Family and Matrimonial Law - OCJ

A costs decision following a trial on the merits regarding a prohibition on changing children's surnames.

The respondent sought to change the children's surnames from "Schaafsma" to "Schaafsma Eaton" following a prior custody order.

The applicant brought an application seeking to prohibit the name change or, alternatively, to require a hyphenated surname.

The application was dismissed, permitting the respondent to proceed with the name change applications to the Registrar General.

The court awarded costs to the successful respondent in the amount of $11,085 inclusive.

Motion to change child support brought by the payor seeking to vary his child support obligation and adjust arrears.

The payor claimed a significant change in circumstances due to mental health issues arising from his employment at a correctional facility, which led to his involuntary hospitalization and subsequent departure from that employment.

The court found a change in circumstances for 2016 but determined the payor was intentionally underemployed from 2017 onward.

Income was imputed at $60,000 based on the payor's previous employment with the Canada Border Services Agency, which remained available to him.

Child support was varied accordingly, with reduced amounts during periods when children attended school away from home.

Section 7 expenses for post-secondary education were partially awarded, with a proportional split of 67% to the payor and 33% to the recipient.

This is a summary judgment motion by the Children's Aid Society of Toronto seeking an order placing a child born in 2017 in extended society care.

The mother opposed the motion and sought either the return of the child to her care with supervision or placement with a friend.

The court found that the child continues to be in need of protection and that the only viable plan in the child's best interests is extended society care with no access.

The mother's inability to address her mental health issues, manage her finances, maintain a safe home, and consistently attend access visits over 17 months demonstrated that the protection concerns that led to the child's apprehension had not been resolved.

In this motion to change child support, the father sought to modify the existing support order following a change in custody whereby the child moved to his home full-time in April 2018.

The parties disputed the father's income for 2018 and the mother's income, as well as which special expenses should be shared.

The court determined the father's income at $194,663.61 based on actual T4 income and the mother's income at $44,982.98 after accepting her business expense deductions with appropriate adjustments.

The court exercised discretion to defer the mother's contribution to special expenses until 2019 to avoid an unjustified windfall to the father, given the timing of the custody change relative to his increased income.

The Children's Aid Society of Algoma brought a motion to determine whether a child born in 2018 is a First Nations child and, if so, whether the child identifies with the Batchewana First Nation.

The motion also sought orders to add the Batchewana First Nation as a party respondent and to transfer conduct of the proceeding to Nogdawindamin Family and Community Services.

The court found that the child is a First Nations child based on the father's self-identification as an Aboriginal person with Batchewana First Nation heritage and his maternal grandfather's Aboriginal ancestry.

The court granted the motion, adding Batchewana First Nation as a respondent party and substituting Nogdawindamin Family and Community Services as the applicant.

The applicant sought an order prohibiting the respondent, the sole custodial parent, from changing the surnames of two children from Schaafsma to Schaafsma Eaton.

The respondent sought to add her surname to the children's existing surname.

The court applied the best interests of the child test and considered factors including the respondent's motivation, the children's existing use of the hyphenated name, the relationship between the children and the non-custodial parent, and the applicant's failure to meet financial support obligations.

The court found that the respondent had no improper motive, that the children already identified as Schaafsma Eaton at school, and that the name change would not harm the children or their relationship with their father.

The application was dismissed, permitting the name change to proceed, with a prohibition on any further name changes.

A motion by the Children's Aid Society seeking temporary care and custody of a child with the father in Trinidad and Tobago, subject to supervision and specific terms and conditions.

The mother and step-father opposed the motion and sought the return of the child to their care.

The court denied both the Society's motion and the mother and step-father's request, finding that while there were credible concerns regarding the mother and step-father's parenting, the evidence did not establish that placement with the father would adequately protect the child given the father's limited relationship with the child and the child's significant behavioural needs.

A status review application under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act concerning a child found in need of protection.

The Catholic Children's Aid Society sought a final order of extended society care without access to the mother to facilitate adoption.

The mother sought return of the child under a supervision order or, alternatively, access.

The court found that the mother repeatedly breached supervision orders by maintaining contact with her biological father, a registered sex offender with a history of child sexual abuse.

Despite opportunities to address the risk through counselling and support services, the mother demonstrated poor judgment, lack of credibility, and inability to comply with court-ordered conditions.

The court granted extended society care but permitted limited access through cards and letters with the child as the access holder.

The applicant mother brought a motion for an order striking the respondent father's pleadings for non-disclosure and for child and spousal support based on imputing income of $95,800 to the father retroactive to October 2016.

The respondent father filed a cross-motion requesting income be imputed to him at $76,960 or lesser amounts and for specified Skype access.

The court declined to strike the pleadings, finding the father had substantially complied with disclosure requirements.

The court declined to impute income to the father, finding his actual income should be used.

The court ordered child support arrears and ongoing child support based on the father's actual income, and ordered temporary spousal support at the low end of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines range, finding the mother had established a prima facie case for entitlement on both compensatory and need bases.

This is a ruling on the admissibility of hearsay statements made by a child to a child protection worker during a child protection trial under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act.

The child protection society sought to admit the child's statements through the trial affidavit of the child protection worker under the "state of mind" exception to the rule against hearsay.

The court conducted a voir dire to determine which statements met the requirements for admission under this exception.

The judge examined each statement individually to determine whether it reflected the child's contemporaneous mental, emotional, or physical state, and whether it was relevant to the grounds for finding the child in need of protection.

This is a decision under section 90(2)(b) of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA) regarding the identification of a child's First Nations status and band affiliation in a Status Review Application.

The child, age 6, was previously identified under the Child and Family Services Act (CFSA) as not being an Indian or native child.

The court determined that the child is a First Nations child based on the mother's identification of the child as such, and identified the child's band as Michipicoten Band based on the mother's indication that the child identifies with that band through maternal family ties.

A child protection society brought a summary judgment motion seeking an order for extended society care of two children, with no access to their mother, and access to their maternal uncle.

The mother opposed the motion and sought return of the children to her care.

The court found that the mother suffered from serious untreated mental health issues, including amphetamine-induced psychosis, and had engaged in concerning behaviour including violating court orders, posting confidential information on social media, and attempting to undermine the children's foster placement.

The court granted the society's motion for extended care, denied the mother's request for access, and granted access to the maternal uncle at the society's discretion.

The respondent mother brought a motion seeking leave to bring a contempt motion on an urgent basis, a finding that the applicant grandmother was in contempt of a consent final order dated May 30, 2018, and an order directing police to locate and apprehend the child and deliver her to the mother.

The grandmother had refused to return the child at the end of a scheduled weekend access period on September 2, 2018, contrary to the final order which granted sole custody to the mother with specified access to the grandmother.

The court granted the mother's motion, ordering the grandmother to forthwith return the child to the mother's care and no later than 5:00 p.m. that day, with a police enforcement clause.

The contempt motion was adjourned.

A family law trial concerning custody, access, and child support for two children following the separation of the parents.

The mother sought custody, retroactive child support from January 2014, and permission to travel with the children outside Canada.

The father sought joint custody and offered to pay support based on declared income of $12,000 annually.

The court awarded sole custody to the mother with consultation requirements for major decisions, established an access schedule for the younger child with the father, and determined that the father's guideline income included non-taxable OSAP grants, resulting in significantly higher imputed income than claimed.

Retroactive support was ordered from November 2015 with arrears payable at $100 monthly.

A motion by the Children's Aid Society of Algoma for production of records from the Sault Ste.

Marie Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, and Ministry of Community Safety and Corrections regarding the respondent parents in a child protection proceeding.

The mother did not oppose production; the father opposed.

The court granted production from the Sault Ste.

Marie Police Service for the period following a prior production order, finding the relevance test under section 130 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act was met.

The court declined to order production from the other two record holders due to insufficient evidence of relevance.

This is a costs ruling following a trial on a motion to change child support.

The applicant mother, self-represented, sought costs of $7,758.53 comprising self-represented legal time, lawyer fees, and travel disbursements.

The respondent father contested the costs claim on multiple grounds, including that the mother failed to prove lost opportunity cost and that certain expenses were not properly attributable to the trial.

The court awarded costs of $4,603.97, finding the mother was the successful party and that modern costs principles support awarding meaningful costs to self-represented litigants, particularly where the unsuccessful party engaged in unreasonable conduct such as non-compliance with disclosure orders.

Both parents brought motions to change the parenting terms of a 2010 custody order.

The father, who had been convicted of a sexual offence against the child in 2016, sought supervised access through a private facility and to maintain joint custody.

The mother sought sole custody and no access.

The child, now 12 years old, consistently expressed her unwillingness to see the father.

The court found a material change in circumstances and determined that sole custody to the mother and no access for the father were in the child's best interests.

The court also made orders restricting the father's social media postings about the mother and child, and permitting the mother to obtain government documentation and travel with the child without the father's consent.

The applicant child welfare agency brought a motion for summary judgment in a child protection application concerning twin infants born prematurely and testing positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine at birth.

The parents did not respond to the motion.

The court found a prima facie case of risk based on the mother's untreated addiction history and the father's inadequate addiction treatment.

The court granted an order for extended society care (Crown wardship) with placement in a kinship home.

The court declined to grant access to the parents, finding that while the parents demonstrated warmth and affection during supervised visits, the unresolved addiction issues and lack of meaningful progress toward rehabilitation made ongoing access not in the children's best interests.

A motion concerning interim custody and access of a two-year-old child.

The father sought temporary sole custody after the child sustained unexplained injuries to her face while in the mother's care.

The mother opposed the motion and sought sole custody with liberal access to the father, or alternatively, joint custody.

The court found the mother's evidence regarding the injuries to be inconsistent and unreliable, and determined that the mother had failed to provide adequate supervision and stability.

The court granted the father temporary sole custody with the mother receiving limited supervised day access only.

A motion to change a child support order where the respondent sought to reduce his child support obligation from $303 per month based on a claim of changed circumstances (return to full-time Ph.D. studies) and undue hardship.

The respondent also had other child support obligations and claimed financial hardship.

The applicant sought to increase the respondent's contribution to daycare costs and to impute additional rental income.

The court found that while there was a change in circumstances, income should be imputed to the respondent at the same level as the original order ($35,000 annually) based on intentional underemployment.

The court rejected the undue hardship claim as the respondent failed to establish clear and cogent evidence of exceptional hardship.

The court granted the applicant's motion regarding increased daycare contributions.