Ann Stoner

The parties separated after a 7-year marriage.

The applicant, a self-employed dentist, sought to enforce a spousal support waiver in their marriage contract and impute income to the respondent, a stay-at-home mother.

The court imputed an income of $37,500 to the respondent and determined the applicant's income at $330,000 by adding back personal expenses paid by his corporation and rejecting aggressive amortization deductions.

The court found the marriage contract explicitly permitted a review of the spousal support waiver upon the birth of a child, and awarded the respondent $4,800 monthly in spousal support, along with set-off child support.

The father brought a motion to change a final consent order for joint custody, seeking sole custody of the two children.

He argued that the mother had resiled from the dispute resolution mechanism in their agreement and failed to cooperate with counselling for their child.

The court applied the Gordon v. Goertz test and found no material change in circumstances, as the high-conflict nature of the relationship was foreseen when the consent order was made.

The motion was dismissed, but the court provided strict directions on interpreting the dispute resolution mechanism and ordered the parties to proceed with counselling.

The applicant brought a motion seeking to attribute increased income to the respondent for purposes of increasing child and spousal support, alleging that income was being diverted through businesses operated with the respondent’s current spouse.

Evidence indicated the companies shared operations, facilities, and financial arrangements, raising concerns that corporate structures were being used to shield income.

The respondent argued the issue should be determined at trial and that interim attribution would be prejudicial.

The court held that interim orders are appropriate pending trial and found the respondent’s declared income inconsistent with his lifestyle and business arrangements.

The court attributed income of $120,000 and ordered interim child and spousal support increases, and awarded partial indemnity costs for a previous motion.