David Harris-Lowe, partner, Family Law
Wrong. When it comes to property division upon a separation or death, and in other areas of the law, there is a significant difference between a married and common law couple. Married spouses have pre-determined rights to share in the increase in property value earned during the marriage and…
Thomas Dart, Partner, Family Law
We have all experienced the breakdown of a relationship whether it is our own or whether it is the relationship of people we know and love. The traditional way of handling the breakdown is to have each party go to a lawyer, obtain legal advice about their rights and…
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
It’s tax time and hopefully you have filed your tax return. You obtained copies of your T4s, T5s, receipts for medical or children’s expenses, business or rental income information. You provided these to your accountant or perhaps prepared your own tax return, and once done, received the Notice of Assessment confirming that…
David Harris-Lowe, Partner, Family Law
36 days in trial after two years in the court system. $500,000.00 in legal fees, with one party owing the other almost $200,000.00 as part of those legal costs. This was only part of the fallout recently after two parents were unable to agree to a custody and access…
Thomas Dart, Partner, Family Law
When a family unit starts to breakdown, the financial ramifications are already hard enough to handle without throwing into the mix the cost of the professional services required to finalize the parenting, property, support and a myriad of other issues. The wedding may have cost $50,000 but the divorce…
Jodi Armstrong, Partner, Family Law
There are certainly some similarities between a mediation report and a separation agreement: both documents outline agreed upon terms and both, at least appear, to have an air of finality about them. Why then, once parties have gone through the mediation process and have received a final report setting…
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…
By Douglas J. Manning, Partner, Certified Specialist in Family Law
There certainly has been a lot of media attention and commentary about the process and evidence in the criminal trial involving media personality Jian Ghomeshi. But I am not writing about whether the alleged victims were treated fairly or whether the scope of the…
David Harris-Lowe, Partner, Family Law
Going through a separation or divorce is often a really challenging experience. It can be legally complex, emotionally challenging, and financially draining. You’re under pressure and it’s tempting to cut corners by handling the separation and divorce without the assistance of a lawyer. Too often this leads to bad…
