Linda Starova

The applicant mother sought various orders in an uncontested trial, including sole decision-making responsibility, child support, a vesting order for the matrimonial home, and a restraining order against the respondent father.

The father had not participated in the litigation since 2019 and had a history of criminal charges involving the mother.

The court granted the mother sole decision-making responsibility and imputed the father's income at $45,000 for child support purposes.

Given the significant child support arrears owed by the father, the court ordered that the mother's 1% interest in the matrimonial home vest in her absolutely.

The court also granted a restraining order, gave the mother sole control over the children's RESP accounts and travel documents, and awarded costs of $16,000 to the mother.

The parties disputed the costs of previous motions regarding their child's parenting schedule and school enrollment, in which the respondent father was successful.

The applicant mother argued costs should be reduced because the respondent refused to mediate the dispute.

The court found the respondent's refusal to mediate was not unreasonable given the applicant's insistence on including her proposed relocation in the mediation.

Conversely, the court found the applicant acted unreasonably by unilaterally enrolling the child in a new school and withholding parenting time.

The court awarded the respondent his costs on a full recovery basis in the amount of $9,613.48.

The parties separated and the applicant mother unilaterally relocated with the child from Mississauga to Etobicoke, enrolling the child in a new school.

The respondent father brought a motion to have the child returned to her previous school in Mississauga and for a shared parenting schedule.

The court found that it was in the child's best interests to maintain stability by returning to her previous school in Mississauga.

The court ordered a temporary 4-3/3-4 shared parenting schedule and appointed an assessor to conduct a section 30 assessment.