Today, more than ever you need the help of an established and recognized Clarington family lawyer to help protect your legal rights and solve your separation, divorce and family law problems.
I know you’re feeling overwhelmed and frustrated trying to deal with these difficult family law problems, including child custody and access, child support, spousal support and property issues.
Here’s an important fact for you: You can solve your family law problems with the help of experienced Clarington family law and divorce lawyer Thomas O’Malley. He has helped Clarington residents negotiate reasonable settlements that protect their family law rights and represents them successfully in family court for more than 26 years now.
As you keep reading this web page, you are feeling more and more confident that you need the help of Thomas O’Malley, an accomplished Clarington family lawyer. There’s simply no substitute for his experience and dedication to help his clients solve their family law problems so that they can move on with their life. You can’t argue with success.
When you come to your consultation with Thomas O’Malley, he quickly zeroes in on the key issues in your family law case and what you need to do to protect your legal rights.
You get critical legal advice on how to solve your specific family law issues. He gives you a plan on how to reach a solid settlement with your spouse and he represents you in family court when your spouse is not acting reasonably.
You’d love to start solving your family law problems, wouldn’t you? Call Thomas O’Malley, Clarington’s most trusted family law and divorce lawyer, now at (905) 434-8837 to set up your consultation.
Now is the perfect time to start protecting your family law rights.
As an experienced Clarington family lawyer since 1992, Thomas O’Malley has helped so many Clarington residents solve their family law problems that he can no longer keep count of the hundreds of clients from this area he has helped and represented over the years.
He is committed to helping Clarington residents since he and his family have so much history in this area.
Thomas fondly remembers tobogganing with his dad and brother at the Enniskillen Conservation Area in Clarington. They would spend hours on the weekends in the winter going really fast down the local hills.
He played hockey as a kid at the Orono hockey arena. He wasn’t the best goalie but he had a great time playing the great Canadian game with the other kids.
Just imagine for a moment you have top-notch and skilled Clarington family law and divorce lawyer Thomas O’Malley working really hard to protect your legal rights and solve your family law problems. It’s a great feeling to have this family lawyer on your side working hard for you, isn’t it?
Call Thomas O’Malley today at (905) 434-8837to set up your appointment to protect your family law rights. Take this important first step to solving your separation, divorce or family law problems.
Are you beginning to see how an experienced Clarington family law and divorce lawyer can help solve your family law issues? Think how much easier it will be to protect your family law rights when you have a dedicated family lawyer working to solve your legal issues. When you come to your consultation with Thomas O’Malley, he gives important legal advice to you in these critical areas of your case:
Separation Agreements
Divorce
Family Court
Child Custody
Child Access
Child Support
Spousal Support
Property Division
The important thing is that you need to start protecting your legal rights now. Soon picture yourself on your way to solving your family law problems. Call Thomas O’Malley today at (905) 434-8837 to set up your consultation. Don’t delay!
Q: Can I settle my family law case even when I am in family court already?
A: Absolutely. Your family lawyer should always be working on settling your family law issues even when you are in court. In fact, many cases are settled based on the family court judge’s recommendations. You often see family lawyers in the court halls and interview rooms busily negotiating settlements for their clients. To find out you can more quickly settle your family law case even when you are in family court, call Thomas O’Malley, an accomplished and talented Clarington family lawyer, at (905) 434-8837.
Q: Do I have to pay child support when I have my children half of the time?
A: You might have to pay child support to the other parent even when you have your children half of the time. It depends on whether there is an income difference between the parents. You determine what each parent would pay for two children, for example, based on the Child Support Guidelines. If one parent would have to pay $500 a month for two children based on his income and the other parent would have to pay $300 per month based on her income, then the parent with the lower income would receive $200 per month in child support from the other parent. In other words, the higher-earning parent will pay child support to the lower-earning parent by subtracting what the lower-earning parent would pay in child support per month from the amount of child support per month that the higher-earning parent would have to pay.
Q: Can I change my court order or separation agreement?
A: Yes, you can go to court to change many aspects of your family court order or separation agreement. You can change the parts of your family court order or separation agreement that deal with child custody and access, child support and spousal support when you have a material change in circumstances. You have a material change in circumstances when you have an important change in your life. For example, if you get laid off from your job and you find work earning less income, you can probably get your child support and spousal support reduced since you now have a lower income. You need the help of established Clarington family law and divorce lawyer Thomas O’Malley to find out whether you can get your court order or separation agreement changed as a result of the new or changed circumstances in your life. Call him today at (905) 434-8837. You won’t regret it!
Clarington was formally created in 1994. It is a large geographical area that includes Bowmanville, Orono and Newcastle. Large employers in the area include local government and the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. Many residents commute to nearby cities for work.
The population of Clarington is approximately 85,000 residents. Clarington residents enjoy a wonderful number of attractions and events. There are many festivals held in Bowmanville each year. Residents can see some excellent car racing events at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Each community in Clarington has an annual Santa Claus parade.
City Government
City Fire Department
Do You Want To Protect Your Family Law Rights? Call Thomas O’Malley at (905) 434-8837Today!
When spouses have negotiated a separation agreement or entered into Minutes of Settlement to settle a court case, they must carefully review the terms of the separation agreement.
If the terms of the separation agreement provide that the amount of spousal support or child support will be changed or adjusted when a payor spouse’s income changes, then a court will probably find that a payor spouse has a duty to disclose changes in their income.
Often a separation agreement will state that spousal support and child support amounts can be changed where there is a material change in circumstances. A material change clause will be viewed as a basis for finding that a payor spouse has a duty to disclose changes in their income.
In a leading case, the husband and wife were married for 19 years. The spouses settled a court case with Minutes of Settlement. The husband had to pay $6,000 a month in spousal support to the wife pursuant to the Minutes of Settlement. The husband provided his Financial Statement to the wife in which he stated that he did not anticipate any material changes in his income.
The husband received over $1,000,000 in funds from cashing in stock options during the fourteen months after the Minutes of Settlement were signed. He also received an increase of $60,000 in his salary in the year following the signing of the Minutes of Settlement.
The Ontario Court of Appeal decided that the spouses had shown an intention that the spousal support amount should change where there was a material change in a spouse’s circumstances with a change in a spouse’s income.
For example, one paragraph in the Minutes of Settlement stated that the husband’s “retirement from active employment may constitute a material change in circumstances to justify an application for variation of the quantum of spousal support.” Another paragraph stated that the wife “may earn income or supplement her income with up to $25,000 annually without this income, in and of itself, constituting a material change in the [wife’s] circumstances.”
The Court of Appeal further found that there was an implicit term in the Minutes of Settlement that the husband would disclose a change in his financial circumstances to permit any adjustments to be made to child support and spousal support on an annual basis.
The Court of Appeal explained that this implicit term was reasonable in the circumstances since the wife was entitled to rely on the husband’s representations in his Financial Statement that he did not anticipate any change in his financial situation and the husband’s sudden increase in income occurred relatively soon after the Minutes of Settlement were signed.
As the Court of Appeal stated, “the changes in circumstances occurred within a such a short period of time after the Minutes [of Settlement] had been signed that the [wife] could not reasonably have been expected to ask the [husband] if his circumstances had changed and the [wife] could not have known the information through independent inquiry.”
The Court of Appeal held that the husband had to pay $69,740 in retroactive child support and spousal support as a result of his failure to disclose his significant increase in income in the fourteen-month period after the Minutes of Settlement.
An important lesson from this case is that an high income earner or successful business owner will usually not be able to delay significant income increases until after a Separation Agreement is signed or a court case is settled with Minutes of Settlement to prevent an increase in child support and spousal support based on this substantial increase in income.
When a spouse is relying on financial representations from the payor spouse in negotiating any type of settlement, courts will not look kindly on a spouse who falsely states that they do not anticipate any major increases income and then the payor spouse has a substantial increase in income fairly soon after a settlement on child support and spousal support.
A court will often in this case order an increase in child support and spousal support since the payor spouse misrepresented his current income and future income, especially when the settlement agreement provides for changes in support amounts based on changes in a spouse’s financial situation.
In a very interesting case, the husband and wife were married for sixteen years when they separated. They had three children. The husband’s income was $63,000 when the spouses signed a separation agreement. The wife received $21,000 per year in dividend payments from one of the husband’s companies.
The husband had to pay three years of dividend payments to the wife. When he made the final dividend payment, he was released from any further spousal support liability or exposes from the wife pursuant to the terms of the separation agreement. The husband made all these payments to the wife. After the wife received her last dividend payment, she depleted her existing savings to meet her day-to-day living expenses. She sold her house, moved into a rental accommodation, and eventually moved into her mother’s townhouse. An expert in vocational assessment testified at the trial that the wife’s prospects for employment were restricted to the low end of the service industry with low pay.
In contrast to the wife, the husband’s business did very well after the spouses separated. His annual average income was $208,000 in the three years prior to the trial in this matter. He also owned three properties.
The wife started a court application for child support and spousal support against the husband three years after the husband made his final spousal support payment to the wife in the form of a dividend payment.
The terms of a separation agreement have a strong bearing on the outcome of a case involving a payor spouse’s significant change in income. Section 12(3) of the separation agreement in this agreement stated that “the court shall not make any order for spousal support which shall extend beyond May 31, 1998″ when the wife received the last dividend payment from her husband’s company. Section 12(4) of the separation agreement provided that the wife was deemed to be self-sufficient so that she was not entitled to any further spousal support when she received last dividend payment. Section 12(4) specifically stated:
“Upon completion of the husband’s obligations pursuant to this section [the spousal support section] the parties agree that the wife shall be self-sufficient and the wife shall have no further entitlement to support from the husband.”
The separation agreement also provided for a full release of spousal support after the dividend payments and other property transfers were completed.
The court first concluded that the separation agreement was negotiated in a satisfactory manner since she had a lawyer and the lawyer had an accountant review the prospects of the husband’s business. The court, however, found that the husband had an implied obligation to advise the wife about any material increases in income even though the separation agreement contained no express provision for ongoing financial disclosure.
The Ontario Court of Appeal disagreed with the lower court’s conclusion in this case. The court explained that you cannot have an implied term for the husband to disclose his annual income to provide a basis for a spousal support order when such an implied term contradicts an explicit provision in the separation agreement that releases the husband from paying any more spousal support when the last dividend payment was made to the wife.
The Ontario Court of Appeal decided that the husband did not have to pay retroactive spousal support in the amount of $274,659 plus prejudgment interest and costs, all of which totaled in excess of $500,000 since there was a spousal release clause in the separation agreement.
The importance of financial disclosure at the end of the day really depends on the terms of the settlement agreement. If you have a Separation Agreement or Minutes of Settlement with terms that demonstrate an intention, either explicitly or implicitly, that the amount of spousal support or child support should change with a change in the payor spouse’s income, the payor spouse will in most cases have a positive duty to disclose any increases in income.
When you have a settlement agreement that releases a spouse from paying spousal support at any particular time, now or at some point in the future, this spouse does not have a positive duty to disclose changes in their income.
STOP and ask yourself where you will be in one or two months if you don’t get the advice and assistance of a dedicated Clarington lawyer with a solid background in family and divorce law to help solve your separation, divorce or family court problems.
It’s not important that you get advice about your family law situation. What is important is that you get advice from an experienced Clarington family law and divorce lawyer.
When you come to your consultation with Thomas O’Malley, you get the benefit of the advice and wisdom of a professional with a proven track record as a successful Clarington family lawyer.
The truth is you need to start protecting your family law rights now and start working on a solid settlement with your spouse so that you can move on with your life.
But more importantly, you are taking control of your life again. You now know you can get a reasonable agreement with your spouse that safeguards your legal rights and you are getting excellent legal representation if you are involved in a family court case when you are working with Thomas O’Malley.
Despite all the frustration and anxiety, you can now see a light at the end of the tunnel with the settlement of your family law issues.
Don’t even think about missing this opportunity to get started on protecting your family law rights. Call Thomas O’Malley today at (905) 434-8837 to schedule your initial consultation.
Without a doubt, now is the time to start protecting your future!
Thomas O’Malley
Clarington Family Law and Divorce Lawyer
Tel.: (905) 434-8837 Fax: 905-434-8943
Serving residents in Clarington and Durham Region