Canada Legal .com Articles

By: Steven Benmor, B.Sc., LL.B., Family Lawyer

Jurisdiction: Ontario (Canada)

“What can a spouse be entitled to after an 18 month marriage ?” $500,000. Yes, half a million dollars.

In the 2003 case of Tauber v. Tauber, the Court of Appeal of Ontario agreed with the trial judge that a lump sum award of $500,000 in spousal support to the wife was reasonable.

The spouses were only married for 1½ years and had one child. Before the marriage, the wife worked as a stylist and earned $60,000 per year. The husband earned $2½ million per year and had a net worth of $20 million.

The husband argued that, given the very short length of the marriage, the wife was not entitled to spousal support and, if she was entitled to support, she should receive monthly support for only 3 years. However, the court decided that the wife’s earning capacity was impaired by the marriage, by her parenting responsibilities and by the breakdown of the marriage. The court decided that the wife’s career continued to be affected by her parenting responsibilities, while the husband’s career was not affected.

Since separation, the wife had been living in rental accommodations and had been forced to move almost annually. The court decided that this lump sum payment would enhance the wife’s economic self-sufficiency by allowing her to purchase a home, which would in turn offer the child more stability. The court ruled that, given the husband’s means and the parties’ lifestyle, the award was not so far beyond what was reasonable.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 28th, 2005 at 9:40 pm and is filed under Family Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.