Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us!

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Happy Canada Day!

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Merry Christmas ????????

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The BCCA upheld The Honourable Mr. Justice Baird’s decision in Hague v. Hague, 2021 BCSC 771 where Mr Hauge’s obligation to pay spousal support was terminated due to his retirement. Justice Baird, the chamber’s judge, stated,

The respondent’s decision to retire was reasonable in the circumstances. It constitutes a material change in his economic circumstances. Financially speaking the parties are in equivalent positions. I hereby order that the respondent’s obligation to pay spousal support is terminated.

The chamber’s judge gave consideration to the facts that Mr Hauge’s decision to retire was voluntary, Mr Hauge was not ill or disabled, he could have continued to work, and he was not dismissed or laid off. The judge found however, that the retirement was not an early retirement, as considered in the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines:

When will a retirement be described as “early”? The courts are not always clear. For our purposes, an “early” retirement is either a retirement on a reduced pension or a retirement on a full or unreduced pension before 65 years of age, in the absence of health issues or other special circumstances. If the court sees the early retirement as “voluntary” and not necessary or reasonable, then it is likely that spousal support will not be changed.

The judge further found that, (1) Mr Hauge was over 65 when he retired, (2) had worked for 45 years. (3) his pension was fully vested and payable, (4) people generally retire at this stage of life, (5) Ms Hauge had permanently left the workforce herself and it was reasonable for Mr Hauge to do the same thing, (6) there was no evidence that Mr Hauge’s decision was motivated by a desire to stop paying support, and (7) there was no reason to think that Mr Hauge would return to work.

The judge also noted that, (1) the economic consequences of the marriage and its breakdown have been equitably shared, (2) both parties were at an acceptable age for retirement, (3) their assets had been divided equally, (4) Ms Hauge was in a good financial position, (5) Mr Hauge had paid a significant sum in support since the separation, (6) the parties’ future incomes would be similar, and (7) the parties had liquid assets of a similar value.

Mr Hauge owned a home whereas Ms Hauge did not. But the court found it was Ms Hauge’s choice not to use her matrimonial settlement money to buy a home, so Mr Hauge was not liable to compensate her for this.

The BCCA did agree that the chambers judge misapprehended and misstated certain facts. However, it did not find that those facts were material, nor did it affect the overall case. The BCCA dismissed Ms Hauge’s appeal upholding the chamber’s judge’s decision.

The information published here is general information and not intended to be legal advice. For legal advice regarding your particular circumstances, always consult a lawyer. 

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Merry Christmas from our family to yours. Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

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1. BE HEALTHY. Comply with all [BC CDC] and local, [provincial]  and federal guidelines, and model good behavior for your children with intensive hand washing, wiping down surfaces and other objects that are frequently touched, and maintaining social distancing. This also means BE INFORMED. Stay in touch with the most reliable media sources and avoid the rumor mill on social media.

2. BE MINDFUL. Be honest about the seriousness of the pandemic but maintain a calm attitude and convey to your children your belief that everything will return to normal in time. Avoid making careless comments in front of the children and exposing them to endless media coverage intended for adults. Don’t leave the news on 24/7, for instance. But, at the same time, encourage your children to ask questions and express their concerns and answer them truthfully at a level that is age-appropriate.

3. BE COMPLIANT with court orders and custody agreements. As much as possible, try to avoid reinventing the wheel despite the unusual circumstances. The custody agreement or court order exists to prevent endless haggling over the details of timesharing.

4. BE CREATIVE. At the same time, it would be foolish to expect that nothing will change when people are being advised [to stay home]. Attractions such as amusement parks, museums and entertainment venues are closing all over [British Columbia] and the world. In addition, some parents will have to work extra hours to help deal with the crisis and other parents may be out of work or working reduced hours for a time. Plans will inevitably have to change. Encourage closeness with the parent who is not going to see the child through shared books, movies, games and FaceTime or Skype.
5. BE TRANSPARENT. Provide honest information to your co-parent about any suspected or confirmed exposure to the virus, and try to agree on what steps each of you will take to protect the child from exposure. Certainly both parents should be informed at once if the child is exhibiting any possible symptoms of the virus.

6. BE GENEROUS. Try to provide makeup time to the parent who missed out, if at all possible. Family law judges expect reasonable accommodations when they can be made and will take seriously concerns raised in later filings about parents who are inflexible in highly unusual circumstances.

7. BE UNDERSTANDING. There is no doubt that the pandemic will pose an economic hardship and lead to lost earnings for many, many parents, both those who are paying child support and those who are receiving child support. The parent who is paying should try to provide something, even if it can’t be the full amount. The parent who is receiving payments should try to be accommodating under these challenging and temporary circumstances. Adversity can become an opportunity for parents to come together and focus on what is best for the child. For many children, the strange days of the pandemic will leave vivid memories. It’s important for every child to know and remember that both parents did everything they could to explain what was happening and to keep their child safe.

Despite best efforts problems may still arise. Currently regular operations of the BC Provincial Court is suspended as are those of the BC Supreme Court for all non-urgent matters. If a family issue arises during this time, contact your lawyer to discuss options available for you. If you do not have a lawyer, consider contacting a family mediator to discuss resolving the issue through mediation. Bajpai Law Corporation (Vishal K Bajpai) will be carrying out mediations (and where appropriate, arbitrations) by video or teleconference. We are happy to help you resolve problems that may arise between parents during this unprecedented time. Please contact us by email (reception@bajpai.ca) or telephone (604.746.2972) if you need help with your family matter.

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