Tiffany Frederick

Following a six-day family law trial addressing custody, child support, spousal support, and property issues, the court determined costs after receiving written submissions from both parties.

Each side claimed to be the successful party and sought significant costs.

The court reviewed the divided success on issues including joint custody with primary residence to the respondent, denial of spousal support, partial success on child support claims, and property-related relief.

Applying the principles under the Family Law Rules and the Courts of Justice Act, the court concluded that success was mixed and that the conduct of both parties contributed to the litigation.

In the circumstances, the fair and reasonable result was for each party to bear their own costs.

A family law dispute involving custody, child support, spousal support, and property issues following the breakdown of a short cohabiting relationship.

The court determined that the parties should have joint custody of the child born of their relationship, with primary residence with the mother and defined parenting time for the father.

The court found the father had stood in the place of a parent to two of the mother’s other children and ordered limited child support for them for a fixed period.

The mother was denied spousal support due to the short relationship and her voluntary unemployment, with income imputed to her.

The court declined to order the sale of the jointly owned home under the Partition Act and allowed the mother an opportunity to purchase the father’s 5% interest.