Family Law
Case briefs and rules that shape family law in Ontario and Canada.
Family law is decided as much by a handful of leading cases as by the statutes themselves, and knowing which case governs your question tells you a lot about your position. These guides walk through the ones that come up most: Moge and Bracklow on why spousal support is owed at all and how the Advisory Guidelines grew out of them, Miglin on when a court will reopen a separation agreement the parties negotiated, D.B.S. and Michel v. Graydon on claiming child support for years already past, and Gordon v. Goertz through to the current relocation rules on moving with a child. Kerr v. Baranow covers property claims between common-law partners, where equalization does not reach. Two more deal with what a court means by a child's best interests, and with the developing recognition of family violence in civil claims. Each explains the principle in plain language and says where the law is still unsettled.
Spousal support: Moge, Bracklow and the SSAG
Compensatory vs needs-based support, and the guidelines courts use.
AgreementsSeparation agreements and Miglin: when a court will step in
The two-stage test for reviewing a spousal-support agreement.
Child SupportChild support and retroactive claims: D.B.S. and Michel v. Graydon
How courts approach support owed for the past.
ParentingRelocation and mobility: from Gordon v. Goertz to today
The best-interests approach when a parent wants to move with a child.
PropertyCommon-law couples and property: Kerr v. Baranow
Unjust enrichment and the 'joint family venture'.
ParentingThe child's best interests: parenting time and decision-making
The 2021 language change and the factors courts weigh.
Family ViolenceA tort for family violence? Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia
The novel family-violence tort proposed at trial — and what the Court of Appeal did with it.