FAMILY LAW
AGREEMENTS
Every stage of a relationship can benefit from a written agreement.
Whether moving in together, getting married, or separating from a spouse, it is worth spending time to identify the important issues that you want to capture in an agreement.
A family lawyer can make sure the agreement contains language that will help to protect you through the ups and downs of your relationship.
Don’t dodge this simple step: it will cost you time, money, and heart-break in the long run.
AVOIDING
It can be hard to have a conversation about matters of the heart. But you know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As hard as it is to get into – or out of – a relationship, taking this time to craft an effective agreement can be worth its weight in gold.
DO IT YOURSELF – WITH HELP
You have gotten a good head start at a written agreement. You’ve hashed out some terms that work for both parties. How enforceable is that agreement? Is it written well? Will it stand up in court in the worst-case scenario? We will answer those questions.
TAKING A STAND
You think you and your partner are on the same page. For a while now, you’ve been limping along with some common understanding. You thought you had an agreement, but time and again the plan changes. It might be time to take a stand – and get it in writing.
UPDATING YOUR AGREEMENT
You have an agreement, but your life has changed. Is your Agreement still valid?
At McComb Witten Marcoux, we can help at all stages of a relationship. Talk to us about:
- Cohabitation Agreements
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Marriage Agreements
- Separation Agreements
- Parenting Agreements
AGREEMENTS
Every stage of a relationship can benefit from a written agreement.
Whether moving in together, getting married, or separating from a spouse, it is worth spending time to identify the important issues that you want to capture in an agreement.
A family lawyer can make sure the agreement contains language that will help to protect you through the ups and downs of your relationship.
Don’t dodge this simple step: it will cost you time, money, and heart-break in the long run.
AVOIDING
It can be hard to have a conversation about matters of the heart. But you know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As hard as it is to get into – or out of – a relationship, taking this time to craft an effective agreement can be worth its weight in gold.
DO IT YOURSELF – WITH HELP
You have gotten a good head start at a written agreement. You’ve hashed out some terms that work for both parties. How enforceable is that agreement? Is it written well? Will it stand up in court in the worst-case scenario? We will answer those questions.
TAKING A STAND
You think you and your partner are on the same page. For a while now, you’ve been limping along with some common understanding. You thought you had an agreement, but time and again the plan changes. It might be time to take a stand – and get it in writing.
UPDATING YOUR AGREEMENT
You have an agreement, but your life has changed. Is your Agreement still valid?
At McComb Witten Marcoux, we can help at all stages of a relationship. Talk to us about:
- Cohabitation Agreements
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Marriage Agreements
- Separation Agreements
- Parenting Agreements
Michel v Graydon, 2020 SCC 24 (retroactive child support) at para. 31
As to Mr. Graydon’s conduct as the payor parent in this case, it is really this simple. When a payor parent fails to pay the appropriate amount of child support, the recipient parent is left to shoulder the burden. If the recipient parent does not have the means to provide their child reasonable support, the child suffers. Both the recipient parent and the child may experience hardship because of a payor parent’s neglect. Seen in this light, it bears repeating that retroactive child support is not exceptional relief (D.B.S., at para. 5): there is nothing exceptional about judicial relief from the miserable consequences that can flow from payor parents’ indifference to their child support obligations. This is not to say that hardship is required to ground an award for retroactive child support, as there is also nothing exceptional about relief that creates a systemic incentive for payor parents to meet their obligations in the first place. Just as an order of child support is intended to provide children with the same standard of living they enjoyed when their parents were together (D.B.S., at para. 38), an order of retroactive child support provides an (albeit imperfect) remedy where that does not occur. And as this Court recognized in D.B.S., “courts are not to be discouraged from defending the rights of children when they have the opportunity to do so” (para. 60).
Moge v Moge [1992] 3 SCR 813 (Spousal support)
The second observation I wish to make is that, in determining spousal support it is important not to lose sight of the fact that the support provisions of the Act are intended to deal with the economic consequences, for both parties, of the marriage or its breakdown. Marriage may unquestionably be a source of benefit to both parties that is not easily quantified in economic terms. Many believe that marriage and the family provide for the emotional, economic, and social well‑being of its members. It may be the location of safety and comfort, and may be the place where its members have their most intimate human contact. Marriage and the family act as an emotional and economic support system as well as a forum for intimacy. In this regard, it serves vital personal interests, and may be linked to building a “comprehensive sense of personhood”. Marriage and the family are a superb environment for raising and nurturing the young of our society by providing the initial environment for the development of social skills. These institutions also provide a means to pass on the values that we deem to be central to our sense of community.
Conversely, marriage and the family often require the sacrifice of personal priorities by both parties in the interests of shared goals. All of these elements are of undeniable importance in shaping the overall character of a marriage. Spousal support in the context of divorce, however, is not about the emotional and social benefits of marriage. Rather, the purpose of spousal support is to relieve economic hardship that results from “marriage or its breakdown”. Whatever the respective advantages to the parties of a marriage in other areas, the focus of the inquiry when assessing spousal support after the marriage has ended must be the effect of the marriage in either impairing or improving each party’s economic prospects.
Gordon v. Goertz [1996] 2 SCR 27 (Relocation case) at para. 50:
In the end, the importance of the child remaining with the parent to whose custody it has become accustomed in the new location must be weighed against the continuance of full contact with the child’s access parent, its extended family and its community. The ultimate question in every case is this: what is in the best interests of the child in all the circumstances, old as well as new?
Miglin v Miglin, 2003 SCC 303 (Agreements)
Unimpeachably negotiated agreements that represent the intentions and expectations of the parties and that substantially comply with the objectives of the Divorce Act as a whole should receive considerable weight.
[Note: this is from the case summary at the beginning not one of the paras in the judgment]
JANITA NG YEE
I was extremely satisfied with their service, and would highly recommend them. They answered all my questions efficiently and were effective in advocating for me as a client. They also have translators to help facilitate the communication process. My special thank you goes to Janita Yee and her team for their excellent work!!
MAGGIE C.
GOOGLE 5 STAR REVIEW
JANITA NG YEE
I was extremely satisfied with their service, and would highly recommend them. They answered all my questions efficiently and were effective in advocating for me as a client. They also have translators to help facilitate the communication process. My special thank you goes to Janita Yee and her team for their excellent work!!
MAGGIE C.
GOOGLE 5 STAR REVIEW
