Archive for 2014
Unequal division of property: Recent case law
In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a trial court decision, which granted an unequal division of net family property. The parties in the case of Stetco v Stetco, 2014 ONCA 370, had been married for 32 years. At trial, the judge found the husband’s abusive conduct during the marriage to…
Read moreCourt overturns domestic contract: Recent case law
When a domestic contract is enforceable is the main issue in a recent case – Martin v Sansome 2014 ONCA 14 – decided by the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The parties were married for 10 years. The husband’s parents owned a dairy farm and milk quota and offered the couple the opportunity to live…
Read moreCourt terminates supervised access: Recent case law
An Ontario case from earlier this year (Chickwanda v Bell, 2014 ONCJ 174 (CanLII)) allowed the Ontario Court of Justice to explore circumstances when it is appropriate to terminate access by a father to his children. In this case, the mother had sole custody of the couple’s two children from the time of separation. The father…
Read moreFactors judges consider for support of adult children: Recent case law
The issue of how much child support should be paid for adult children and for how long it should be paid is not clearly addressed in the Child Support Guidelines. In a 2012 British Columbia case (Naylor v Naylor 2012 CarswellBC 2979), Justice Jenkins explores this issue with respect to an adult child who is…
Read moreWhy do the police sometimes charge an abuser even though the woman does not want them to?
Mandatory charging is a policy in place across Canada that requires police to lay charges in domestic violence cases where the officer involved believes there is a reasonable likelihood of getting a conviction, whether or not the victim wants a charge to be laid. In order to understand the challenges this has created, it is…
Read moreMobility: Recent case law
The case of Boudreault v Charles, 2014 ONCJ 273 (XanLII) explores the factors for a judge to consider when hearing a motion for an interim order to relocate a child. In this case, the mother already had interim custody and the father had supervised access to the 3-year-old child. The access occurred weekly at a…
Read moreLuke’s Place partners with Legal Aid Ontario
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is investing $600,000 over three years in a partnership with Luke’s Place, a centre devoted solely to improving the safety and experience of abused women and their children as they proceed through the family law process. This investment is to help improve access to justice for women who have experienced domestic…
Read moreWhat is a “Jewish divorce”?
In Canada, marriage is ended by way of a civil divorce, pursuant to the terms of the Divorce Act, which set outs such requirements as: At least one of the parties has to have been resident in the province where the divorce application is being made for at least one year The parties have to…
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