The judge in Tobias v. Franke, 2023 ONSC 3006 (CanLII) was asked by a woman to grant her spousal support after she and her boyfriend broke up.
The judge stated that there was a threshold question. To even be able to consider her application for spousal support, the judge first had to find that the woman was a “spouse” as defined in section 29 of the Family Law Act.
The woman argued that they had been in a common-law relationship for 6 years.
The boyfriend argued that they met online and had been dating.
But were they “spouses”?
So the judge needed to examine the finer details of their historical relationship and embarked on a thorough analysis of the history of the parties’ relationship and found:
1. The parties were never married.
2. The parties had no children together.
3. The parties cohabited for one year and 9 months.
4. The parties did not share their resources or finances.
5. The parties did not purchase gifts for each other.
6. The parties only took a few trips together.
7. The parties did not hold themselves out as a couple.
In the end, the judge found that the parties were not spouses under the Family Law Act and dismissed the application.
CASE LINK: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2023/2023canlii44340/2023canlii44340.html
Steve Benmor, B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M. (Family Law), C.S., Cert.F.Med., C.Arb., FDRP PC, is the founder and principal lawyer of Benmor Family Law Group, a boutique matrimonial law firm in downtown Toronto. He is a Certified Specialist in Family Law, a Certified Specialist in Parenting Coordination and was admitted as a Fellow to the prestigious International Academy of Family Lawyers. Steve is regularly retained as a Divorce Mediator/Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator. Steve uses his 30 years of in-depth knowledge of family law, court-room experience and expert problem-solving skills in Divorce Mediation/Arbitration to help spouses reach fair, fast and cooperative divorce settlements without the financial losses, emotional costs and lengthy delays from divorce court.
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