On May 22, 2018 the Federal Government introduced Bill C-78. It’s most important provision is removing the term “Custody” and “Access” from a court order replacing them with “Parenting Orders” in which parenting time and decision making is allocated between the parents. As always, the only factor for the court to take into account is […]
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Hague Convention – Habitual Resident International Custody Disputes
The “Lion” of family law Mr. Philip Epstein publishes a weekly Family Law newsletter. This essential reading is a critical resource for family law lawyers in Canada seeking to keep up to date on the latest judicial developments. Mr. Epstein, in his recent newsletter took the Supreme Court of Canada to task and especially now […]
Read MoreLump Sum Pension – Is It Income Or Property?
Recently Justice Trousdale in the case of Hewett v. Rogers had to struggle with how to treat a lump sum tax free payment of $345,000.00 to a veteran of the Canadian Forces. This money was labelled as a lump sum payment as compensation for all the serious injuries and disabilities Mr. Hewett suffered as a […]
Read MoreInternet Defamation
A case recently crossed our desks that I simply had to comment on. The Ontario Court of Appeal in the recent case of Rutman v. Rabinowitz set a very high watermark by awarding $700,000.00 in damages for Internet Defamation. The Defendants’ were found to have mounted a lengthy defamatory internet campaign against the plaintiff. Despite […]
Read MoreValuing an Asset A Financial Planner or Insurance Agent’s book of Business
We have represented on a number of occasions spouses who either are financial planners or are separating from one. Financial planners are undergoing a seismic consolidationshift in their industry. Financial planners overseeing a set of assets of even thirty milliondollars may find themselves as being deemed to be too small to be worth the trouble […]
Read MoreSeeking Retroactive Child Support
We have discussed this issue elsewhere on this website. Of course, the leading case is the 2008 Supreme Court of Canada decision in B.D. vs. G. The court set out four factors: Is there a reasonable excuse for the delay in bringing the application for retroactive support? What was the conduct of the payor parent? […]
Read MoreSupport Vs. Costs
Seeking a Reduction in Support. Be Very Very Careful One of the penalties of losing a court case are not only the legal fees you will have spent but a strong likelihood that the court will order you to pay a substantial portion of the winning side’s fees. This becomes even more complicated in a […]
Read MoreThe Tort of Conspiracy
In very complicated files, it can sometime pay to seek help from the court by bringing in a civil claim, formally titled the tort of conspiracy. A Tort is a civil wrong such as negligence or breach of contract. One would ask the court in their application that various additional persons are jointly and severally […]
Read MoreWeird Will Wonders # 1
You must be very careful in choosing the witnesses to your will. A normal will,(in other words, not a handwritten holographic will which is an entirely different topic,) requires a will to be signed by the person making the will and in front of two witnesses who must also sign their name. However, no beneficiary […]
Read MoreWeird Will Wonders # 2
What happens to your will if after you sign it, you marry? Unless some magic words are used in the will upon a subsequent marriage it goes poof, it disappears, it becomes void, it becomes invalid. The magic words are along the lines “I make this will in contemplation of my marriage to Kim Kardashian…” […]
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