Rono A. Baijnath

In a bifurcated family law trial, the applicant sought declarations regarding the validity of the parties' marriage, their spousal status, and their date of separation.

The respondent claimed the parties were never validly married and never cohabited as spouses.

The court found the applicant's evidence highly credible, supported by photographs and official documents, while rejecting the respondent's testimony as inconsistent and unbelievable.

The court declared the marriage valid, found the parties cohabited as spouses from September 2003 until June 1, 2011, and ordered the Certificate of Pending Litigation to remain on the respondent's property.

The parties brought cross-motions to vary and enforce temporary child and spousal support orders.

The husband, who had recently lost his employment, sought to reduce his support obligations and access $20,000 from the matrimonial home sale proceeds held in trust.

The wife sought enforcement of the existing orders and further financial disclosure.

The court recalculated the husband's retroactive support obligations based on his actual income, declined to impute employment income to the wife, and ordered $33,384 to be released from the trust funds to the wife to satisfy the husband's support arrears.

The husband was also ordered to pay ongoing support based on his current Employment Insurance income and to provide further disclosure.