Category: miscellaneous

The worst kept legal secret of the decade is family law in Ontario needs to change Restructuring is what family law needs, says the as-of-yet unreleased report from the Cromwell committee to Chief Justice McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada. No kidding. Haven’t family lawyers and parties been saying exactly that forever? I know …

Ruling gives same sex right to marry overseas and beyond: In January 2013, an experienced Ontario family court judge, the Honourable Madam Justice Mesbur, ruled that a British civil union between a same sex couple would be recognized as a marriage in Ontario for the purposes of property division, support and, ultimately, divorce. A conservative …

Importance of Domestic Contracts Carrigan v Carrigan Estate is a recent Ontario Court of Appeal case grabbing headlines. For family lawyers, the case underscores the importance of the domestic contracts, particularly the Separation Agreements, over whose drafting we toil. For the general public, the Courts’ recognition that a person could, in certain circumstances, have more …

Understanding Custody Jurisdiction Followers of this blog may recall the posts my partner Sarah Boulby and I did, in June and July 2012 respectively, on the controversial Ontario Court of Appeal case Dovigi and Razi. Well, big news to those of us in family law, counsel for the father is seeking leave to appeal the …

How to handle the holidays single It’s fall. Time for the celebration of the High Holidays and Thanksgiving. These holidays are about connections: about family and community. About coming together and giving thanks for our many blessings. When you are newly single, the idea of giving thanks on Thanksgiving (or Rosh Hashanah) can be difficult …

The use of Technology in Family Law can be crucial to parenting during separation Part II: Connecting Families Many children do not enjoy daily standard face-to-face contact with both of their parents. This is particularly true for separated and divorced families who no longer live together 24/7. In recent years, parents and courts have made …

Using Skype technology as a means to connect children with their parents Part I: Giving Evidence Although Skype technology has a number of applications, one of the most popular appears to be its internet based real time video-conferencing format. Skype to Skype video calls are free of charge and can link people anywhere around the …

Have Baby, Will Travel: a Shared Custody case The May 31, 2012 Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Dovigi v Razi 2012 ONCA 361 has attracted a lot of attention. The family law bar and the general public are divided on whether the appeal court got it right. The implications of the decision are far …

Part Two of Spousal Support Issues This is the second of two blog posts on the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (“SSAGs”), their applications and shortcomings. Today, I comment on the use and abuse of the SSAGs in cases of payors in Ontario who earn more than $350,000 per year. Part II: High Income Earners The …

Spousal Support advisory guidelines Part One The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs) were finalized in 2008. They have been widely accepted in Ontario and endorsed by our Court of Appeal. As evidenced by a recently released January 2012 Department of Justice survey, the SSAGs are working well in Ontario: Key informants noted that the [guidelines] …