toronto divorce

Collaborative Family Law Series: Successfully Concluding a Case

Posted in: "All, Collaborative Practice, Family Law by Pei Wang | No Comments Thursday, November 1, 2012

Wrapping up a collaborative family law case can bring mixed feelings. (Photo courtesy of SXC, all rights reserved.)

Toronto Family Law Lawyer Pei-Shing B. Wang:

In previous postings, I’ve talked about starting and managing collaborative family law cases. Today’s discussion is about wrapping things up.

In my experience, “the end” in a collaborative family law case is almost always bittersweet. On the one hand, the spouses are relieved that they have sorted out their legal issues and don’t need to worry anymore about being sued. On the other hand, they realize that they are no longer spouses to each other and must move on with their lives.

In collaborative family law, most agreements are not binding until they’ve been formally executed. Therefore, once the spouses have agreed on a settlement, it’s important for the lawyers to act quickly to bring the matter to its formal conclusion.

Usually the final settlement agreement is written as a separation agreement with a few tweaks. Basic background information, such as the dates of marriage and separation, will of course be stated. The final agreement will confirm that both spouses have chosen the collaborative process and that each spouse has been aided by his or her own lawyer. Other professionals who have helped the couple during the process will also be specified along with the tasks they have performed.

If there are children involved, a separate parenting plan may be attached as an exhibit to the agreement. The parenting plan may be drafted by the child specialist or the divorce coach who has worked with the parents extensively as part of the collaborative process. Invariably, there will be clauses stating that the parents will remain flexible to accommodate special circumstances, such as illness and school events, and put the best interests of the children above their own.

Finally, there is almost always a special paragraph where the spouses acknowledge that they have been advised of the relevant laws and understand that their decisions as outlined in the settlement may differ from those adjudicated by the court system.

This blog is provided for educational purposes and for your reference. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be regarded as such. The law may have changed since the publication of this article.

Tagged , , , , , ,

Fraud Alert Update: Collaborative Family Law Agreement Fraud Becomes More Convincing

Posted in: "All, Business Development, Family Law by Admin | No Comments Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Two weeks ago I posted a blog on collaborative family law agreement scams. In that blog I noted a few red flags that may be indicative of a scam, such as the use of generic or universal terms in the initial contact message.

According to the latest bulletin from the Lawyer’s Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO), the fraudsters are becoming more convincing.

For example, the fraudsters are now sending out personalized email messages with the lawyer’s first and last name at the beginning of the email. The fraudsters even send out follow-up emails inquiring whether the lawyer is willing to assist on the file.

Besides the apparent eagerness to retain the lawyer, the fraudsters are now able to provide colour scans of foreign IDs, including Chinese passports and U.S. driver’s licences. The fraudsters sometimes provide detailed background information and make phone calls that appear to be from local number by using spoof technologies.

In two instances the initial email was drafted to appear as if it were coming from a U.K. lawyer.

To make things worse, two Ontario lawyers who don’t practise family law thought that the emails were legitimate and passed them onto family law lawyers as referrals.

Here’s what LawPRO suggests to avoid becoming a victim of fraud: (emphasis is mine.)

Trust your instincts. If things don’t add up, ask more questions and dig deeper. Get the client on the phone and ask them to provide further background and explanation for anything that is inconsistent or that doesn’t make sense. Have them confirm details in the information they already provided to you and be especially wary if the client is hesitant or unclear on background facts. Don’t be naïve. In reply to our Alert last week, one lawyer said, “I’m relieved to hear you say that because I’m feeling sheepish for not having recognized that this was a scam from the get-go.”

If you have suspicions, carefully check and verify any background details provided to you. Ask for documentation from the client that will confirm details of any information provided to you. You can do a reverse lookup of phone numbers provided to you or that appear on call display; Google any addresses provided to you. Get the names of lawyers who previously acted for the client or ex-spouse, check online databases to verify they are real lawyers and ask for permission to contact them.

Ultimately, getting the retainer funds or payments from the ex-spouse irrevocably wired to your bank account is the only way to really protect yourself from this type of fraud. If these wires are coming from another Canadian financial institution, they should come via the Large Value Transaction System (“LVTS”).  If they are coming from a financial entity outside of Canada, the client or ex-spouse’s bank should make arrangements with your bank to wire the funds to your account.

As an alternative to getting funds wired into your account, tell your client that your firm’s policy is that all funds deposited by cheque or bank draft will be held for 30 days or until your firm is able to get confirmation that the funds have cleared.

Finally, you should terminate the retainer if you remain suspicious that the matter is a fraud.

Tagged , , , , ,

Withdrawing Your Support Order from the Family Responsibility Office (FRO)

Posted in: "All, Administrative Law, Family Law by Admin | No Comments Friday, May 7, 2010

Orders issued by the family law courts in Ontario typically come with mandatory provision for the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) to enforce the support payments. The enforcement clause looks like this:

Support Deduction Order to Issue. Unless this order is withdrawn from the Family Responsibility Office, it shall be enforced by the Director and the amounts owing under the order shall be paid to the Director, who shall pay them to the recipient. Where sufficient deductions are not being made by support deduction order, payment may be remitted to the Director, Family Responsibility Office.

In some cases. the support payor and the recipient prefer to arrange for support payments to take place privately without the FRO’s involvement. This can be done by withdrawing the support order from the FRO.

  • If the support payments are up-to-date and there are no amounts owing in arrears, both parties must consent in writing to withdraw from the program by completing a Notice of Withdrawal. Once the Director is informed of the withdrawal, the FRO will stop all enforcement and close the file.
  • If there are amounts owing in arrears, the support recipient may withdraw from the program unilaterally by completing a Notice by Support Recipient of Unilateral Withdrawal. Once the Director receives the completed form, the FRO will stop all enforcement on the case.
  • If the support order is assigned to Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program, the appropriate social services provider must consent before the FRO can allow the parties’ withdrawal.

Re-registering a case

If the support payor and the support recipient decide to re-register a case with the FRO, a administrative fee will be charged to both parties. Either party may request to re-register the case.

Note: Please keep in mind that this article is provided for information and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be regarded as such. The law may have changed since the publication of the article.

Tagged , , , , , ,

Preparing for Divorce – What Your Lawyer Needs to Know

Posted in: "All, Family Law by Admin | 1 Comment Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Many people plan for their weddings, but only a few actually plan for divorce – unless they’ve found someone else.

However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t need to prepare for your divorce proceeding. The better you’re prepared, the more your lawyer can help you.

Before you come to your first appointment, you should have the relevant documents and information in your possession, and you should be able to answer these questions:

  • What are the dates of birth of both spouses?
  • Has either of the spouses divorced before? If so, where and when was the divorce granted?
  • What were the surnames of the spouses before marriage?
  • When were the spouses married?
  • Where is the marriage certificate?
  • When did the spouses separate?
  • What properties did the spouses own at the time of marriage and at the time of separation?
  • What properties do the spouses own nowt?
  • Are there children involved? If so, what are their dates of birth, and where do they live?
  • What are the occupations of the spouses?
  • Where are your Notices of Assessment or tax returns for the past three years?
  • Does either spouse have a criminal record?
  • Has there been violence in the household?

The list goes on. If you think there’s something about the family that the court should be aware of, you should first bring it to the attention of your lawyer.

PSWLaw is a Toronto-based law firm practising in the area of family law.

Note: Please keep in mind that this article is provided for information and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be regarded as such. The law may have changed since the publication of the article.

Tagged , ,

Why Is Spousal Support So Hard?

Posted in: "All, Family Law by Admin | No Comments Saturday, April 17, 2010

For modest-income families with children, spousal support is hard to come by after the breakdown of the spousal relationship. There are several reasons for this.

1. Child support takes priority to spousal support.

Under both the Family Law Act* and the Divorce Act^, child support takes priority over spousal support if the payor is unable to pay both.

Depending on particular circumstances, the spousal support payable may be so low that it’s not worth the efforts of pursuing it. For example, a $25 monthly spousal support for two years is hardly justifiable given the associated costs.

2. Calculation of support owing is practically impossible for the layperson.

While the non-binding Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG)+ provide a range of amounts payable, the exact calculation requires sophisticated computer calculation programs, which are not readily available to the public.

The SSAG also refers to two different kinds of calculation: spousal support without child support and spousal support with child support. The calculation takes into consideration such factors as these:

  • the income of the parties,
  • the individual net disposable income of the parties if child support is involved,
  • spousal support payable by the custodial parent,
  • shared and split custody arrangements, if any,
  • the length of support payable for adult children, if any,
  • the length of the marriage,
  • the age of the parties at the time of their separation.

With so many variables in the equation, calculation by hand is nearly impossible except for lawyers who are very familiar with the formula.

3. It’s difficult to interpret the results of the calculation.

The SSAG provides a range of amounts of spousal support payable – a ceiling and a floor. The discrepancy between these two amounts can range from several dollars for people earning modest income to tens of thousands of dollars for extraordinarily high income earners.

The interpretation of the results requires the application of case laws and legislative principles, and the analysis of the specific facts involved in the presenting case. Without the assistance of a lawyer who is familiar with these factors,the  parties are likely to find themselves stuck at an impasse, with the recipient claiming the ceiling and the payor the floor.

If you require assistance in finding out more about spousal support payable in your separation or divorce, give us a call at 416-433-5531.

PSWLaw is a results-driven law firm that practices in the area of family law.

Note: Please keep in mind that this article is provided for information and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be regarded as such. The law may have changed since the publication of the article.

*R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, s. 38.1

^ R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), s. 15.3

+ The SSAG is a project developed by the federal Department of Justice and authored by Professor Rogerson and Professor Thompson, both of the University of Toronto.

Tagged , , , , ,