Court File and Parties

Court File No.: FS-10-7489M Date: 2016-06-17

ONTARIO

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

BETWEEN: Laura Marie McCombe, Applicant And: David Thomas McCombe, Respondent

Before: Conlan J.

Counsel: Carol A. Allen, for the Applicant Erroll G. Treslan, for the Respondent

Heard: June 17, 2016

Reasons for Decision on Motion

I. INTRODUCTION

[1] There is a well-known company whose slogan is “just do it”. That is my decision here.

[2] With two boys, 18 and 16 years old, these parties battled each other for a long time. Finally, Sproat J.’s Final Order in May 2014 put the fight to bed.

[3] Well, not really.

II. THE MOTION

[4] The Order of Sproat J. requires Mr. McCombe to make support payments, child and spousal.

[5] For tax purposes, he wants Ms. McCombe to sign documentation, annually, regarding the receipt of spousal support payments, child support payments, and section 7 contributions related to the boys’ expenses.

III. ANALYSIS

[6] There is conflicting evidence in the record about whether signed acknowledgements are required by the tax authorities. For example, one document pulled from a Government of Canada, Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”), website indicates that Form T1158E is sufficient. Another document, presumably from the same website, suggests that the said Form is not sufficient.

[7] The former document is relied upon by the Applicant and attached to her Affidavit on the father’s Motion. The latter is relied upon by the Respondent and attached to his Affidavit in support of his Motion.

[8] We know that the CRA, by letter dated April 11, 2016, has already warned Mr. McCombe about the need to strictly comply with what is required to be filed. Thus, over-cautiousness, if anything, appears to be warranted.

[9] Ms. Allen, in her usual competent form, points out that her client, Ms. McCombe, ought not to be troubled by having to complete documentation, annually, that may not be necessary, especially since we have nothing from the father that he tried to file Form T1158E, without success.

[10] That submission is not without merit.

[11] Ms. Allen also rightly points out that child support payments are not deductible by Mr. McCombe in any event, although it should be noted that the CRA document relied upon by the father mentions both types of support payments.

[12] In the end, I agree with Mr. Treslan: “just do it” (my words). There is no prejudice to the mother. It takes a few minutes per year. It will cost her no money.

[13] Thus, the relief sought at clauses 1-3 in the draft Order filed by the father (annual signed acknowledgements regarding spousal support payments received, the same for child support payments received, and the same for section 7 expenses contributions received along with copies of the receipts for the expenses themselves) is granted.

[14] There is one caveat – Ms. McCombe shall not be out-of-pocket for providing the signed documentation, thus, the father shall either have a mutually agreed upon third party pick up the documents from the Applicant or pay for the cost of her mailing them to Mr. McCombe’s counsel.

[15] That caveat shall be incorporated into the wording of the Order.

[16] As for the relief sought at clause 4 of the draft Order filed by the father (relating to fitness and medical expenses for the children), that is denied. First, it is unnecessary as the Final Order of Justice Sproat can be filed with the CRA, which Order expressly deals with the percentage of those expenses to be paid by Mr. McCombe. Further, I agree with Ms. Allen that the wording of the clause is inappropriate as it forces the mother to stipulate what Mr. McCombe is entitled to claim for tax purposes – she has no authority to do that. Finally, what amounts Ms. McCombe has claimed on her tax returns for fitness and medical expenses for the children are irrelevant as what the father really wants is an acknowledgement of what he paid and was received by the mother, and that acknowledgement is satisfied by the relief granted above (clause 3 of the draft Order).

IV. CONCLUSION

[17] Motion granted, in large part.

[18] If counsel cannot agree on costs, presumably in favour of Mr. McCombe, I will accept written submissions. They must be very brief, however (one page on each side, excluding any attachments that the party has a burning desire to file), and they must be filed very promptly (within one week by the father; and one week thereafter by the mother; no reply is permitted).

[19] I would normally end with some optimism. But I cannot find any here. The end.

Conlan J. Released: June 17, 2016