Matthew Pike

In an uncontested family law trial, the applicant mother sought sole decision-making responsibility, permission to travel internationally without the respondent father's consent, and child support.

The father had a history of family violence and had ceased participating in the proceedings.

The court granted the mother sole decision-making responsibility and permitted international travel without consent, subject to providing itineraries.

The court also ordered the father to pay child support based on an imputed income of $30,000 and awarded costs to the mother.

Following a motion for interim spousal support and disbursements, the parties were unable to agree on costs.

The applicant sought full-indemnity costs of $57,457.39, alleging bad faith by the respondent for failing to provide timely financial disclosure.

The court found the applicant was the more successful party and that the respondent exhibited an element of bad faith regarding financial disclosure.

The court awarded the applicant costs on a substantial indemnity basis, fixed at $46,000.

The applicant wife brought a motion for interim spousal support and interim disbursements.

The parties were in a six-year marriage and the respondent husband is a high-income earner residing in Germany with significant wealth.

The court applied the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines for high-income earners, imputing an annual investment income of over $4 million to the respondent based on a 12.3% rate of return.

The court ordered the respondent to pay a lump-sum of $326,315 in uncharacterized interim spousal support and $186,000 in interim disbursements, noting the latter had already been satisfied by a prior without-prejudice payment.