Received an Early Inheritance? How to Protect it in a Divorce
Early inheritances are becoming more routine lately, and are coming up for discussion in families more often. Perhaps your aging parents have earmarked some Estate funds for you, and are thinking about putting them in your hands now, before their inevitable passing. That way, you can enjoy it sooner rather than later. This kind of unexpected windfall can provide you with a significant...
Was It a Loan or a Gift? How Courts Treat Money From Parents in a Divorce
With home prices in the GTA where they are, a lot of couples couldn’t have bought their first house without help from one set of parents. Some families put that help in writing. Many don’t. A wire transfer arrives, the down payment gets made, and nobody gives much thought to whether the money has to be paid back. That question tends to surface only after a separation. Suddenly one spouse’s...
Occupation Rent After Separation: What Happens When One Spouse Stays in the Home?
When a couple separates, one spouse often stays in the family’s home while the other moves out. Sometimes that’s meant to last a few weeks until the house is listed. Sometimes it stretches on for years, especially when the kids are young and neither parent wants to uproot them mid school year. If you’re the one who moved out of a jointly owned home, you may be asking whether your Ex should be...
In an Ontario Divorce, Who Gets the House?
For many separating couples, the family home is both their largest asset, and also the property to which they are most emotionally attached. Not surprisingly, at our firm one of the first questions we get from our newly-separated clients is: “Who gets to keep the house?” In Ontario, there is no automatic rule that the husband gets the house, the wife gets the house, the parent with the...
Who Gets the House in a Divorce in Ontario?
If you are legally married but in the midst of separating or divorcing, then your family home is likely the most valuable asset you own – and perhaps also the one you feel most emotional about. But the treatment of the matrimonial home in a divorce is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Ontario Family law. At our Firm, we hear a lot of wrong assumptions and misconceptions from our...
Divorce and Your Business: How to Protect What You’ve Built
If you own a business and are going through a separation or divorce, it’s natural to feel especially concerned. You may be wondering about what will happen to the venture you’ve spent years – or perhaps decades – building. For many business owners, their company is more than just an asset – it represents their identity, their livelihood, and their source of future income. But the good news...
Financial Abuse: The Hidden Factor in Many Divorces
If you are going through a divorce, you may be focused on pressing day-to-day matters – like parenting schedules, property division, and how best to move forward. But for some people, there is undercurrent that also shapes the breakdown of the relationship: Financial abuse. It’s a kind of abusive conduct can develop gradually, and be difficult to recognize. It might also be obscured by other...
What Happens to Inherited Money in a Divorce?
If you’re lucky to have inherited money lately, but unlucky in your relationship, you might be wondering what your rights are. It’s one of the most common questions we get from people who are in the midst of a separation or divorce: What happens to inherited money in divorce that’s been inherited during the marriage? The answer under Ontario Family Law often surprises people: Inherited money...
Understanding Financial Disclosure Obligations in Your Divorce
For nearly all separated couples, the divorce process is filled with conflict. But in Ontario, there’s one part of that process where cooperation between spouses is strictly mandated by law: Financial disclosure. It plays a central role in ensuring fair outcomes on virtually every aspect of a divorce, including property division, spousal support and child support. If you’re at the stage of...