June 2012 Law Column
Determining child support based on retained earnings
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Étienne Ruel, attorney
On November 8, 2011, the Honourable Claudette Picard, S.C.J., ordered a father to pay $679/month in child support to the mother of his two children. To determine the amount of the payments, Justice Picard had to establish the father’s income. She therefore considered his employment income, which amounted to $51 157, and the net profits of his company, which added up to $119 484, bringing the father’s total income to $187 617. An appeal was filed.
On March 22, 2012, Justices François Pelletier, Marie-France Bich and Jacques R. Fournier of the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and lowered the amount of the child support payments to $439.04/month, ruling that Justice Picard had made a mistake in applying the total net profits of the father’s business.
Seeing as the father worked some 20 hours/week at the business in addition to his regular job, the Court of Appeal deemed that it was more appropriate to consider only part of the company’s net profits ($50 000/year, in this case) since profits vary from year to year and are needed to ensure the proper functioning of the business.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling is surprising, since it considers approximately 42% of the net profits in addition to the father’s employment income while, in the vast majority of cases, the courts grant, on average, 15 to 20% of the business income.
Is a new trend developing? Only time will tell.
Extended period for retroactive support and new obligations for sharing financial information
New provisions of the Act to promote access to justice in family matters came into effect on June 15, 2012, extending the period for retroactive applications for support and outlining new obligations in terms of financial information sharing between spouses.
Recently, the Court of Appeal ruled on the interpretation of article 22 of the Environment Quality Act, which prohibits all construction projects that could impact the environment without the prior authorization of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs
May 2013
Me Joanne Côté of the municipal and environmental law group will lead a practical training session for the Association des directeurs municipaux du Québec (ADMQ)
May 2013
Me Patrick Choquette was recently appointed to the board of directors and executive committee of the Fondation Cité de la Santé...
May 2013
Prévost Fortin D'Aoust is proud to have been recognized for its citizen involvement and social commitment by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Saint-Jérôme at the Gala des Zénith 2013.
