Family Law Newsletter

Child Abduction and the Benefit of the Passport Control List

When a parent threatens to abduct their child or has previously abducted their child, it would be beneficial for the custodial parent to make an application to Passport Canada in order to register their child on a Passport Control List. [Read more.]

Lambert v. Lambert - Property Division and Ontario Divorce Law

In the Fort Frances, Ontario, family law case of Lambert v. Lambert, Dennis Lambert and Judy Calder Lambert entered into a marriage agreement prior to their August 1995 marriage. The couple separated in July 2004. [Read more.]

Buxar Domestic Contract Case

In Buxar v. Lukich, Buxar filed a claim in Ontario Family Court that she should be the owner of her engagement ring after a failed relationship. Lukich counter-claimed that he should be returned the engagement ring he purchased for his former girlfriend, that Buxar should return to him his portion of the down payment the couple made on what was to be their matrimonial home in Michigan. [Read more.]

Mantella Divorce Case

In the divorce proceeding of Mantella v. Mantella, counsel inadvertently failed to produce one document, the valuation of Mr. Mantella's father�s shares, prepared years earlier for an estate freeze. Mr. Mantella's own shares had been gifted to him so were excluded property and not subject to sharing under the Family Law Act. [Read more.]

Vranich Child Custody Case

The parties in Vranich v. Vranich needed to verify when the couple separated in order to determine the rights and obligations of each party under the Family Law Act. Erika and Darko Vranich married in 1975. They separated and reconciled several times after 2004, leaving a question as to what date should be used as the couple's valuation for their divorce proceedings. [Read more.]

Donald v. Leyton - Responsible Lifestyles and Ontario Child Custody Law

David Donald of Hamilton, Ontario, and Paola Leyton of Santiago, Chile, were married in Chile in 2002 and moved to Ontario with her mother in 2005. The couple subsequently birthed a child. In 2006, Leyton and her mother took the child out of the Donald-Leyton household and didn't leave an address of where they were staying. Leyton claimed Donald had become an alcoholic and had sexually assaulted them. [Read more.]

Lombardi v. Mehnert - Alleged Child Abduction and the Hague Convention

In the Province of Ontario family law case of Lombardi v. Mehnert, the mother of a child took her child away from an allegedly abusive father and moved into a shelter in New York, not far from where the couple lived. The father allegedly violated court orders and contacted the woman at the shelter where she was staying with the child. [Read more.]

Belittchenko Divorce Act Case

In a divorce case of Belittchenko v. Belitchenko, Justice Backhouse ordered that the pleadings to previous orders in their divorce proceedings will be struck down unless Anatoliy Belittchenko travels to Ontario to be questioned about the matter. [Read more.]

Quinn Divorce Case

In the divorce proceedings of Quinn v. Epstein Cole, Lynda Quinn wanted to revisit the issue of her former husband's financial records even though she had previously waived her claim to seek spousal support. The justice in the case had ruled that because she had waived her right to such support, it was truly unnecessary to revisit the records. [Read more.]

Stark v. Little - Ontario Joint Custody Laws During Separation

Kimberly Stark and Alexander Little were married in 1999 and birthed two children before their separation in 2005. The case of Stark v. Little originated when Stark wanted to move to New Hampshire with her same-sex partner and bring the children she bore with Little with her. She contended that the same-sex partner was a minister and supplied a substantial income and a high quality of life for the children. [Read more.]