRA Common Law Common Law Separation Custody Order Divorce Divorce Act divorce coaches divorce in recession Divorce Lawyer divorce lawyers DNA Testing equalization payment Family Law Act family lawyers father's spousal support H1N1 Vaccination Interesting Family Law Cases Interjurisdictional Support Order Act ISO Act jesse james divorce John Tait Krislock v. Krislock marry after divorce Matrimonial Home Mayberry-vs-Mayberry Parental Alienation Syndrome Prenup prenuptuals sandra bullock separation Shawn Goldman special or extraordinary expenses Stu Webb Supervised Access Program Susan Desrochers swine flu vaccination Tiger Woods Vital Statistics Act

Follow Us on Twitter

Find Us on Facebook

Court ruling opens doors for common-law spousal support payments

A surprising court decision in Quebec has opened doors for common-law couples hoping to receive spousal support from their ex-common-law spouses upon separation.

The court ruled that Quebec law discriminates against common law couples by not entitling them to spousal support. The case in question involved a woman who was cohabitating with a multimillionaire. The couple had three children and the man was already paying $35,000 per month in child support.

In Ontario, spousal support for common-law couples may be available depending on certain circumstances, including whether there are children involved and how long the couple was living together. Quebec is the only Canadian province that does distinguish between married and common-law couples for spousal support reasons. Quebec is the common-law capital of Canada, and it makes sense for a landmark common-law marriage court decision to take place there, particularly as one in three couples are common law.

The Quebec Court of Appeal has given the government of Quebec one year to review its position on common-law spousal support.

---

Toronto mediation vs. collaborative law

”How long?” and “how much?” are two questions that are often at the forefront of any divorce-oriented thought process, particularly when separating spouses attempt to resolve such issues as property division, child custody, and support. While the financial cost of finalizing a divorce depends on a great number of variables, the emotional costs during a hotly contested dispute can be great, taking its toll on both the parents and the children.

Mediation and collaborative law are two methods of finalizing a divorce without litigation. Mediation involves using a mediator, usually someone with a background in social work, to act as a negotiator between the opposing spouses in order to resolve the outstanding issues.  The parties’ respective lawyers are involved in the mediation process and can opt to amend a mediator’s recommendations or the parties’ themselves can make changes to a recommendation.

In contrast, collaborative law involves the separating spouses and their respective lawyers, who are all active participants in the negotiation of the matrimonial issues.  Should any of the issues related to the divorce fail to become finalized, the collaborative lawyers are prohibited from representing the spouses in court. Collaborative law is less expensive and time-consuming than litigation.

 

---

How much do you know about your spouse’s financials?

In Ontario, upon the breakdown of a marriage, spouses are required to provide financial disclosure, including income, assets, and liabilities, to one another to determine their support and property entitlements.  According to a recent article published in the Edmonton Sun, spouses’ hiding debt, credit cards and other hefty financial information is not uncommon. 

“In my experience, it’s probably more common than not that a spouse doesn’t know every financial detail,” Edmonton family mediator and collaborative family lawyer Marla Miller told the QMI Agency this week.  The head of the family law section of the Canadian Bar Association, Grant Gold, also told QMI Agency that, “It happens more often than you would think – that people run separate financial lives,” he said, “It’s relatively common. It speaks to problems in the marriage, and it speaks to the need for couples to communicate in advance and things like that.”

While a person interviewed in the article suggested it might be a good idea that a spouse be required to seek permission from the other spouse in order to obtain a loan or credit card, this suggestion might return society back to the era when a wife had to ask her husband’s permission to obtain a credit card.

Instead, spouses should learn to protect themselves.

In the event of a split, spouses should make a list of the family sources of income, assets, debts, and liabilities, including car loans, the mortgage, lines of credit and credit cards as well as which spouse incurred the debt.  Also, maintain copy of bank and credit card statements, income tax information, employment contracts, and loan agreements.  Take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your future.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/comment/columnists/mindelle_jacobs/2010/07/28/14853026.html

 

---

More Ontario residents choosing out-of-court methods to resolve family law issues

According to a number of Ontario lawyers and professional mediators, an increasing number Ontario residents are taking their family law cases to alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and collaborative law. Alternative dispute resolution is a cost-effective alternative to the cost of litigating a family law matter in court, which is no longer within means for most people.

Alternative dispute resolution also provides a quicker resolution to a family law matter than litigation and provides parties with an opportunity to be heard and the ability to control negotiations. Parties are able to come to agreements, as opposed to having a resolution forced upon at least one party by a judge.

In mediation, a third party with special training, such as a background in social work, will assist both parties in making decisions. Lawyers are usually retained by the parties for advice in these cases, while in arbitration an arbitrator will meet with the parties’ respective lawyers. In collaborative law, parties’ lawyers will work to finalize an agreement that is acceptable for both parties, although if issues cannot be resolved the lawyers cannot be retained for any future court proceedings.

In 1999, the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program was introduced in Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor. Mediation is an option that must now be considered in civil disputes at those locations. Mandatory mediation was not extended to family law cases because in some instances, such as domestic violence cases, mediation may not be a possibility.

In addition to its cost-effectiveness, alternative dispute resolution also removes children of separated parents from any exposure to the court process, and it enables adults, who were once children of their parents’ long, drawn out divorces, to go through their own family law dispute without lengthy litigation.

 

---

Facebook Privacy Issues and Ontario Family Courts

The social networking website called Facebook is a tool to exchange information that has now made its way into the courtroom and is being used as evidence in litigation, particularly in family law disputes. In the United States, Facebook messages are commonly used in family law cases, as well as in civil and criminal cases and jury selection; while in Canada, the use of Facebook as documentary evidence is steadily on the rise.

Facebook has recently simplified its privacy settings and a user can now set his or her Facebook settings to enable only persons the user has manually added to their “friends list” with the ability to access and view the user’s on-line profile.

Another important feature within Facebook’s account privacy settings is the user’s ability to limit the information “friends” can view on the user’s profile. For instance, a user can prevent an ex-spouse or soon to be ex-spouse from viewing photos, relationship status, or wall postings.

Facebook users should be aware of a specific privacy setting that is available for ‘Applications’. Even though some users do not have the game FarmVille, or similar Facebook games uploaded to their profile, when a user’s “friend” has installed the game on their profile that game now has the capability of pulling personal Facebook information and photos from any listed “friends” of that individual. An adjustment to the privacy settings to prevent any sharing of information with an Application is recommended.

Due to the increase in the use of Facebook as documentary evidence in several recent Ontario family law court cases, Facebook users with pending court matters should not post information pertaining to the case and should also consider adjusting their privacy settings to avoid the possibility of having personal information used against them in court. 

 

---

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.

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.

---

What is non-recurring income for the purposes of Spousal Support and Child Support?

In Ontario family law cases, spousal support and child support payments are calculated based on a person’s income. However, in a given year, one might generate income that they do not normally earn. This income is not from a regular paycheck, but is generated by other means. Ontario judges are able to use their own discretion when it comes to this non-recurring income, and it generally increases the child or spousal support payments. Support income is not necessarily always the same as tax income.

Some of these forms of non-recurring income include:

Capital Gains: Capital gains may be used to increase support payments, but capital losses are not generally used to lower the person’s overall income when it comes to paying child or spousal support. If any capital gains are immediately reinvested, such as small business revenue going back into the business, they’re not usually considered income.

Severance Packages: If one is laid off and receives a severance package they may find a job right away and report a much higher income for that year, which usually would be used for spousal or child support calculations.

RRSP Redemption

These types of income are included on income tax income but not necessarily spousal or child support income, unless it is repeated every year.

Awards from Lawsuits:

Awards for the loss on income are usually reported as income, but awards for personal suffering are not.

Stocks:

As with RRSP redemptions, if stock options are exercised once in a blue moon they aren’t typically counted. However, if you do it frequently and can establish a pattern of exercising stock options, they may be counted as income.

---

Adoption, Spousal and Child Support: What Family Law Rights do Unwed Fathers have?

Unmarried Father’s Rights to Children: Family Law Perspective

The legal obligations of fathers who aren’t married to their child’s mother are typically the same as if they were married, with only a few minor differences.

Adoption

Unlike pregnancies that result from a marriage, in these situations the child may be put up for adoption. If the man is aware of the child’s existence, he may have a decent chance of gaining custody of the child if the mother intends to give it up for adoption.

There are no current laws that force women to tell the father about a pregnancy.

Spousal Support

Spousal support for unmarried people doesn’t normally apply. However, it may if the couple falls under the definition of “spouses” as per the Family Law Act. For example, if a couple has lived together for three years or has lived in such a manner that it would appear to be marriage-like to a judge, there can be spousal support involved.

Child Support

The amount of child support paid by a father is not dependent on whether or not the couple is married. Whether or not the child was expected is also not factored into this decision, although an unmarried father may also be forced to pay for some of any prenatal expenses, according to the Family Law Act in Ontario.

Roe v. Wade for men

While in the United States and Canada women have the choice as to whether they want to go through with a pregnancy or not, men do not have such a choice. In 2006, a man in Michigan was ordered to pay almost $500 per month in child support to his ex-girlfriend, even though she was well aware he did not want to have a child and she had told him many times that she was physically unable to get pregnant. Some may argue that if the woman did not want to abort the child and refused to put it up for adoption she should have been able to pay for the child herself. The case was dubbed “Roe v. Wade for Men” and attempted to prove this very notion with a lawsuit, but the lawsuit was eventually dismissed.

---

Divorced? Five Possibilities to Reduce Your Taxes

It’s tax season again, and divorce and child custody bring up several new situations that can be reported on your taxes. There are also a few new ways to reduce your income taxes and ensure everything is reported accurately.

1. Spousal Support and Taxes

The ex-spouse who pays spousal support can deduct it from their taxes, whereas the ex-spouse who receives the payments must pay tax on the amount they receive. Keep in mind that a lump sum payment of spousal support is not tax deductible.

2. Child Support and Taxes

Child support payments are not usually deductible. However, if the support order was given before May 1, 1997, then the support payments are deductible. Likewise, if a person is receiving support payments from an order given before May 1, 1997, taxes are paid on those payments. Otherwise, no taxes are paid on child support payments received.

3. Equivalent to Spouse Credit

If you receive child support you might be able to claim an equivalent-to-spouse credit for one of your children on your tax return.

4. Legal Fees and Taxes

In some cases, legal fees may be tax deductible. Normally legal fees incurred due to a divorce are not, but fees incurred to enforcing child support or to obtain an order for child and spousal support are.

5. Canadian Child Tax Benefit

The primary caregiver of a child is entitled to claim the Canada Child Tax Benefit. If the situation involves shared custody of the child, each parent is entitled to half of it under normal circumstances.

We are not accountants so for professional accounting advise seek a qualified accountant, but these guidelines can provide you with a basic idea of what to expect when filing your taxes as a divorced Canadian.

---

Enforcing Child Support and Spousal Support Orders: The Family Responsibility Office

Pursuant to the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, the Family Responsibility Office (“FRO”) was established to ensure that support payments were made between the payor and the recipient.  FRO enforces both support orders issued by the Ontario courts and support obligations as set out in domestic contracts that are filed with the courts. FRO can also enforce support orders issued in another province or country with which it has a reciprocating agreement.

Once a case is registered with FRO, the agency then begins the process of both collecting support payments from the payor and then forwarding the payments to the support recipient.

If support payments are not made, FRO has the legal authority to take enforcement action to recover any monies owed.  Enforcement action can include garnishment of bank accounts, suspension of the payor’s driver’s licence, garnishment of any monies received from the Federal Government (such as income tax refunds, GST rebates, employment insurance, CPP benefits), suspension of the payor’s Canadian passport, and seizing of lottery winnings.  If the support payor has failed to make a support payment for at least six months and FRO has exhausted all efforts to locate the payor, FRO may post personal information and a photograph of the payor on a related website in order to receive assistance from the public in locating the payor.

To avoid such enforcement action, it is in the payor’s best interest to meet his or her support obligations in a timely manner.  If a payor’s financial situation changes, the payor should contact FRO to discuss a possible payment plan.  The payor should also contact a lawyer to find out what his or her options are, including filing a motion with the court to change the amount of support the payor is required to pay as set out in the support order or domestic contract.

For more information about the enforcement of child and spousal support payments, please contact Niren and Associates Family Law Practice at 416 222 4555 or email us at info@divorcesupport.ca.

---