The court’s observation in June 2021 that the litigation between TO and DO was “fast and furious…heading for a very lengthy and expensive trial” was prescient, a legal journey with 4 hearings in the Superior Court, and the sad death of TO in August 2023, culminating in a final appeal that took 4 hearings, with
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Appeal Court Upholds Finding that Adult Children Remain Dependent
The Bye’s divorced in 2010. In 2015 they entered into a consent order for child support for their two children, who were then 10 and 12 years old. The youngest child turned 19 in August of 2019 and the eldest attained the age of 19 in February 2021. Both remained in the primary residence of Ms. Bye.…
Advertising for Clients? Buyer Beware.
The practice of law is both a profession and a business. Many lawyers can rely on their winning track record and high ethics to gain a reputation that engenders word-of mouth referrals.
Other lawyers buttress their status in the profession with advertising. Gone are the days, however, of yellow pages ads.
Today’s lawyers utilize television,…
Court Refuses to Provide State-Funded Counsel for Child Protection Appeal
Nova Scotia’s Children and Family Services Act provides authority for the Minister of Community Services to supervise and manage Nova Scotia’s child protection legislation and to appear in court with respect to any matter arising pursuant to the legislation. Each province in Canada has similar legislation, with Ontario’s Act for the Prevention of Cruelty to…
Court Refuses to Characterize Debt from Bankrupt Husband to Wife as Spousal Support
In Davidson v. Davidson, 2024 BCSC 331, the parties separated after eight years of marriage. In a consent order in September 2020, they agreed that Allan Davidson would purchase the parties’ family home in Fort McMurray and assume the mortgage while Alysa Davidson would retain a home in Vernon, B.C.
Notwithstanding that neither party claimed…
Love and Legal Fees are Incompatible
In 1990 Park Avenue family practice doctor, G.Peta Carrera, hired his girlfriend, Manhattan lawyer, Christine Anderson, to represent him in a civil suit where he was accused of sexually molesting a patient.
Because they had been together for ten years, Ms. Anderson did not insist on a cash retainer from Dr. Carrera but instead took…
A Christian Response to Racism
One common thread throughout mankind is the endemic ugliness of racism.
Human history is rife with examples: early Romans subjugated the Jews; slavery was rampant; India’s caste system ostracizes the untouchables; Japanese immigrants to Canada and the United States were rounded up and forced into internment camps; indigenous peoples in Canada, Australia, the United States…
Court Allows Appeal Citing Trial Judge’s Incorrect Evidentiary Rulings and Failure to Assist In-Person Litigant
A high-conflict parenting situation led to a 10-day trial where despite the father’s primary care of their young daughter for over three years, custody was reversed and the father, who lived in Regina, was granted parenting time in Saskatoon three weekends a month and extended vacation parenting time.
He applied for a stay of the…
Family Violence Takes Centre Stage in Mother’s Successful Appeal
With the introduction of family violence provisions in British Columbia’s Family Law Act in 2013 and the recent amendments to the Divorce Act, domestic violence is no longer a taboo subject in family law proceedings, no longer swept under the rug and ignored in favor of a focus on financial issues.
In 2022 the Supreme…
May-December Marriage Challenged By Adult Son
“Marriages between the very old and the very young raise eyebrows and turn heads. In popular culture, a ‘May-December’ marriage invariably provokes the ire of adult children who deem the younger spouse a “gold-digger” and plot to protect their inheritance.”
That is how Madam Justice Renu Mandhane began her judgment in Tanti v. Tanti et…