Most separating spouses do not resolve their parenting, support, and property issues in court. In fact, Canada’s Divorce Act requires separating spouses and their lawyers to try to resolve these issues through an out-of-court process unless it is inappropriate to do so. This can be a cheaper, faster, and less acrimonious way to settle family law disputes than traditional court litigation. These out-of-court options are referred to by the general term ‘family dispute resolution process’ (FDR). The most common forms of (FDR) processes, are negotiation, collaborative family law, mediation, and arbitration. This can be formal negotiation between lawyers or more informal negotiation between the parties themselves, with or without lawyers. Negotiation can occur when only one party has a lawyer, and the other party does not. Most separating couples try negotiation first before proceeding to other forms of FDR. Collaborative family law is a form of negotiation, that attempts … Read More
Family Violence: New Tort Recognized in Ontario
In the recent decision, Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2022 ONSC 1303, the court recognized the new tort of “family violence” as a civil remedy, outside of the scope of family/criminal liability. The court awarded $150,000 “in compensatory, aggravated, and punitive damages for the tort of family violence”, recognizing that such an award “is well-outside the normal boundaries of family law”. Recognition of the New Tort of Family Violence The court recognized that the Divorce Act “does not create a complete statutory scheme to address all the legal issues that arise in a situation of alleged family violence” and does not provide the victim of family violence “with a direct avenue to obtain reparations for harms that flow directly from family violence and that go well-beyond the economic fallout of the marriage”. Further, the Divorce Act prohibits consideration of “misconduct” when making a spousal award. At “its heart, spousal support is compensatory … Read More