Blog Posts

A 43 year old fitness instructor was participating in a guided horse trail ride in Langley, British Columbia. After selecting a horse affectionately known as “Douggy”, the woman, a guide and two other riders set out on the trail. Partway through the ride, the group stopped for a break to dismount and see the scenery. […]

Like everything in family law, spousal support and your right to it are different shades of gray. Nothing is black and white, and therefore nothing is an easy, yes or no answer. In part it depends on what came first? Spousal support or a new spouse. In part it depends on the reason you’re entitled […]

When couples get engaged and get married, they often hope that the relationship will withstand the test of time and circumstance. They often see their union as a romantic venture rather than the financial partnership that it also is. And having a conversation about prenuptial agreements is probably one of the last items most couples to […]

Blended or step families are becoming the new norm in Vancouver, British Columbia, and all over Canada. There are many reasons people move on to a new spouse or partner. Sometimes it is because they are widowed or widower and are looking to begin a new relationship, and sometimes they realize after having children that […]

On August 6, 2015, a suspected impaired driver driving her burgundy-colored sedan north caused an accident in the Pattullo Bridge. From different news reports, it was reported that she was attempting to overtake the vehicles in front of her. Instead, she went into the centre lane and plowed through the pylons and eventually crashed into […]

Master Baker confirms that lawyers should agree on both “any facts or assumptions of fact agreed to by the parties” and “any assumptions of facts” that the party wishes the expert to consider” before the expert is appointed. In Parton v. Parton, the parties had entered a consent order appointing a joint expert in business […]

While reading the news last week, I came upon a CBC article of a woman suing her employer for being refused paid maternity leave for her pet (from CBC.ca). I highly doubt that she’ll get anything other than awareness to animal law from her claim. However, it does make you question whether family pets are […]

In family law, claims of adultery are generally irrelevant to any issue other than whether there has been a breakdown of the relationship. Adulterers continue to have all of the rights and obligations found in the Family Law Act. On July 20, 2015, CBC reported that Ashley Madison, the popular infidelity website which encourages married […]

In a March 2015 decision about the division of family property, Walburger v. Lindsay, Madam Justice Fitzpatrick applies the significantly unfair test to the division of a home in Parksville on Vancouver Island. Under the Family Law Act, property is divided into family property and excluded property. Family property is divided equally unless the husband […]

CNN reported today that a woman somewhere in New York may serve her husband divorce papers via Facebook. A link to that story may be found here. In Canada, service via social networking sites is not a new concept and has been ordered on a number of occasions. For example, most recently in Eastview Properties […]

Your estate includes everything you own: tangible, intangible, real, personal and even digital. Often, when estate planning, people forget about the intangible and digital. Examples of digital property you might own includes domain registrations, online or digital bank accounts and financial accounts, file-sharing accounts, social networking accounts, digital pictures, videos, music, books and email accounts. […]

Kim Tenhunen is a partial paraplegic who has been in a wheelchair since she fell off a horse when she was a teenager. She lives in a home located in Sooke, BC. On May 11, 2011, while her mother Beverly Tenhunen was visiting Kim’s home, Beverly slipped and fell on the ramp entry. During her […]

Clarissa Szakacs, a 46 year old mother of a 6 year old child, met her child’s father online and became pregnant during their first meeting in person. She and the child’s father, Donovan Clarke, never cohabited. Since her child’s birth, Ms. Szakacs has worked vehemently to keep Mr. Clarke from his daughter. In reasons reported […]

Carson Dean, a 14 year old student at Wellington Secondary School in Nanaimo thought it would be a fun prank to attach his friend’s padlock to the sprinkler head in his school. Upon jumping for several minutes, Carson managed to attach the lock causing the sprinklers in the entire school to become activated. Carson’s actions […]

In British Columbia, a common law relationship is what the courts call it once two people have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for more than 2 years.

The Vancouver Police Department Motorcycle Drill Team has performed for British Columbians since 1954. Seeing their bikes in parades, escorting black limousines or even parked in Kerrisdale evoke special feelings for many that go back to childhood. The youthful among us would even consider parking their bike alongside these well-known and well-loved Harley-Davidson Road King […]

Vancouver personal injury lawyers read ICBC’s 2013 list of the top ten Lower Mainland car crash intersections with mixed feelings. As the following Supreme Court of Canada excerpt sets out, likelihood of harm is one measure of reasonable conduct when driving a motor vehicle. In other words, the greater the likelihood of harm, the more […]

The death of a parent or spouse is painful; finding out you have been disinherited can be traumatic. Across Canada, sons, daughters and spouses are left out of wills for causes that may seem more appropriate to soap operas than the real world. Sometimes, it is just poor estate planning. In most provinces and states, […]

Washington State Troopers are cracking down on Left Lane Bandits, slower-moving vehicles that camp out in the left-hand lane. These fast lane hoarders reduce the efficiency of highways and increase the frustration of their fellow drivers. Worst of all, they put themselves and others at greater risk of collisions. The left lane is the passing […]

Last year, the Associated Press released a three-part series on which jobs are being lost to new technology. Their research found that nearly all of the disappearing jobs are not low-paid, low-skilled positions, but rather reasonably-paid, traditionally middle-class professions including lawyers, loan officer and more. While jobless recovery and new technological advancements pose a more immediate […]