Divorce and Bank Accounts

I will provide you with as much information as I can, in relation to your six questions, however please note that I cannot provide you with legal advice in this column. You must call me at 1-877-668-9386 so that I can ask you a number of questions if you wish guidance that is specific to your unique facts.

I will, as noted, now provide you with basic information, as follows:

In relation to spousal support your obligation depends upon a number of factors, including your ages, your incomes, the length of time that you have lived together, etc. I would need to speak with you in order to obtain your full particulars so that I may place this information into our computer program and obtain ranges of support, if any, together with duration, if any, based on the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. Although these are not mandatory they are used by Judges in conjunction with the statutory provisions and case law in determining spousal support. I can provide you with what is likely to occur in your case once I have spoken with you but not before.

In terms of your property, upon separation both spouses are entitled to seek an equalization of net family property pursuant to the Family Law Act. Both spouses are required to disclose their worldwide assets and debts both on the date of marriage and the date of separation. A number known as “net family property” is then calculated for each spouse. Those two numbers are then compared and the person with the higher number owes one half of the difference of that amount to the person with the lower number. There are a number of assets and debts that are not included in such calculations. I have already given you the example of deductions, which are pre-marital assets and debts. They are treated differently. Certain things acquired during the course of the marriage are also not included. These are termed exclusions, an example being an inheritance under certain circumstances. Thus, yes you do need to disclose all of your assets and debts on both the date of marriage and the date of separation, and that must be on a worldwide basis. However, the exact calculations vary based on the circumstances of each case and, as well, it is also possible to seek to share less than one half of the difference between the spouse’s net family property, which is known as an unequal division of net family property pursuant to section 5(6) of the Family Law Act. Whether that would apply to your case depends on your unique facts and, once again, I would first need to speak with you before commenting on this point.

In terms of questions 5 and 6 you have asked for legal advice. It is not possible to provide legal advice in this post whatsoever. However, you are very welcome to telephone me at 1-877-668-9386 for a free consultation and, after I have been able to ask you a number of questions, I can then provide you with proper guidance.

(The information provided above is general, not legal advice, as circumstances vary from case to case. As well, generally speaking, the above information relates to Ontario law. Thus, if you wish legal advice that you can rely upon for your specific case, or if you are making inquiries where Ontario law may not apply, please contact Douglas Briand for a free consultation).