Canada: Family Law

A complex and challenging area of law is the intersection of trust law and family law. Ontario law, in contrast to many other common law jurisdictions, has given liberal treatment of a discretionary interest in a trust as property which can be subject to equalization under our family law legislation. See our prior blogs on this subject: Discretionary Trusts and Family Law Division: 50% of Zero is Still Zero (September 5, 2024) and Heads Up: Grappling with Family Law’s Treatment of Discretionary Trust Interests (January 6, 2015).

For many business owners, the company is their largest asset. In an Ontario divorce, the business itself is usually not divided between spouses, but its value can have a major impact on the equalization payment that one spouse may owe the other.

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Canadian census data indicates that blended families are more common than ever, and their numbers are rapidly increasing. It is not unusual for individuals to marry more than once and/or have several common-law relationships.

When a loved one passes away, many family caregivers wonder if they can be compensated for the time and effort they devoted to providing care. Ontario courts have established that while compensation is possible, it is far from automatic and often smaller than families anticipate. Understanding what factors courts consider and why many claims fail can help caregivers protect their rights and set realistic expectations.

It often comes as a shock at an already stressful time: your minor child (under the age of 18) is entitled to money, perhaps through an inheritance or a personal injury settlement, but you are told you cannot access...

Canada's Supreme Court has formally recognized a new tort of intimate partner violence, acknowledging that coercive control and patterns of abuse within relationships constitute legally actionable harm.

The relationship with opposing counsel shapes the cost, speed, and quality of litigation, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood dynamics in legal practice.

Ontario family court backlogs now stretch case conferences to six months and trials beyond two years, fundamentally reshaping how advisors must counsel divorcing clients on timing, cash flow...