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Difference between revisions of "Changing Orders in Family Matters"
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Changing Orders in Family Matters (view source)
Revision as of 22:01, 19 May 2013
, 22:01, 19 May 2013→Changing consent orders for support
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The test for changing consent orders for spousal support used to be the "material change" test, described above. The question was "has there been a material change in the means and needs of either spouse that is connected to the marriage, and which would have resulted in a different order being made had the change had been known of at the time of the original order?" In the 2003 case of ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1g5lh Miglin v. Miglin]'', [2003] 1 SCR 303 the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the material change test should no longer apply to changing agreements for support and described a three-step test to be used when deciding whether a change is warranted: | The test for changing consent orders for spousal support used to be the "material change" test, described above. The question was "has there been a material change in the means and needs of either spouse that is connected to the marriage, and which would have resulted in a different order being made had the change had been known of at the time of the original order?" In the 2003 case of ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1g5lh Miglin v. Miglin]'', [2003] 1 SCR 303 the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the material change test should no longer apply to changing agreements for support and described a three-step test to be used when deciding whether a change is warranted: | ||
#Was the | #Was the agreement negotiated and entered into fairly, that is, was there an equality of bargaining power? | ||
#If the circumstances | #If the circumstances of the negotiation of the agreement were fair, then the court must consider whether the agreement met the objectives for spousal support described in the legislation at the time the agreement was made. | ||
#If the | #If the agreement did meet the objectives set out in the legislation, does the agreement still reflect the original intention of the parties and does it continue to meet the objectives for spousal support described out in the legislation? | ||
In other words, a court asked to change a consent order for spousal support should first look at the circumstances | In other words, a court asked to change a consent order for spousal support should first look at the circumstances in which the order was made. Was a party at an unfair advantage? Was a party pressured into agreeing to the order? Secondly, the court should consider whether the order met the criteria for spousal support set out in the ''Divorce Act''. Thirdly, if the order passes the first two parts of the test, the court should look at whether the consent order continues to reflect the parties' intentions at the time the order was made, and whether the terms of the consent order continue to meet the criteria set out in the legislation. | ||
==Can't find a court document or want to fix an error?== | ==Can't find a court document or want to fix an error?== | ||
