It is essential to establish the date of separation of parties for the purposes of matrimonial assets under the Family Law Act.
In order to establish the date of separation, the facts of the parties’ situation must be examined. The leading case to determine this issue is of Justice Karisko in Molodowich v. Penttinen, 17 R.F.L. (2d) 376 (Ont. Dist. Ct.). The Molodowich v. Penttinen case guides the court on determining when parties are cohabiting and, of course, inversely, on determining when parties are no longer cohabiting.
In determining whether a marriage exists, the court must give greater weight to those matters that should be characteristic to a husband and wife relationship, i.e., sexual relations, joint social ventures, communication and discussion of joint family problems, etc., than to the performance or non-performance by the wife, for example, of meal preparation and laundering, tasks that can be done by any maid or housekeeper. Read the rest of this entry »
Mills & Mills LLP was proud to sponsor a hole at yesterday’s Yonge Bay Bloor Association/Toronto Midtown Business Association’s golf tournament at Wooden Sticks. It was a beautiful day for golf!
We had two foursomes play in the tournament and despite some bogeys and lost balls, fun was had by all!
On September 13, 2011, an Ontario Superior Court judge threw out a defamation suit launched by an Ottawa blogger, who claimed that an Internet chat room post damaged his reputation by calling him a Taliban supporter.
The ruling stated that the case raised no genuine issue for trial and therefore is dismissed.
The judge also ruled that the blogger was not defamed last year by the post that said he is “one of the Taliban’s more vocal supporters.” The posting amounted to an opinion, rather than a statement of fact, and therefore it was less likely to damage the blogger’s reputation - since opinions are not as readily believed. In addition, the comment was made in the context of a political blog, where insults and invective are regularly traded. The comment was not defamatory. Read the rest of this entry »
The administration of estates can be complex and time-consuming. Where there are ongoing trusts, complicated ownership structures, tax challenges or disputes among beneficiaires, the time and complexity can increase considerably.
For estates of “immediate distribution” (meaning an estate where there are no ongoing trusts to be administered and the Trustees’ role is to liquidate the estate, pay debts and taxes and distribute to the beneficiaires), the expectation has traditionally been for this work to be completed within one year. That year is often referred to as the “executor’s year”.
The reality, however, is that even simple estates can be very difficult to fully administer in one year, considering the time it takes to complete key steps such as applying forthe required Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee (the Court can take weeks or months, depending on the jurisdiction, to issue the Certificate) and waiting for a final Clearance Certificate from Canada Revenue Agency (which can take 6 – 12 months based on current processing times). The “executor’s year” nonetheless remains an important concept and provides an expectation that the essential duties of the Trustee should be completed with one year, even if final distribution is delayed waiting for final tax clearance.
In a court decision in the United States in early August, a judge ruled that a popular shoe designer, Christian Louboutin, will likely fail in its effort to stop other shoemakers from producing high-heeled women’s shoes with red soles.
The judge said it was unlikely Mr. Louboutin could defend an “overly broad” trademark granted in 2008 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The judge added that the office was “perhaps swayed in part by the widespread recognition the red sole had already attained”. The trademark notes that the color red is claimed as a feature of the mark, which consists of a lacquered red sole on footwear.
“Awarding one participant in the designer shoe market a monopoly on the color red would impermissibly hinder competition among other participants,” the judge wrote. in his decision. He said it would be as if Picasso had sued Monet, saying he painted his water lilies with a distinctive indigo that Picasso used on his images of water. Read the rest of this entry »
