Family Lawyers in Nova Scotia Discuss Occupation Rent

As a team of family lawyers in Nova Scotia, we often discuss with our clients the different property claims available to them through the Courts. One such claim is that of occupation rent. Occupation rent is a claim that is found in the common law – that is – it is not contained in law. It is a concept which seeks to address the inequality which can occur when one spouse/owner vacates the parties’ home before the home is sold, or the equity in the home is divided. The claim is not limited to spouses, it can be claimed by common law partners and co-owners.  

Because both parties/owners are equally entitled to be in the home, neither should be excluded from the benefits of living in the home. Parties often decide to leave the home and need to incur costs to live elsewhere, while waiting for the ownership of the home to be resolved. 

Why Occupation Rent Can Be A Complicated Legal Claim To Make

Occupation rent is a claim against the party living in the home, seeking that they pay rent to the party who has left. Typically, this is awarded at the time of trial, as the party living in the home does not automatically pay rent to the party who has left in the interim. 

Occupation rent can be a complicated claim to make, and it is not a claim every litigant will be successful in establishing it.  The claim for occupation rent is very fact specific. Some circumstances where the Court has awarded occupation rent include: 

1. Where there is no mortgage on the home, and the occupying spouse is not required to make monthly mortgage payments; 

2. Where the occupying spouse has frustrated the sale of the home; 

3. Where the occupying spouse does not have care of the children. 

The Court considers all of the relevant circumstances of the parties before determining whether to grant an occupation rent claim.   

Given the very fact specific nature of the claim, and that these claims involve an understanding of all the relevant legal factors, we encourage anyone who feels they may have a claim in this regard to book a consultation with one of our family law lawyers to discuss the options that may be available to you. You can also submit the form below to request a consultation. 

Family Lawyers Explain How You Can Deduct Your Legal Fees This Tax Season

When tax season is near, and if you are seeking to deduct legal fees as part of your tax return, it is essential to be aware of the eligible expenses. It's important to know which legal expenses can be considered tax deductions. If you have incurred legal fees to collect, receive, or secure child support or spousal support, you have the option to deduct those fees on line 221 of your income tax return. However, it's crucial to remember that only the parent or spouse receiving the support can claim their legal fees as a deduction.

Learn More About Tax-Deductible Legal Fees

The tax-deductible legal fees may relate to collecting late support payments, establishing an amount for support payments, or efforts to vary support to a higher amount. Unfortunately, legal fees paid to get a separation or divorce, or to establish custody of or visitation arrangements for a child cannot be claimed at line 221.

Every January we review our clients’ accounts and determine the percentage of time and effort spent on their file relating to their child and/or spousal support claims. We then send our clients who qualify for the deduction, letters outlining our opinion of the percentage of their legal fees they are entitled to deduct. The client can provide their letter to CRA as a receipt.

We offer these letters free of charge to our clients because we believe that individuals and families should enjoy the maximum income and benefits available to them by law.

To gain further insights into tax and family law, we recommend consulting the "Tax Matters Toolkit for Clients," a publication by the Canadian Bar Association. It offers valuable information on these subjects and is accessible here. If you require assistance with family law services in Nova Scotia, feel free to reach out to us. We are here to help. Remember, you may be eligible to deduct legal fees related to these matters.

Family Lawyers Discuss New Amendments To The Divorce Act And Parenting And Support Act

Family violence is a concept which is known by many names: abuse, intimate partner violence, etc. It is also one that, unfortunately, does appear in family law litigation, and can have an impact on claims for parenting time. With the recent amendments to the Divorce Act and the Parenting and Support Act, we now have more expansive definitions to identify situations, or circumstances, which may be found to be “family violence.”

Under The Divorce Act, Family Violence Is Now Defined At S. 2(1) As:

family violence means any conduct, whether or not the conduct constitutes a criminal offence, by a family member towards another family member, that is violent or threatening or that constitutes a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour or that causes that other family member to fear for their own safety or for that of another person — and in the case of a child, the direct or indirect exposure to such conduct — and includes

• (a) physical abuse, including forced confinement but excluding the use of reasonable force to protect themselves or another person;

• (b) sexual abuse;

• (c) threats to kill or cause bodily harm to any person;

• (d) harassment, including stalking;

• (e) the failure to provide the necessaries of life;

• (f) psychological abuse;

• (g) financial abuse;

• (h) threats to kill or harm an animal or damage property; and

• (i) the killing or harming of an animal or the damaging of property; (violence familiale)

Under The Parenting And Support Act, Family Violence Is Defined At S. 2(Da) As:

“family violence, abuse or intimidation” means deliberate and purposeful violence, abuse or intimidation perpetrated by a person against another member of that person’s family in a single act or a series of acts forming a pattern of abuse, and includes 

• (i) causing or attempting to cause physical or sexual abuse, including forced confinement or deprivation of the necessities of life, or

• (ii) causing or attempting to cause psychological or emotional abuse that constitutes a pattern of coercive or controlling behaviour including, but not limited to,

(A) engaging in intimidation, harassment or threats, including threats to harm a family member, other persons, pets or property,

(B) placing unreasonable restrictions on, or preventing the exercise of, a family member’s financial or personal autonomy,

(C) stalking, or

(D) intentionally damaging property, but does not include acts of self-protection or protection of another person;

Both the Divorce Act, and the Parenting and Support Act ask the Court to consider whether there has been any family violence, and if there has been, what impact that may have had. This is one of the factors to consider, as noted, in determining what is in the children’s best interests. As a child’s best interests are determinative of what parenting arrangements should be ordered by the Court, the issue of family violence can have a significant impact on this determination. Such an analysis can be highly contextual, and fact driven. An experienced family law lawyer can help you navigate how to best approach these kinds of circumstances.

Most recently, in February of 2022, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in the decision of Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia, 2022 ONSC 1303, made a groundbreaking finding of the “tort of domestic violence” in the context of a family law proceeding. This allowed the mother to receive a monetary remedy from the father for the abuse she had endured over the years. While this concept does not yet have any reported decisions in Nova Scotia, it is an interesting new development that may warrant consideration in certain circumstances.

Our team of family lawyers in Nova Scotia are here to discuss your family law litigation case. Contact us for a consultation today.