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What Happens to an Inheritance in a Divorce in Ontario? A 2026 Guide to Inheritances, Gifts and Excluded Property
Does Your Spouse Get Half of Your Inheritance When You Divorce in Ontario? You inherited money from your parents. Now your marriage is ending. Does your spouse get half? The answer in Ontario is often no—but there are important exceptions. Under Ontario’s Family Law Act, certain inheritances received from someone other than your spouse during […]
Who Gets the House in a Divorce in Ontario? A 2026 Guide to the Matrimonial Home, Buyouts & Selling
Separating? Your Home May Be Your Biggest Financial—and Emotional—Question For many separating couples, the matrimonial home is their largest asset. It may also be where their children live, where much of their wealth is tied up, and the place one or both spouses desperately want to keep. That makes one question especially important: Who gets […]
How Much Does a Divorce Cost in Ontario? (2026 Guide to Legal Fees, Court Costs & Ways to Save Money)
How Much Does a Divorce Cost in Ontario? One of the first questions people ask after deciding to separate is: “How much is this going to cost?” It is a fair question. Divorce and separation are already emotionally challenging. The uncertainty surrounding legal fees can make the situation even more stressful. The truth is […]
Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia May Make the Ontario Court of Justice Obsolete: Why Ontario Needs a Fully Unified Family Court System
Introduction The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia may become one of the most important family law decisions in Canadian history — not only because it recognized a new tort of intimate partner violence, but because it exposed a serious structural problem within Ontario’s family court system. (decisions.scc-csc.ca) For years, Ontario has […]
Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia: A Landmark Victory for Domestic Violence Victims — But a Potential Crisis for Family Law Litigation
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia will likely become one of the most influential — and controversial — family law decisions in Canadian legal history. By recognizing a new tort of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), the Court fundamentally changed how domestic violence can be addressed within civil and family law proceedings. […]
Parental Alienation – understanding the controversy
In family law, few terms generate as much controversy as “parental alienation.” Originally intended to describe a dynamic in which one parent influences a child to reject the other parent, the phrase has since taken on a life of its own—expanding beyond its clinical roots into legal arguments, custody disputes, and public discourse. Despite its […]
Parental Alienation and Domestic Violence: Can They Coexist?
Parental alienation and domestic violence can—and often do—coexist. In discussions about family breakdown, these two concepts are frequently treated as opposites. Many assume that if one is present, the other cannot be. This binary thinking oversimplifies complex family dynamics and can lead to serious consequences in legal, clinical, and social contexts. The reality is far […]
What happens if my ex is unreasonable?
The short answer is – large cost awards. In the recent case of Clark v Denyes, 2025 ONSC 2936 (CanLII), the Honourable Justice Mathen ordered the Respondent mother to pay $400,000.00 in litigation costs to her ex-husband, the Applicant Father. The Honourable Justice Mathen found that the Respondent Mother acted unreasonably by employing misguided views […]
Should I sign my separation agreement without financial disclosure?
The short answer to this question is – absolutely not! The husband in the following case learned his lesson the hard way. In the recent case of Shalaby v Nafei 2022 ONSC 5615, the Honourable Justice Price refuses a husband’s request to summarily dismiss the wife’s claim that the separation agreement should be set aside, […]
Can bad behavior affect my spousal support?
The short answer to this is – Yes! However, it is extremely rare for spousal support to be reduced as a result of bad behavior. The recent case of McConnell v Finch 2022 ONSC 5271 deals with a relatively obscure section 33(10) of the Family Law Act that allows for a judge to reduce the […]