February 13, 2019
Children are the most important consideration for parents in their separation and divorce. In negotiating a settlement with your spouse on parenting issues, the following is a non-exhaustive list of some of the issues you and your spouse should discuss and agree upon which can help your lawyers draft a Separation Agreement: Who will make decisions regarding the children’s education, medical decisions, religious upbringing and major extra-curricular activities? Will these decisions be made by one parent, or jointly? Where will the children primarily reside? What type of parenting schedule will…
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January 11, 2019
We normally think of “guidelines” as recommendations or informal rules that fall short of being mandatory. In this sense, the Child Support Guidelines are not really “guidelines” at all. They are regulations under both the federal Divorce Act and Ontario’s Family Law Act, and judges have to follow them, except in limited, specified circumstances. The Table set out in the Guidelines shows what amount of child support is payable based on a parent’s income and the number of children, and, in general, what the Table says goes. So, if, for…
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December 31, 2018
In resolving a family law separation matter outside of Court, there are typically three stages: Financial Disclosure – spouses and lawyers exchange financial disclosure including income tax returns and notices of assessment, and proof of assets and debts on date of marriage and date of separation; Negotiation of Basic Terms – spouses and lawyers go back and forth on the various issues (e.g., custody, access, child support, spousal support, equalization/property division) trying to negotiate a final settlement of those issues; and Drafting the Agreement- lawyers draft the final comprehensive separation…
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December 18, 2018
When people think of child support, they usually think about the regular monthly payment of child support based on the payor’s income and the number of children to which the support applies. In addition to this regular monthly payment, each parent is obligated to contribute to a child’s special or extraordinary expenses (also known as “add on expenses” or “s. 7 expenses”) under section 7 of the Child Support Guidelines. How much will each parent contribute? This is typically based on the income of each parent as a ratio of…
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