Effective this year, the Government of Canada has introduced the Underused Housing Tax Act (Canada) (the “UHTA”). The affected owners of residential properties in Canada are required to file annual returns and pay underused housing tax. The following categories of corporations that are owners of residential property in Canada in any capacity may be affected owners […]
You may run into an issue where one party fails to obey an order. It is important to know what recourse you have in this situation. Pursuant to Sub-rule 8(1) of the Family Law Rules, if a person fails to obey a court order, the court may deal with the failure by making any order that it […]
In Boston v. Boston, Justice Major noted that in the Supreme Court of Canada the purpose of spousal support is to relieve economic hardship suffered by one party following the breakdown of the marriage and that there is no reason spousal support cannot continue past the date of retirement. However, on retirement a spouse can […]
As a spouse, you are recognized as a dependant. If your husband’s Will fails to make adequate provisions for your support, you may make a claim for dependant support. The determination of the support amount is not simply a mathematical calculation of what you need to survive. The courts also consider the moral obligations of […]
This is an important question for those entering into a meaningful relationship with someone who has a child or children from another partner. In fact, there are many ways that allow someone to act as a parent in a family. One of these is where a person stands in loco parentis to a child. This simply means […]
With summer and vacation time approaching, this is a very good question for all parents, whether they are separated or still together. The Canadian government strongly recommends that person(s) traveling abroad with a Canadian child without the other parent carry a consent letter. The consent is meant to prove if necessary that a Canadian child […]
Like many industries, there have been so many significant changes with the court system. I have not stepped in a court since before March 2020. Everything has since been done virtually using Zoom. All court documents are filed on-line. The judges have found it difficult to process the amount of information received electronically, like the […]
It is often said that children do not get to make the decisions with respect to these sorts of issues. Having said that, certainly, the older a child gets, the more the child’s views will be considered. There are different ways to try and determine a child’s views, including a “views and preferences” report, usually […]
This is a very important question given the health concerns surrounding COVID-19 and the concerns about what’s most precious, your children. The courts have responded to a number of cases that have come before it on this very issue. The court has held that generally “there should be a presumption that existing parenting arrangements and […]
No, you do not have to go to court. In fact, the only thing you need to go to court for is to get a divorce if you wanted a divorce. Otherwise, all other issues, including custody/access, support and property division, can all be resolved out of court. It is in fact preferable that spouses […]