Barrie Hayes, Partner, Family Law

The Family Law Act provides a statutory framework for the equalization of family property upon separation. The framework essentially exits out from the equalization the value of property the spouses owned on the date of marriage, and any property the spouses received from third parties; inheritances, life insurance policies

Catherine Hyde, Paralegal

In recent years there has been an increase in separation of couples in the 55+ category.  It seems once the children have left and you start to notice an increase in the people you know in the obituaries, you ask yourself- is this all there is?  Thoughts of separation seep in.  Before

Barrie Hayes, Partner

In many marriages the matrimonial home is the most significant family asset owned by the spouses. The Family Law Act (“FLA”), in dealing with equalization of net family property on separation, provides special treatment of the matrimonial home.

Whereas generally  a spouse may deduct from his or her net family property

Lori L. Aylwin – Associate, Family Law.

When a separation occurs and there is a Family Business, the separation can have a significant impact on the health and ultimate future of that business.  Often a non-owner spouse may have misconceptions about the value of a business, particularly where the business does not have significant hard

Many people are surprised by the high cost of legal services when they go through separation and divorce.  It is not unusual to spend tens of thousands of dollars to have issues resolved even in an “amicable divorce”.  Here are some of the reasons.

First, in most cases, people have many issues to resolve:

1)   

A recent Court of Appeal decision has caused considerable concern in relation to the certainty of the statutory provisions being applied to determine net family property equalization between legal married spouses.

Sections 4 and 5 of the Family Law Act have, to date, been viewed as all encompassing statutory direction in the division of net

Repeatedly, in initial interviews and even in discussions with friends and other lawyers, I hear interpretations of family law that may be considered “urban myths”, using cultural parlance.  This blog deals with the top three in regard to married parties and the matrimonial home.

Myth 1

Myth – The matrimonial home is deemed to be

One of my friends was recently faced with a decision she found to be somewhat insulting.  Her husband’s family has a “family business”, which business was incorporated.  The corporation was in the process of re-structuring and wished to issue shares to the son (her husband) and daughter.  It was requested that she sign a document