Jakeman v. Gaetz

Jakeman v. Gaetz

The court confined relief to changes in circumstances since the last effective order and applied the Court of Appeal’s effective date (April 1, 2001) as res judicata for retroactivity; it found no basis to impute income to the respondent, recalculated incomes for 2001 and 2002, varied child support to $749/month from Apr 1, 2001 to Dec 31, 2001 and to $400/month from Jan 1, 2002, held the respondent had no ability to pay Section 7 expenses for 2002, and ordered termination of spousal support effective Jan 1, 2003.

Citation
2004 NSSF 5
Parties
Petitioner/respondent: Sharon Evangeline Jakeman; Respondent/applicant: Clifford Perry Gaetz
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
20 January 2004
Procedural Posture
Family Law Variation of Support Orders / Application to Vary Following Trial and Appeal; Hearing and Final Decision on Variation
Outcome
Application to vary granted in part and denied in part: child support varied; spousal support terminated prospectively.
Legal Topics
Variation of Support, Retroactivity, Imputation of Income, Section 7 Expenses, Termination of Spousal Support, Res Judicata
Source Language
English
Family Law Child Support Spousal Support Divorce Act Civil Procedure Variation of Support Retroactivity Imputation of Income +3 more

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Parties

Sharon Evangeline Jakeman

Petitioner/respondent

Clifford Perry Gaetz

Respondent/applicant

Procedural Posture

Family Law Variation of Support Orders / Application to Vary Following Trial and Appeal; Hearing and Final Decision on Variation

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether child support should be varied retroactively or prospectively based on changed circumstances
  2. 2 Whether income should be imputed to the recipient under s.19(1)(a) of the Federal Child Support Guidelines
  3. 3 Allocation and apportionment of Section 7 (extraordinary) expenses after change of income

Ratio Decidendi

The court confined relief to changes in circumstances since the last effective order and applied the Court of Appeal’s effective date (April 1, 2001) as res judicata for retroactivity; it found no basis to impute income to the respondent, recalculated incomes for 2001 and 2002, varied child support to $749/month from Apr 1, 2001 to Dec 31, 2001 and to $400/month from Jan 1, 2002, held the respondent had no ability to pay Section 7 expenses for 2002, and ordered termination of spousal support effective Jan 1, 2003.

Court Disposition

Application to vary granted in part and denied in part: child support varied; spousal support terminated prospectively.

Orders

  • Child support set at CAD 749.00 per month effective April 1, 2001 to December 31, 2001
  • Child support set at CAD 400.00 per month effective January 1, 2002 and ongoing