Cox v. Hanrahan-Cox

Cox v. Hanrahan-Cox

The Court refused to set aside the June 18, 2008 Consent Variation Order because there was no duress, no deliberate misrepresentation and disclosure failures did not render the agreement invalid; the court added back (imputed) dividends paid to the father’s spouse and children to the father’s income for calculation purposes, denied all requests for retroactive recalculation of child support and retroactive spousal support, found the mother entitled to ongoing spousal support but reduced to $2,000 per month commencing June 1, 2011, declined to impute income to the mother, and ordered the mother to pay table guideline child support of $579 per month for 2011 based on her projected income.

Citation
2011 NSSC 182
Parties
Respondent/petitioner: Catherine Pearl Hanrahan-Cox; Applicant/respondent: James Roderick Cox
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
11 May 2011
Procedural Posture
Family Division Variation of Divorce/support Orders / Decision Following Hearing (march 31 and April 1, 2011)
Outcome
Consent Variation Order of June 18, 2008 not set aside; variation applications partially granted and partially dismissed as to relief sought
Legal Topics
Setting Aside Consent Variation Order, Variation of Support Orders, Retroactive Child Support, Retroactive Spousal Support, Income Imputation/attribution, Dividend Income and Family Trust, Disclosure Obligations, Duress, Child Support Guidelines, Spousal Support Entitlement and Quantum
Source Language
English
Family Law Divorce Child Support Spousal Support Contract/consent Orders Tax/corporate Income Structuring Setting Aside Consent Variation Order Variation of Support Orders +8 more

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Parties

Catherine Pearl Hanrahan-Cox

Respondent/petitioner

James Roderick Cox

Applicant/respondent

Procedural Posture

Family Division Variation of Divorce/support Orders / Decision Following Hearing (march 31 and April 1, 2011)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether to set aside the June 18, 2008 Consent Variation Order
  2. 2 Whether the father misrepresented or concealed income (dividends) such that income should be imputed or order set aside
  3. 3 Whether dividends paid to the father’s spouse and children should be added back to the father’s income for support purposes

Ratio Decidendi

The Court refused to set aside the June 18, 2008 Consent Variation Order because there was no duress, no deliberate misrepresentation and disclosure failures did not render the agreement invalid; the court added back (imputed) dividends paid to the father’s spouse and children to the father’s income for calculation purposes, denied all requests for retroactive recalculation of child support and retroactive spousal support, found the mother entitled to ongoing spousal support but reduced to $2,000 per month commencing June 1, 2011, declined to impute income to the mother, and ordered the mother to pay table guideline child support of $579 per month for 2011 based on her projected income.

Court Disposition

Consent Variation Order of June 18, 2008 not set aside; variation applications partially granted and partially dismissed as to relief sought

Orders

  • Consent Variation Order dated June 18, 2008 not set aside
  • Spousal support payable by father to mother in the amount of $2,000.00 per month commencing June 1, 2011