Occupation Rent
After separation, if one spouse remains living in a jointly owned property or matrimonial home for some period of time, while the other spouse pays rent elsewhere, should the occupying spouse pay some amount of money in rent to the one who has decamped? The right to occupation rent may be grounded in section 24(c) […]
Amendments to Family Law Legislation
Bill C-78 has passed the first reading in the House of Commons, ushering in some changes to the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act, and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Division Act. If passed into law, the changes this Bill proposes to make to federal family law legislation will come into […]
What is Required When a Fixed Term Contract has Expired?
There are many reasons an employer may want to hire a worker on a fixed term contract. It could be to cover a maternity/parental leave, complete a specific project or because there is a fixed budget. Other times, an organization and the employee like the sense of certainty and mutual commitment that can be created […]
Releases of Liability
Releases of liability are useful in a multitude of different situations, especially in the business transaction context. If you are selling a business or assigning a contract, you can use a release to give you a clean break from what you are leaving behind. You would do this by having the release clarify that you […]
Taking them at their word? The validity of verbal contracts
Ramsay v BCE Inc. The Toronto Small Claims Court recently found that a telephone conversation between an individual consumer and Bell Canada constitutes a legally enforceable oral contract – one which cannot be superseded by written terms emailed after the fact. In David Ramsay v BCE Inc. the Plaintiff Mr. Ramsay called Bell Canada and […]
Reminder: Check your Appeal Route
As the Court of Appeal has recently emphasized in Priest v. Reilly, determining appeal jurisdiction can be a challenging task. The appropriate appeal route in Ontario depends on many factors, including which court the matter was before, whether the order was final or interim, the legislative authority for the order, and the quantum of any […]
The Canada Child Benefit and Separated Parents
Since July, 2016, families with children have been eligible to receive a tax-free benefit from the Federal government called the Canada Child Benefit. This replaced the previous Canada Child Tax Benefit and Universal Child Care Benefit with a single, non-taxable benefit for all families with children, geared to the income of the parents. The Canada […]
Why Lump Sum Spousal Support?
Both the Family Law Act in Ontario and the federal Divorce Act give the authority for judges to order periodic spousal support, lump sum spousal support, or both. As pointed out in a recent post, periodic spousal support is tax efficient.  So why, then, would a lump sum support order be requested in a spousal […]
Tax Adjustments for Retroactive Spousal Support Calculations
In Canada, periodic spousal support amounts paid pursuant to a Court order or written agreement are tax deductible by the payor and are taxable income to the recipient.  The rules are set out in the Income Tax Act.  This allows for tax efficiency in separated families, since the recipient’s marginal tax rate is virtually always […]