Nancy Deskin

The applicant and respondent separated after a long marriage characterized by the respondent's controlling and abusive behaviour.

Following separation, the respondent engaged in a pattern of non-cooperation, including refusing to sign closing documents for the sale of the matrimonial home, withholding the children's passports, and acting belligerently towards police.

At trial, the court addressed issues of decision-making, parenting time, child and spousal support, and equalization.

The court granted the applicant final decision-making authority but allowed equal parenting time on a 5-5-2-2 schedule, strictly conditional on the respondent attending psychological counselling.

The court imputed income to both parties, ordered retroactive and ongoing child and spousal support to be paid from the respondent's share of the matrimonial home sale proceeds, and ordered the remaining proceeds to be equalized without deduction for the respondent's tax arrears.

The applicant husband's pleadings were struck for failure to provide financial disclosure.

The respondent wife proceeded by way of an uncontested trial, seeking child support, spousal support, and an equalization payment.

The court imputed an annual income of $800,000 to the applicant based on his history of high earnings, hidden assets, and intentional underemployment.

The court ordered the applicant to pay $1,961,318 in support arrears, ongoing child and spousal support, and a $6,000,000 equalization payment.

Full recovery costs of $460,000 were awarded to the respondent.

The applicant brought a motion to change spousal support terms set out in a separation agreement, seeking to terminate support based on a material change in circumstances.

Within this proceeding, the applicant brought a motion to compel the respondent to retain an expert to value her self-employment income and to provide extensive financial disclosure dating back to 2016.

The court dismissed the request for an expert valuation, finding it disproportionate given the respondent's modest income compared to the applicant's.

The court partially granted the disclosure request, limiting the timeframe to August 2017 to December 2018, balancing the need for a full case with the prohibition against fishing expeditions.