Criminal Charges in High-Conflict Canadian Divorces
Divorce is hard at the best of times. A high-conflict divorce is always extra challenging. But if one of the spouses has been charged with a criminal offence, then the stakes are higher and the complexities, greater. Here are some points to consider: Divorce Act Provisions on Family Violence We will assume that the criminal charges against one spouse stem from an incident of domestic...
What is the Office of the Children’s Lawyer?
For those of you who are parents and are involved in Family Litigation in Ontario, you may have heard about the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL). This brief blog will touch upon the basics points you need to know about this provincial government entity. What is the OCL? The Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) operates as a specialized Ontario government agency,...
What is the Legal Age at Which a Child Can Decide Which Parent to Live With?
At our firm, there is one common question we routinely field from clients and potential clients going through a separation and divorce: “At what age can my child decide which parent they are going to live with?” In Canada, there is no defined age. Neither the federal nor provincial laws address this specifically. But that doesn’t mean the question is entirely up in the air. Both the...
“Exclusive Possession” of Your Matrimonial Home: What Does it Mean?
Many of you might know that under the Ontario Family Law Act (FLA), your matrimonial home has special status once you decide to separate from and divorce your spouse. At that point, your matrimonial home (defined as every property that “was at the time of separation ordinarily occupied by the person and his or her spouse as their family residence”) is subject to special rules governing how it...
Marriage Versus Common-Law in Ontario – What’s the Difference?
According to the latest reports by Statistics Canada, marriage rates have been on the decline in the past few years, while common-law relationships have been on the rise. This ebb and flow in the popularity of each is due to many factors, of course. But at least some of them relate to the differences between each type of relationship union. MARRIAGE Beginning Requires obtaining a marriage...
What Are the Grounds for Divorce in Ontario?
We get this question at our Firm all the time: What are the grounds for getting a divorce from my spouse? What do I have to prove, to be eligible? Is there a waiting period? These are all simple questions, and they do have simple answers – but that still doesn’t mean that establishing you are eligible for a divorce is necessarily easy. Related: Divorce Process in Ontario Grounds for Divorce...
Can I Use My Spouse’s Social Media as Evidence in Our Divorce?
Whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (now rebranded as “X”), or any other popular platform, most Canadians use social media to interact with others. Usually it’s to share glimpses of their lives through images and short text updates. If you’re going through a divorce and want “dirt” on your spouse, it might have occurred to you that social media could be a great source of evidence for...
Legal Separation: What to Consider When Living Separate and Apart in the Same Residence
In these tough economic times, many married couples may want to separate – but find they simply can’t afford to. That’s because they may not have the financial means to set up two separate homes, and officially start down the road toward getting a formal divorce from each other. A question we often get asked at our firm is whether, under Canadian law, it’s possible to be legally separated but...
Imputing Income – Determining the Proper Quantum of Child and Spousal Support
If you are separating or divorcing from your spouse, you’ll know that a key step in the process is to determine how much annual income each of you earns. Accurately setting those income amounts is important, because it factors into the legal determination of how much spousal or child support must be paid, and by whom. In a perfect world, each of you would both be forthright and honest about...