Do Affairs Mean You Pay More on an UHNW Divorce?
The answer is, usually no, in BC and Canada, for both spousal support and property division but there are exceptions to ensure family money isn’t wasted on the affair that reduces the property to be divided.
Do Affairs Mean You Pay More On An UHNW Divorce? Tel: 604 602 9000
Ask yourself: Did the affair cause the marriage breakdown or did the marriage breakdown cause the affair?
Worse still, gossip AND in some cases public shaming by media, causes financial and mental health damage to the spouses, their children and to third parties. In one recent high profile case the media firestorm has led to public humiliation and job loss. This likely means there will be less money for child and spousal support and the children will suffer lifelong trauma that can take years to repair.
Does Adultery Impact Spousal Support in Canada?
Do the media and meme sites really need to monetize alleged affairs without any consideration of the impact on the children and the horrific damage this monetization in social media causes to the family unit? We think it is shameful and misguided, but we know we are in the minority because as far as the media is concerned, this is catnip to them and their viewers. Imagine the incalculable damage to the children of this couple and to the wife and husband and alleged paramour and her family who have had their photos displayed across countless media sites.
Counterintuitively, if your spouse left you for a far wealthier spouse, this no doubt hurts at first but the silver lining might be that it reduces spousal support paid as the new relationship may reduce the ex-spouse’s needs.
MacLean Law has set the highest spousal support awards for a woman at $100,000 a month YES A MONTH and also for a professional man earning over $400,000 at $30,000 a month ( have you ever seen a case this big where a man wins? We thought not and Courts are moving towards gender neutral awards meaning men need to be treated fairly too ,although Rollie Thompson of SSAG says big spousal support wins for men are so rare and our win seems the highest) so we know how UHNW divorces work.
In Canada before 1968, the only grounds for divorce were adultery or cruelty. However, in 1968, the Divorce Act was amended to permit divorce for other reasons, including physical and mental cruelty and separation for at least three years. The Divorce Act was amended in 1986 to reduce the separation period to one year, with no requirement to prove “fault” by either spouse. The fault grounds for divorce are also available.
Does Adultery Affect Family Property Division In Canada?
Adultery is not generally a consideration in the division of property or spousal support in Canada. However, in those cases where the actual affair has led to substantial and significant financial misconduct-for example, where one spouse spent considerable money on the affair-the court will likely adjust the division of the property. The main focus is to make sure the division of property is fair and equitable.
COLDPLAY CONCERT CEO AFFAIR IS SALACIOUS BUT MOSTLY IRRELEVANT
Most everyone has been force fed salacious details of a kiss cam video at a Coldplay concert. Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigned and likely is negotiating an exit package as he and his alleged head-of-HR paramour after they were spotted embracing on a Coldplay concert “kiss cam”.
The question is, do employment law and family law cases focus on the same issues or are they completely different? Does losing your job for an affair really help the other spouse get higher spousal support and a maximal property settlement? Obviously not.
How do family judges deal with affairs, failure to contribute, being messy, nagging, refusal of sex, arguing, financial spending, secret purchases of Birken bags, supercars and who caused the marriage to fail etc.?
They will mostly ignore whose fault the marriage failure was caused by, because to do otherwise opens a “can of worms” that really does not assist in dividing property and deciding spousal support, The focus must be to help people move forward as winners free of bitterness and recrimination and to let children thrive and spend maximum time with both parents.
Do Affairs Mean You Pay More On An UHNW Divorce?
Lorne MacLean KC was counsel on Canada’s most famous spousal support misconduct in Leskun v. Leskun. which went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. The decision was soundly castigated by family law experts in Canada as unsound. We think our win of a far below low range SSAG award of only $2250 a month versus mid range of $15,000 a month for a husband earning in the hundreds of thousands may have impacted the SCC decision that the modest payment would continue in a long marriage.
Adultery And Spousal Support
In the controversial spousal support and affair case of Leskun, the Supreme Court of Canada addressed the impact of an affair on spousal support, ruling that while the affair itself isn’t a factor in determining support, its consequences are relevant. This means that if a spouse’s affair leads to emotional distress, depression, or inability to work, the other spouse could be obligated to pay spousal support, and the amount and duration of support could be affected. Proof is likely needed from medical experts, counsellors and others Most subsequent cases have ignored the SCC “out of left field” decision as it did not jibe with common sense and the no fault focus in Canada.
In a famous case involving the owner of the Vancouver Canucks a Justice denied the separated wife’s demands to examine her husband about an alleged affair finding that where parties had been separated for more than one year, there was no need for evidence as to adultery as grounds for divorce. and thus dismissing wife’s application for order requiring husband to answer discovery questions regarding his alleged adultery.
Vancouver UHNW Family Lawyers -Do Affairs Mean You Pay More On An UHNW Divorce?
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of 2006 Leskun v Leskun SCC:
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Not a consideration for fault:The Supreme Court clarified that a spouse’s misconduct, like an affair, is not a reason to deny or reduce spousal support.
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Consequences are relevant:However, if the affair has negative consequences on the spouse seeking support (e.g., depression, inability to work), these consequences can be considered when determining support.
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Evidence needed:The spouse claiming the affair impacted their ability to earn income needs to provide sufficient evidence, often including medical evidence.
Adultery and affairs are probably some of the most challenging and emotionally intense problems a marriage will experience. Sometimes, it can be the very reason why people file a divorce. In Canada, adultery and affairs are dealt with under the federal Divorce Act which determines the legal grounds for the dissolution of marriage.
Vancouver Best High Net Worth Divorce Lawyers
While this is salacious on social media, top ultra high net worth divorce lawyers know that affairs have no impact on whether you get spouse or support, whether you pay more spouse support, and whether you get more than half of Family property.
There may be some regimes were fault still matters, but most regimes do not want to go through the minutia of who caused the break up, and whether the affair was caused by the other spouse, being equally discordant in their behaviour as it affects a loving marriage
Does Cheating Affect My Family Property Award in Canada?
In Canada, divorce is based on the principle of “no-fault” divorce. This means that the reasons for the marriage breakdown, such as adultery or cruelty, are not the determining factor for granting a divorce. Instead, the Divorce Act focuses on whether the marriage has broken down, which can be established by a one-year period of separation. While fault-based reasons can be presented to potentially expedite the divorce process, they do not impact the legal obligations or entitlements of either spouse.
Contact us to find out what the real factors are for property division and spousal and child support in Canada if you are an ultra high net worth family member considering separation.
