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Family Law
Family Law
Divorce/ Common Law Separation
Whether your case is simple or complicated, amicable or high conflict, our experienced counsel is dedicated to helping you obtain a fair and reasonable outcome. We help clients resolve disputes through separation agreements, mediation, arbitration and court actions, including emergency motions.
Separated partners have rights and responsibilities that flow from their relationship especially where children are involved.
Child custody
Custody and Access
Child custody is not power. It is the responsibility to make decisions for children. This duty may be vested on one parent or shared by both parents.
Access provides children with the opportunity to receive the love, care and guidance of their parents. The appropriate schedule is one modelled around your child’s needs, while maximizing contact with both parents.
The Children’s Law Reforms Act provides a checklist of factors the court will consider in making custody and access orders. The paramount consideration is always the child's best interest.
Child Support
Child Support
Parents are obligated to financially support their dependent children. The Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175) provide the legal framework for determining child support. It also entails an obligation to contribute towards children's extraordinary expenses, including those arising from health care and extracurricular activities.
The Federal Child Support Table provides a formula, which acts as a child support calculator and aids in calculating child support based on the payor’s income, number of children and province of their residence. Child support may become complex where there are difficulties with determining the payor’s income or the recipient’s entitlement to receive support for children who have reached the age of majority.
spouses
Spousal Support
After spouses separate, the law seeks to maintain some similarity in their standards of living. This applies to both married and common law spouses especially where one party suffered economic disadvantages from the relationship.
Spousal support is not automatic. Where it applies, the amount and duration may be in issue. The overall circumstances of each case is relevant, including the parties' age, health, education, income, duration of the relationship, their past and present child care responsibilities.
Family Property
Division of property
After separation, married spouses are entitled to an equal split in the difference of their Net Family Property. This is called Equalization. The Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3 allows for certain deductions and exclusions from equalization, including pre marriage assets and inheritance. In short marriages or where a spouse has recklessly dissipated assets or incurred debts, the Court may allow for unequal property division to avoid an unconscionable outcome.
Family Law
Motion to Change
There is life after final orders are made. Changes may occur that warrant a review of past orders. In deserving circumstances, the court may vary parenting orders, terminate support orders or vary them.
The change in circumstance must be significant and could include those affecting a child's needs, a parent's ability to meet those needs and a parent's financial position.
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