Canada Case Law

K.A.L. v. S.A.J.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

On the balance of probabilities the parties separated on September 15, 2021; that separation date triggers the two‑year limitation under s.198(2)(b) of the Family Law Act and therefore the claimant's Part 5/6 claims are time-barred; the children's best interests favor stability so they remain at their Maple Ridge school; equal shared parenting time on the existing 2-2-5-5 schedule (with rotation swapped) is appropriate; claimant's income is reasonably imputed to $53,000 commencing June 1, 2025 (12 months after birth) for child support purposes, producing specified retroactive and prospective…

Source excerpt

• Date of separation
• Best interests of the child
• School relocation
• Imputation of income
• Retroactive child support
• Parenting responsibilities

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Van Aman v. Mugo

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Appeal dismissed, with a limited variation, in a parenting-time and child-support dispute arising from child abduction and imputed income findings.

• Best interests of the child
• Parenting time supervision
• Imputed income
• Change motion vs review
• Child abduction
• Custody and decision-making

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E.S. v M.S.

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Because the mother was wholly successful, the issues were primarily non-monetary and complex (including family violence and coercive control), the court exercised its Rule 77 discretion to award a lump sum equal to 80% of the mother's reasonable discounted legal fees ($15,157.86) as a substantial contribution to her costs, payable within six months.

Source excerpt

• Variation of corollary relief order
• Sole decision-making and primary care
• Reduction of parenting time
• Coercive control and exposure to family violence
• Application of rule 77 costs rules
• Lump sum costs vs tariff assessment

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Moore v. Tse

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court fixed guideline incomes, found shared parenting began January 1, 2025, set child support for multiple periods, and reserved arrears and expense issues.

• Guideline income determination
• Imputation of income
• Shared parenting determination
• Exchange rate for income conversion
• Special and extraordinary expenses
• Registration of orders in foreign jurisdiction

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B.L.A.K. v. T.M.K.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court varied child support under the Divorce Act, ended support for K in December 2021, ordered direct support for L, and reallocated special expenses and parenting-time logistics.

• Retroactive variation
• Child of the marriage
• Guideline income calculation
• Allocation of special and extraordinary expenses
• Direct payment to child
• Insurance access

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P.M.L. v. M.U.N.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court changed parenting time to a week-on, week-off schedule, imputed income to both parties, set child and spousal support, and granted a divorce.

• Income imputation
• Parenting schedule change
• Child support guidelines
• Spousal support objectives
• Vehicle loan transfer
• Bankruptcy and disclosure

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Williams v. Randall

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Shared parenting between Meagan and Cedric was refused because they cannot sustain the necessary cooperation and timely, respectful communication required for a shared‑parenting regime; Kevin Randall’s historic conviction was given no operative weight in present parenting allocation because multiple contemporary expert risk assessments and treatment placed him at the lowest risk of reoffending and there were no safety concerns; Meagan remains primary residential parent because removal would be destabilizing, but major decision‑making is reallocated to Cedric and Kevin jointly to minimize conf…

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• Best interests of the child
• Shared parenting
• Supervised vs unsupervised access
• Retroactive child support
• Stepparent support (chartier issues)
• Parenting plans

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Olson v. Lavallee

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The Court used an hours-based method to calculate parenting time under s. 9 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines and found the respondent met the 40% threshold.

• Section 9 federal child support guidelines
• Parenting time calculation (hours vs days)
• Allocation of school and sleeping hours
• Shared parenting
• Child support arrears
• Child-support

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N.S. v. H.S.P.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Costs decision in a family law case: the respondent achieved substantial success on the applications, earned ordinary costs, and failed to obtain double costs.

• Interim support
• Guideline income determination
• Imputed income
• Section 7 expenses
• Parenting time calculation
• Offers to settle (rule 11-1)

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Douglas v. Faucher

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The motion judge permissibly found a material change in circumstances because the respondent acquired more than 40% parenting time from about 2017 onward; that factual finding engaged s.9 of the Guidelines permitting an income‑based set‑off and retroactive adjustment beginning January 1, 2018, and the Court of Appeal found no palpable and overriding error in the motion judge's factual findings or discretionary application of Contino and therefore dismissed the appeal.

Source excerpt

• Section 9 federal child support guidelines
• Change in circumstances
• Retroactive child support
• Shared parenting
• Calculation of parenting time
• Standard of review on appeal

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