Minority Discount

QUESTION – If I own a small interest in a property or business on the date of separation, do I get any discount from the value of my property when it is valued? ANSWER How the courts determine whether to allow a discount for a minority interest, or marketability restrictions, or both, and how much any discount should be, depends very much on the facts of each case. The courts have wide...

Property – Unequal Division of NFP

Are you entitled to an unequal division of net family properties because of the short duration of a marriage? The parties began living together in their jointly owned home in October, 2011; married in June, 2012; and separated in August, 2014. They were married for 25 or 26 months and cohabited for a total of about 34 months. Section 5(6)(e) of the Family Law Act provides for unequal division...

Promissory Note – Is it an interest in Property?

Does a monetary deposit with a promise to transfer a property in the future, confirmed by a Promissory Note, constitute an interest in the property under the Family Law Act? This is indeed an unusual situation in that there are a number of ways that the issue can be approached.  Frankly, I do not see any way that the wife can claim the husband has an interest in the property.  There is no...

Settlor of a Trust, Assets & FLA purposes

There is ample case law confirming that the beneficiary of a trust has a property interest for FLA purposes. Black v. Black, O.J. No. 1975, 18 R.F.L. (3d) 303 (H.C.J.); Brinkos v. Brinkos, O.J. No. 1140, 20 R.F.L. (3d) 445; and many others. I have never seen a case where a non-beneficiary of a trust was found to have a property interest in the trust for FLA purposes. In Spencer v. Riesberry,...

How to Calculate Net Family Property in Ontario

For the purposes of providing divorced persons with equal assets, the courts may need the parties to calculate net family property in Ontario. The net family property (NFP) is the amount of each spouse’s assets minus that person’s liabilities and debts. By calculating this amount, the judge can then accurately award the lower income spouse with an amount of property or assets that...

Podcast: How Assets are Divided in a Divorce in Ontario

document.createElement('audio'); http://zml-s3.zoomerradio.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/goldhawk/2013-09-30-2-goldhawk-podcast.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSSIn this transcribed interview with Dale Goldhawk of Zoomer Radio AM740 in Toronto, family and Toronto divorce lawyer Lorne Fine of Fine & Associates Professional Corporation offers advice on how assets are divided...

How Is A Business Valued In A Divorce?

A business is an asset that must be valued in order to determine a party’s net family property.  A business will be valued based on the “fair market value” of the business.  The buyer and the seller are assumed to be hypothetical and the transaction is assumed to take place under normal conditions.  The determination of “fair market value” of a business is...