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 pre-determined rights to receive benefits from their deceased spouses estate. While common law spouses may have property rights after separation…

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 obligations and then have the lawyers try to negotiate an agreement. If an agreement cannot be reached, one of the…

By Douglas J. Manning, Partner, Certified Specialist in Family Law Yes!  But why would you want to? While not exactly bigamy, it is possible to have more than one spouse at the same time.  If you are separated from your spouse to whom you are still married, you are still legal spouses in the eyes of the law. This has several consequences: You are not free to re-marry; In the event of your death,…

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, and certain civil judgments during the marriage. The spouses deduct, from the value of their respective family assets at date…

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 you did your taxes correctly.   Preparing your taxes and preparing a financial statement in a separation case are similar.  In…

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 arrangement relating to their seven year old daughter.  This case attracted significant media attention not just because of the large…

Hilary Goodman, Associate, Family Law. Professionals, including lawyers, usually choose their profession with a goal in mind. Some want to serve others, some want to make lots of money, some just love the profession and want to join it. Once a profession calls you to it, it can become an obsession. Law, like many professions, is not easy. It takes a lot of schooling (and corresponding student debt), to obtain the required qualifications. Then…