A Colleague of ours just came through a rough year of cancer treatment. We are extremely grateful that this partner in our firm is healthy and back to work. This colleague recently asked me to provide my comments to him for a presentation he is giving at our local Gilda’s Club regarding legal considerations when
spousal support
Legal Expenses – Tax Treatment
By Douglas J. Manning on
By Douglas J. Manning, Partner, Certified Specialist in Family Law
In an earlier blog post written by Lori Aylwin in January 2011 she discussed the tax treatment for legal fees and accounting fees incurred for the purposes of establishing or collecting child and/or spousal support. Lori’s article succinctly pointed out what needs to be established…
Support Paying Spouse is Hammered for Failing to Disclose Income
By Douglas J. Manning on
By Douglas J. Manning, Partner, Certified Specialist in Family Law
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision has re-affirmed the principle that if a support payor’s income increases and they fail to reveal this information to the support recipient then they are in jeopardy of having their support obligation increased retroactively so as to result…
Financial Disclosure …when is enough, enough?
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Often in Family Law proceedings clients feel bogged down by requests to produce documents. Clients have at times expressed to me a dissatisfaction with having to produce bank statements for past years, attachments from income tax returns, documents that are not easily obtainable or papers that may have existed in the past but may take…
Marriage verses “Common-Law”
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Let me introduce myself as the newest Barriston blogger. I joined the firm, as a partner last month. Prior to this I practiced, mostly as a sole practioner, for the past sixteen years. I have practiced law for twenty five years, mostly in the family law area. I practice in the courts, but prefer mediation…
Support Obligations from Beyond the Grave – Does a Responsibility to pay support survive the death of the support Payor?
By Barrie M. Hayes on
Part 4 of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) answers this question in the affirmative.
The SLRA provides that, in the event that a person dies, with or without a will, in circumstances where the deceased has not made adequate provision for the support of a dependent, the dependent may initiate a proceeding against the…
Do It Yourself Separation Agreements; Why Do Lawyers Ask So Many Questions?
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On a regular basis I have clients come to me with a rough agreement in hand asking me to draft a Separation Agreement for them. These are the client’s who tell me they are “amicably” separating; they “just want out”, and/or they don’t want to spend a lot of money on legal fees. Quite often…
Separated Single Parents Face Serious Burdens
By Douglas J. Manning on
A recent article in the Toronto Star, ‘The Political Becomes Personal’ – Tanya Talaga, Saturday March 12th, brought home to me the additional stress that single parent/working women face in our ‘liberated’ society.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath had recently ended her 25 year common-law relationship. While the article did not deal with any of the…
Enforcing Child Support Payments
By Catherine Hyde on
Posted in child support, spousal support
The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is responsible for enforcing support payments in Ontario. Once an Order is made in Court for child support or spousal support, it is filed with FRO for enforcement unless both parties sign a Notice of Withdrawal indicating that they do not wish to have the Order enforced by FRO.
If…
Income Tax time….Deductibility of Legal Fees
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You can claim legal fees incurred to collect late support (child or spousal) payments, establish the amount of support, seek an increase in support payments or to defend against the reduction of support payments. But you cannot claim those fees you incur where you are establishing a right where none existed.
Continue Reading Income Tax time….Deductibility of Legal Fees