Angela Livingstone

Following a Binding Judicial Dispute Resolution hearing regarding child and spousal support, the applicant sought costs of $26,567.02.

The respondent argued each party should bear their own costs due to a mixed outcome.

The court found the applicant was substantially successful and that her offer to settle was more favourable than the final order.

The court awarded the applicant her full requested costs, payable within 90 days, and ordered that the costs be enforceable as a support order through the Family Responsibility Office.

The parties separated after an 18-year relationship during which the applicant wife stayed home to care for the children and support the respondent husband's military career.

The court found their separation agreement only resolved spousal support on an interim basis.

The court awarded the wife spousal support at the high end of the SSAG range for a duration of 15 years, based on strong compensatory and non-compensatory claims, and allowed her to share in the husband's post-separation income increase.

The husband was also ordered to pay spousal support arrears of $104,579, child support arrears of $9,873, and was only permitted to offset a small portion of his claimed section 7 expenses.

The applicant brought a motion to enforce over $1.6 million in spousal support arrears and to stay the respondent's motion to change support.

The applicant sought to access the cash surrender value of five life insurance policies, three of which the respondent had recently transferred to his adult children without consideration.

The court found the transfers were fraudulent conveyances intended to defeat the applicant's claims and declared them void.

The court also held the policies were not exempt from seizure under the Insurance Act because the beneficiary designations were either made in breach of a prior court order or did not qualify for the exemption.

The respondent was ordered to cash in the policies and pay the proceeds to the applicant, and his motion to change was stayed until he complied.

In an addendum to a judgment on a motion to change, the court determined the exact quantum of a child support overpayment and addressed costs.

The court found the father overpaid $6,168.20 but reduced the repayment obligation to $1,500 due to the mother's financial hardship and the father's blameworthy conduct in failing to provide financial disclosure.

Despite the father's success on the child support issue, the court declined to award costs to either party, citing the father's bad faith non-disclosure.

The applicant mother brought a motion to change child support for the parties' 21-year-old disabled daughter.

The court set aside a 2019 consent order because the applicant failed to disclose that the child was receiving ODSP benefits.

Finding that the table amount was inappropriate given the child's ODSP income, the court ordered the respondent father to pay $321 per month, representing his proportionate share of the shortfall in the child's day-to-day expenses.

The court also ordered retroactive adjustments based on the father's historical income and required both parties to maintain life insurance to secure their support obligations.