The issue and concept of cohabitation is an extremely important one in family law, relevant to a number of issues. In essence, a couple (whether opposite-sex or same-sex) do not necessarily need to be legally married, for rights and obligations to emanate from their relationship and its breakup. For example, section 29 of Ontario’s Family...... Read More

This newsletter is based on the assumption that there is no Cohabitation Agreement or Marriage Contract in place, setting out how household contents are to be divided upon a breakdown of the relationship. For separating couples, in addition to all of the other issues that they often times are faced with and have to address,...... Read More

Allegations surrounding “alienation” in Canadian courts have increased dramatically over the past several years, along with the responses and orders that judges have made, in dealing with parental conflict in this very difficult area. The starting point in Canadian law for dealing with the relationship between a child and a non-custodial parent is the “maximum...... Read More

In Western culture, most often a marriage proposal is accompanied with an offer of an engagement ring. Engagement rings are symbols of the love, devotion, commitment and fidelity a couple shares. Conventionally, the woman’s ring is presented as a “betrothal” gift by a man to his prospective spouse while he proposes marriage or directly after...... Read More