Samantha Filipovic

The applicant mother sought to relocate with the parties' 12-year-old son from Thunder Bay to Sudbury.

The parties had shared equal parenting time since separation.

The mother argued the move would provide better access to professionals for the child's ADHD, a new peer group to escape bullying, and closer proximity to her new partner's children.

The father opposed the move, emphasizing the child's need for stability, his established medical team, and his strong relationships with extended family in Thunder Bay.

The court applied the best interests of the child test under the Divorce Act, including the specific relocation factors.

The court found that the mother failed to meet her burden of proving the relocation was in the child's best interests, noting the significant negative impact on the child's relationships and the child's expressed preference to remain in Thunder Bay.

The application to relocate was dismissed.

The applicant mother brought a motion for updated child support, section 7 expenses, and a restraining order against the respondent father.

The court found that the father's income had significantly increased and ordered child support based on his 2024 income of $95,591.

The court also granted a temporary restraining order, finding a pattern of ongoing domestic violence, harassment, and disregard for court orders, including recent criminal convictions for failing to comply with probation.

This decision concerns a costs award following motions between former spouses regarding parenting and child support.

The respondent father sought full recovery costs after being successful in obtaining primary care of the parties’ three younger children.

The court found that while the father was successful, full indemnity costs were excessive and instead awarded partial indemnity costs, fixed at $22,135.32, enforceable as child support.

The decision reviews the principles governing costs under the Family Law Rules, the parties’ conduct, and the proportionality of the costs claimed.

The applicant mother sought an interim variation of a final parenting order and updated child support.

The respondent father sought summary judgment to dismiss the mother's motion or narrow the issues.

The court found material changes in circumstances, including the children's maturing views, the mother's non-compliance with residency restrictions, and significant school absenteeism for the younger children while in the mother's care.

The court granted summary judgment, varying the final order to establish primary care for each child based on their best interests and school attendance, and adjusted child support accordingly.

This endorsement addresses a costs motion brought by the respondent following the dismissal of the applicant's motion to change a final order.

The respondent sought full recovery costs of nearly $20,000.

The court considered the principles under Family Law Rule 24, including the parties' behavior, proportionality, and the intertwining of issues with a contempt motion and a second motion to change.

The court disallowed costs for secretarial assistance and found that full indemnity costs were not warranted due to shared blame for the dysfunctional relationship.

The court fixed costs at $1,000.00, inclusive of disbursements and HST, to be paid by the applicant to the respondent, enforceable as a set-off against child support.

The Respondent (Mother) sought full recovery costs after an eight-day trial, arguing the Applicant (Father) engaged in vexatious and bad faith conduct, and that her offers to settle were more favourable than the trial outcome.

The Applicant conceded the Respondent was entitled to costs but disputed the quantum and denied bad faith.

The court found the Applicant's conduct unreasonable but not amounting to bad faith under Rule 24(8) of the Family Law Rules, thus not triggering full recovery costs.

However, considering the Applicant's unreasonable behaviour, disregard for court orders, and delays caused, the court awarded the Respondent $70,000 in costs, a significant amount but less than sought, balancing proportionality and the importance of the issues.

The trial addressed decision-making authority and parenting time for two children of the relationship, and child support for one child from the Mother's previous relationship.

The court granted the Mother sole decision-making authority and primary care of the children, finding that the Father's actions, including involving children in adult conflict and demonstrating a lack of insight into his detrimental behaviour, rendered shared parenting unworkable and contrary to the children's best interests.

The Father was ordered to pay child support for both the children of the relationship and the Mother's non-biological child.

A restraining order against the Father was continued due to concerns for the Mother's psychological safety.

The court determined costs following motions in related family and civil actions.

The applicant in the family action sought full recovery costs, alleging bad faith by the respondent in failing to honour settlement minutes.

The court found the respondent's conduct unreasonable but not amounting to bad faith, awarding partial costs.

In the civil action, the plaintiffs sought costs against the respondent's lawyer personally under Rule 57.07.

The court declined to order costs against the lawyer personally, finding it was not one of the clearest cases, but awarded partial indemnity costs against the respondent.

The court heard three motions in related civil and family law actions to determine the distribution of $100,000 held by the Accountant of the Superior Court of Justice.

The funds were the remaining net sale proceeds of a property previously owned by the respondent.

The parties disputed the interpretation of the family law Minutes of Settlement regarding the calculation of the applicant's 50% share, specifically concerning add-backs for legal fees and whether the respondent could deduct his civil litigation legal fees.

The court found that only the legal fees attributable to the family law file should be added back and that the respondent was not entitled to deduct his civil litigation fees from the amount subject to division.

The applicant, Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, sought a protection order for a child, P.W., based on allegations of sexual abuse by the father, L.W., against his older daughter, M.W. The father and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation brought motions for summary judgment to dismiss Dilico's application, arguing no genuine issue for trial and agency failures in disclosure and consultation.

Dilico also moved to strike portions of an affidavit.

The court dismissed both summary judgment motions, finding that a genuine issue requiring a trial existed regarding the sexual abuse allegations.

The court also dismissed the First Nation's motion to strike, noting their default in filing an answer.

The matter was directed to proceed to a focused hearing to determine protection findings.

The Father (Respondent in the original application, but moving party in this motion) sought to have the Mother (Applicant in the original application, but responding party in this motion) found in contempt of a final order dated March 28, 2019, alleging multiple breaches related to children's presence with the Mother's former spouse, healthcare decisions, exchange of documents, extra-curricular activities, and involving children in adult issues.

The Mother denied intentional breaches, arguing ambiguity in the order.

The court found some breaches proven beyond a reasonable doubt but exercised its discretion to decline a finding of contempt, issuing a stern admonishment instead, emphasizing the best interests of the children and the need for de-escalation of parental conflict.

This motion addressed multiple issues in a high-conflict separation, including the determination of children of the marriage, temporary custody and parenting schedule, temporary child support and section 7 expenses, sale of the matrimonial home, and continuation of a restraining order.

The court found the father stood in the position of parent for the non-biological children, granted the mother temporary decision-making authority, and ordered a week-on/week-off parenting schedule.

Child support was set based on equivalent incomes, and the matrimonial home was ordered for sale.

The existing restraining order against the father was continued, with communication restricted to My Family Wizard for parenting matters.

The father and mother brought motions regarding temporary parenting arrangements for their two children.

Both parents consented to joint custody and agreed on each other's parenting ability.

The father sought an order for a s. 30 assessment under the Children's Law Reform Act and counselling for one child.

The mother opposed the assessment and increased access, arguing the current 10-4 schedule was the status quo.

The court found the 10-4 schedule was unilaterally imposed and not the true status quo.

The court ordered temporary joint custody with equal parenting time on a "week on/week off" schedule and a s. 30 assessment, but declined to order counselling given ongoing play therapy.

This decision addresses cross-motions concerning interim parenting arrangements for two children following the parents' separation.

The Mother sought to severely restrict the Father's parenting time, citing concerns about his mental health and past incidents.

The Father, while acknowledging mental health challenges, asserted they did not impair his parenting ability and sought shared parenting.

The court, prioritizing the children's best interests, found that the Father's mental health concerns warranted a cautious approach but did not justify the previously imposed limited access.

The court expanded the Father's parenting time to include regular overnights and ordered communication via Our Family Wizard, emphasizing the need to minimize parental conflict and stabilize the children's routine.

Financial issues were adjourned.

The mother brought a motion seeking leave to relocate the children from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

The father opposed the move and sought to set aside minutes of settlement, vacate a restraining order, and obtain specified access.

The court adjourned the mobility issue, deeming it premature without a report from the Office of the Children's Lawyer.

The existing restraining order against the father was vacated due to a lack of objective evidence of ongoing risk.

The divorce was severed from corollary issues, while other ancillary matters were adjourned.

The applicant wife brought a motion for temporary spousal support and an advance on equalization from the sale proceeds of the matrimonial home.

The respondent husband opposed, arguing the wife could be self-supporting and that the funds should be restricted due to her alcoholism.

The court found a prima facie case for spousal support entitlement and ordered mid-range support of $3,345 monthly.

The court also ordered the release of the home sale proceeds to the wife, finding the husband's withholding of the funds to be unconscionable.

The respondent husband brought a motion seeking to vary temporary spousal support from the amount set in the parties' separation agreement, citing a reduction in his income due to disability.

He also sought an order requiring the applicant wife to preserve land claim settlement monies she received pursuant to a prior court order.

The court dismissed the motion, finding the preservation request was an improper collateral attack on an unappealed order.

The court also declined to vary the spousal support on a temporary basis, finding the current amount was close to the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines range and the wife had a monthly deficit.

In a high-conflict separation, the respondent father brought a motion for temporary sole custody of the parties' two children, while the applicant mother sought joint custody.

The court found that the parents were unable to communicate effectively and that important decisions, particularly regarding the children's need for counseling, required timely resolution.

The court granted temporary sole custody to the father to ensure these decisions could be made, while ordering a specified access schedule for the mother, including alternate weekends and weekday evenings.

A request for a non-harassment order was dismissed as unnecessary given the parties' consent to communicate only via email about child-focused issues.

Following the settlement of a family law trial, the respondent sought costs of $11,012.50 plus disbursements.

The applicant opposed the quantum, arguing the issues were simple and the respondent's preparation time was excessive.

The court found the respondent was entitled to costs due to his reasonable offers to settle and the applicant's failure to provide financial disclosure.

Costs were fixed at $7,500 for fees plus $57 for disbursements, plus HST, and characterized as an incident of child support.

On a motion to temporarily vary a final family order, the applicant mother sought increased child support, contribution to special and extraordinary expenses, continuation of employment health coverage for the child, and designation of the child as beneficiary of the respondent father's life insurance.

The court accepted the father's projected annual income from his paystub evidence after declining to admit late responding financial documentation contrary to an earlier production order.

Temporary child support was increased retroactive to December 1, 2014, special expenses were apportioned by income, and orders were made respecting health benefits and life insurance coverage.

The court also awarded the mother costs, finding the motion was necessitated by the father's inadequate financial disclosure.