2 total
Spousal support review order overturned; time-limited support inappropriate following long-term marriage without unusual circumstances.
The appellant wife appealed a review order that reduced her spousal support from $2,700 to $1,350 per month and imposed a termination date.
The parties had been married for 25 years.
The reviewing judge had reduced support based on the respondent husband's expected reduction in income and a finding of 'double-dipping' related to the equalization of his business.
The Divisional Court found that the reviewing judge erred in principle by imposing a time limit on support without analyzing whether the objectives of the Divorce Act were met, noting that time-limited support is only appropriate in unusual circumstances.
The appeal was allowed and the original support order was reinstated.
Post-separation stock options included in net family property; Black-Scholes method appropriate for valuation.
The parties separated, and the husband subsequently received 245,000 stock options from his employer.
The trial judge included a prorated portion of these options in the husband's net family property, finding they were earned prior to separation.
The trial judge also rejected the husband's expert valuation of his pre-separation options using the Black-Scholes method, instead using an 'if and when' approach based on the actual profit realized when the options were later exercised.
The Court of Appeal upheld the inclusion of the post-separation options but found the trial judge erred in using hindsight to value the options.
The Court held that the Black-Scholes method is an appropriate valuation approach for employee stock options where the underlying stock is publicly traded, and adjusted the equalization payment accordingly.
