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A recent Ottawa case is a reminder that the threshold for establishing the need for an urgent motion prior to a case conference is a very high one. Absent urgency or an emergency, parties are expected to attend a case conference prior to bringing a motion. What qualifies as urgency is based on a two…

Most couples who are separating have various debts in joint names- the mortgage, a secured or unsecured line of credit, and credit cards. Ideally, once you’ve separated, you want to separate your finances as soon as possible. Especially joint debts, because you can’t control if and when your spouse will decide to draw down the…

In a recent family court case in Ontario, the Toronto police brought a motion to remove the police access provisions contained in a custody and access order. This motion was filed only 6 days after the original order (on consent) was made. Unless you have a clause in an order or an agreement requiring police…

If you stand to acquire substantial assets in your divorce, but you don’t have the money to pay a lawyer, Novitas, which is a U.K. firm specializing in lending money to fund divorce litigation, may be able to assist you. In the fall of 2016, the firm plans to open up an office in Toronto.…

The fees for family court will be increasing as of July 1st, 2016. Currently, there is a $157.00 fee to start an Application (whether for Divorce, or any other matter), and then another $280 fee to put the Application on a hearing list. You can obtain fee waivers if your income falls below a certain…

Summary judgment is available when there is no genuine issue for trial. Because it’s not a trial and evidence can be given by affidavit rather than testimony, summary judgment is a cheaper, more expeditious way to achieve resolution of an issue. However, there are questions as to when summary judgment is, in fact, appropriate as…

Any initiating court document, including an Application for an uncontested divorce, must be served in person on the responding party. This is called “special service”. Normally, you would hire a professional process server to serve the materials on the individual at their home or place of work. However, if you’ve been out of touch with…

Following a 36 day trial, an Ontario judge awarded close to $200,000.00 in costs against a responding party in a protracted custody and access dispute where the father was awarded sole custody of his daughter. In Jackson v. Mayerle, the father had spent about $300,000.00 in legal costs, and the mother had spent $200,000.00. Because…

Should family law lawyers be allowed to take on cases on a contingency basis? Many people are familiar with the refrain of personal injury lawyers: “you don’t pay unless we win your case.” In the realm of personal injury law, if you’re suing someone because of injuries you’ve sustained in a car accident, for example,…

A payor of spousal support, Robert Cossette has recently found out that it’s not so easy to side- step spousal support obligations by taking early retirement. When he took early retirement from the government at the age of 55, and began receiving his pension, he hoped his reduction in income would constitute a “material change…