Canadian Lawyer

March 2009

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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LEGAL REPORT: FAMILY LAW "Marriage Contract" Precedents One researched and prepared by S. Christine Montgomery, B.A., LL.B. Our Marriage Contract precedent is easy-to-use, comprehensive, well-drafted and can be applied to a full range of marriage contract scenarios - from the most basic to the very complex. The check box format allows you to select required clauses based on the needs of your client. Once you have selected the appropriate clauses, click the "create" button, and you've got your customized Marriage Contract draft in your word- processor... ready for legal review and easy completion! It's that simple. DIVORCEmate One...From Marriage Contracts to Divorce Judgments and Everything in Between. Available as: "Pay Per Use" or "Annual Subscription" Visit www.divorcemate.com today! a product of Toll Free: 1-800-653-0925 or 416-718-3461 x446 e: sales@divorcemate.com www.divorcemate.com support payments. And it's not just those on the economic margins; investment bankers who had been raking in $1 million or more a year may find they are taking home significantly less. If the payments are not made there are tough penalties, from garnisheeing wages to the denial of passport privileges and car licences. Some former spouses in default can find themselves publicly named and shamed, such as on the Ontario govern- ment Family Responsibility Office's Good Parents Pay web site. "It's very unpleasant these days to be in default compared to 20 years ago; it has gotten much, much tougher," says Herbert. When difficulties in keeping up payments arise, those who are supposed to make support payments should seek remedies from the courts. "If someone is paying support and is laid off from their job and no longer has the means to pay the support, then the appropriate course of action is to apply to the court to reduce the amount of support paid," says Herbert. "If the court believes it is a bona fide reduction in income, for example if you are an auto worker and the plant you worked in was shut down, the court will treat you fairly and reduce the amount of support." The timing of the variation application for remedies is key. "The courts will be fair to people who, through no fault of their own, they don't have any money to pay support . . . that's prob- ably easier to say than accomplish," says Herbert. "But it's not as though the law will put people in a position, in impossible situations, to pay support." Yates agrees that courts are less forgiving to people who wait ntitled-2 1 2/19/09 10:20:17 AM Do you have clients with family business succession issues? The Succession FundTM buys shares in private companies to support shareholder realignments and succession transactions. If you have a client who wants to buy out one or more shareholders, contact Larry Klar at (416) 867-8090 or klar@argosypartners.com www.successionfund.com â„¢Trademark of Argosy Partners Ltd. 42 M ARCH 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com Argosy_CL_Nov_08.indd 1 10/23/08 12:31:21 PM ANOWVAILABLE

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