On May 15, 2026, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its long-awaited decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, creating the new tort of intimate partner violence.[1] This landmark decision will have a profound impact on family law claims across Canada. For many survivors of intimate partner violence, the decision finally recognizes the insidious nature of coercive and controlling behaviour and provides a pathway to seek meaningful compensation for the harms they have suffered. This post provides an overview of the new tort of intimate partner violence and explains the types of abusive conduct that may give rise to a claim....
Clients are often concerned about what will happen to their family property if they separate. They usually want to know how assets such as their home, RRSPs, cottage and cars are going to be divided. There are very specific rules for division of property for married spouses which are set out in Part 1 of the Family Law Act (“FLA”). For non-married spouses, there are different considerations which will be covered under a separate blog post. This post focuses only on the division of property for married spouses....
The property division rules for married spouses under the Ontario Family Law Act (“FLA”) do not apply to unmarried spouses. Instead, unmarried spouses must make a claim of unjust enrichment to pursue a property claim against their former spouse. There is some confusion on this issue because unmarried spouses may qualify as common law partners for other legal reasons, such as for federal income tax purposes if they have been living together continuously for one year. However, the same definition does not apply to cohabiting or common law spouses in family law matters....
At the end of a relationship, the spouse with less income may make a support claim from the other, which is in addition to a property settlement. This additional support payment is referred to as “spousal support” in Canada.1 The Divorce Act2, sections 15(2-4) sets out the factors and objectives for an order for spousal support:
Factors – In making an order under subsection (1) or an interim order under subsection (2), the court shall take into consideration the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse, including:...
