Michelle M. Dwyer

The applicant mother brought a motion to change a final order for child support.

The respondent father claimed he was unemployed and had limited income, despite living an extravagant lifestyle funded by his wealthy father (the children's grandfather) through gifts, loans, and family trusts.

The court found the father's financial disclosure inadequate and drew an adverse inference.

Applying the Bak factors, the court imputed an annual income of $463,863 to the father based on his lifestyle, corporate add-backs, and the history of generous gifts.

The father was ordered to pay table child support and a proportionate share of section 7 expenses, including a fixed annual amount for extracurricular activities.

The applicant mother sought leave to appeal an interim family law order requiring that the parties’ child reside within the attendance boundaries of her current school.

The interim order had been made in the context of a motion to change a prior consent order governing custody, parenting, and relocation.

The court applied the strict test for leave to appeal under Rule 62.02(4) and found no reason to doubt the correctness of the interim order, which preserved the existing parenting regime pending a full determination.

The proposed appeal raised issues specific to the parties and did not involve matters of general or public importance.

Leave to appeal was therefore refused.

The parties separated in 2008 and initially agreed to joint custody with primary residence to the mother.

In 2010, the mother was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm related to her boyfriend's sexual assault of a minor.

The father sought sole custody and permission to move the children out of the jurisdiction.

The court found that the children were not at risk in the mother's care and that it was in their best interests to maintain primary residence with her in their familiar neighbourhood.

The court also ordered the father to pay child support, ongoing and retroactive spousal support, and an equalization payment.