Ms. Daneman

The applicant, Tiffany Lin Nanchin, brought a motion seeking a declaration that she was a dependant of the deceased's estate and entitled to interim support, claiming to be the deceased's common-law spouse.

The central issue was whether she met the definition of "spouse" under the Succession Law Reform Act, which requires continuous cohabitation for at least three years.

The court found conflicting evidence regarding the start date of cohabitation, with independent documentary evidence (tax returns, mortgage documents, design invoices) suggesting the deceased was still married and not separated from his wife until March 2019, which would mean the three-year cohabitation period with the applicant was not met by the deceased's death in November 2021.

The court also noted concerns about the applicant's credibility.

Given the conflicting evidence and the applicant's failure to meet the burden of proof on a balance of probabilities, the motion was dismissed.

The parties brought cross-motions in a family law proceeding.

The applicant husband sought extensive financial disclosure, while the respondent wife sought temporary child and spousal support and the release of funds from the sale of jointly owned properties.

The court dismissed the husband's disclosure motion, finding it premature and largely moot as the wife had agreed to provide much of the requested information.

The court granted the wife's motion, fixing the husband's income at $306,134 and the wife's at $10,000 for support purposes, declining to impute income to the wife at this stage.

The court ordered temporary child and spousal support based on these incomes and directed the release of $400,000 to each party from the net proceeds of sale held in trust.