A final divorce judgment
cannot be granted until one year following the date a married couple separates
(unless special grounds for divorce are proven)
Adivorce Application may be
commenced by either spouse at any time following separation.
Where a person dies
without a will, an intestacy
arises. Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act establishes rules for the distribution of
an intestate deceased person’s property. An intestate person’s spouse inherits
the first $200,000 of an Estate.
Estate property over $200,000 is divided between the deceased's spouse and children in proportions that depend on the number of surviving children. Where there are no surviving spouse or children, parents inherit. If there are no surviving parent, siblings will inherit.
Parties in Ontario
civil cases are required to make full disclosure of all paper and digital
documents that are relevant to the litigation, including documents that are not supportive of their cases.
In Superior Court
cases, each party must deliver a sworn Affidavit of Documents that includes a
complete listing of all relevant documents that are in the party’s power, possession
or control. These documents must be produced to all other parties in the
lawsuit.
What does it mean to be a leader? And what does true leadership in a law firm context really entail? Clearly, there is no “one size fits all” answer to these questions. Every leader’s approach and plan will necessarily vary, depending on circumstances, temperament, objectives, opportunities – and practicalities. But behind any effective plan lies a vision of where you want to get, a framework for getting there, and a well-thought-out gameplan for implementing whatever changes that vision may drive. I will mark the 30th anniversary of my call to the Ontario Bar in April. I will be 57 years of age in September. At this juncture in my career, I think about developing my own professional leadership – in a small firm context – quite a bit. And I am starting to think quite differently about what that leadership role means, both to me and to the very good people I am fortunate to work with. And frankly, one of the most difficult challenges, and perhaps the most rewarding when met with success, is simply getting out of the way, so that those talented people you work with can actually do their own jobscompletelyand build their own track records of personal growth and professional success. We have talked about delegation a number of previous times here atSlawTips. I’d like to add this simple thought to the mix: Effective delegation is one of the highest expressions of true leadership. And the corollary also holds: Any leader who fails to effectively delegate is probably no leader at all. By delegate, I don’t mean feeding tiny scraps of grunt work down the chain to eager underlings. I mean incrementally delegating the whole enchilada. Delegating entire files. Key court attendances and transactions. Entire projects and departments. And delegating real responsibility for maintaining and building key relationships. Keeping a finger in, where and when it needs to be, of course, but primarily focusing on the “executive” tasks that maximize what you, personally, can now bring to the table. The more able you are to do that, the more able you will be to implement the balance of your vision. And it does start with a vision. Are you thinking of yours? (We might as well begin there) ... I will continue with these thoughts in my subsequent posts. Given the addition of so many talented, new contributors to thePractice Tips bench, you will be seeing a little less of me here, moving forward. I will be staying withSlawTips, of course, with my own turn to post coming every two months or so. And I am apparently now aneditorhere, with respect to our new contributors’ posts. The good news is you will be reading some really interestingTipsarticles from some exceptional, new voices. And you may be seeing a bit more of me now at my own flagship,Wise Law Blog. That’s not such a bad trade-off, as it turns out, and I’m quite looking forward to it. So see you again atSlawTipsin May. And Happy Easter to all who are celebrating. (Cross Posted at Slaw Tips)
In difficult custody
cases, a Court may request that the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) become
involved to investigate and makerecommendations to the Court or to provide legal representation for a child.
The OCL is an Ontario government agency that employs lawyers and social workers. It works to provide independent information to the Court about a child's needs, wishes and legal interests.
Can an employer
lawfully terminate an exceptional employee who has had consistently good
performance reviews?
Under Ontario law, an employer may terminate any
employee without cause, so long as the
employer provides reasonable notice, or pay instead of such notice, to the
employee.
In Ontario, you may
complete a Power of Attorney for Personal Care to appoint one or more trusted
persons to make medical decisions on your behalf in critical circumstances
where you are unable to provide medical direction or informed consent on your
own.
In your Power of
Attorney for Personal Care, you may also indicate whether you wish
extraordinary measures to be taken to resuscitate you or to extend your life in
the event of a critical, terminally illness where there is no prospect of your
recovery.
Under Ontario’s court
rules, parties to all lawsuits commenced in Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor are
required to attend at mandatory mediation to attempt to achieve settlement.
Approximately 45% of cases settle at mediation.
If all parties agree, mediation may also be
conducted in lawsuits commenced outside Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor, but
mediation is not mandatory outside these three jurisdictions.
Many custody disputes
in Ontario family law matters are now resolved through mediation, rather than
court action.
Mediators work with
parents to create parenting plans and residency schedules that are tailor-made
to provide for children’s needs and for joint parenting. Both parties must obtain
independent legal advice to finalize any agreement.
An employee who has
been temporarily “laid off” may be entitled to treat the layoff as a permanent
termination and claim notice and severance payments and other compensation.
Temporary layoffs may not
be permitted unless there is employment contract that specifically allows for such
layoffs. Seek legal advice to determine your rights and entitlements if you
have been “laid off.”
For an Ontario Will to be valid, it must be signed by
the person making the will and be witnessed by two people who are not
beneficiaries under the Will.
A holograph Will
is an exception to these formal requirements. Holograph wills must be made entirely
in the handwriting of the testator. No witnesses are required for a holograph Will.
Ontario’s Family Law Act (FLA) governs the
equalization and division of property between spouses upon marital separation.
It applies only to spouses who are legally married.
The property rights of common law spouses are
not governed by the FLA. Common law
spouses may nonetheless have significant family property claims, particularly
where property has been acquired in a “joint
family venture,” or they have otherwise contributed to the acquisition,
maintenance or improvement of property owned by their common law spouses.
When can a terminated, non-unionized employee seek
reinstatement of employment?
Under Ontario law, reinstatement of non-unionized employment
can only be required if the termination was discriminatory or in reprisal to a
workplace safety, employment standards, or similar statutory complaint. Unionized employees may have additional protections.
Ontario’s probate fees
are $250 for the first $50,000 of an estate’s value and $15 for each additional
$1,000. These fees are properly referred to as Estate Administration Taxes.
These taxes must be paid
at the court when an Application is filed for the appointment of an Estate
Trustee to administer an estate.
Civil lawsuits in
Ontario’s Superior Court are commenced by issuing a document known as a
Statement of Claim. A Defendant who is served in Ontario must file a Statement
of Defence within 20 days of service.
If a Defendant is
served elsewhere in Canada or the US, a Statement of Defence must be filed
within 40 days of service. If a
Defendant is served outside Canada or the US, the Statement of Defence must be
filed within 60 days of service.
Here is your daily LawFact from Wise Law for Tuesday March 8, 2016. Today we are talking about Family Law.
A video posted by @wiselaw on The amount of child support payable by a non-custodial parent is strictly governed by the Child Support Guidelines. The Guideline tables establish basic child support obligations and are based solely on the payor's income, number of children, and province of residence.The amount of child support payable by a non-custodial parent is strictly governed by the Child Support Guidelines. The Guideline tables establish basic child support obligations and are based solely on the payor's income, number of children, and province of residence.
The amount of child support payable by a non-custodial parent is strictly governed by the Child Support Guidelines. The Guideline tables establish basic child support obligations and are based solely on the payor's income, number of children, and province of residence.
Additional amounts may be payable to cover special and extraordinary expenses incurred for a child's daycare, medical care, education and extra-curricular activities. These additional expenses are shared by the parents in proportion to their respective incomes.
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ordered National Money Mart Company to pay $30,000 in compensation to a former, one-year employee of the company who had been subjected to ongoing, serious sexual harassment by her workplace supervisor.
Workplace bullying is a serious problem for thousands of Canadians at work. It can degrade one’s self worth and create serious health problems for workers and their families.
There has often been very little that could be done to stop the workplace bully in his or her tracks. But, in Ontario, there is now hope around the corner.
With the Ontario Court of Appeal's June 25, 2009 ruling in Slepenkova v. Ivanov, it is now clear that the nearly-universal pronouncements by management lawyers as to the death of Wallace damages after Honda and Keays may have been a bit premature.
In Slepenkova, the Ontario appellate court upheld a two-month notice extension for an employer's bad faith termination, even though no evidence was led at trial as to the specific damages the employee directly incurred as a result of the bad faith. This appeared to place the trial Judge's decision at odds with the new Wallace test set out in Honda.
Should access visitation with children via Skpe be considered an acceptable substitute where a custodial parent wants to move far away with the family's children?
Canada's family courts have reached conflicting decisions on this challenging new issue of the digital age.
Canada's press has had a field day with four sensational cases that have been winding their way through the nation's courts.
Dealing with fundamental questions at the very root of our values around marriage, children and family, these cases have captured the public's collective imagination - and ire -for very good reason.
Wise Law Blogfeatures timely articles on legal developments in Canada and the United States, along with commentary on Canadian politics, American politics, technology and noteworthy current affairs.
Launched on April 5, 2005, Wise Law Blog also highlights key decisions of Canadian courts, with focus on Ontario Family Law, Ontario Employment Law and other areas of interest.
Garry J. Wise is primary contributor to Wise Law Blog. He is a Canadian litigation lawyer who practices with Wise Law Office,Toronto. He is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1986.
Garry's colleagues at Wise Law, as well as occasional guest bloggers, also contribute to Wise Law Blog.
The articles and comments on Wise Law Blog are intended to provide general information on current issues and developments in the law. They are not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should not rely upon or act on information in this, or any blog without seeking legal advice as to the matters of specific concern to them. No solicitor and client relationship is created or can be created by accessing, reading or commenting upon any post at this site.
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