Pursuant to s. 85(1)(a) of BC’s Family Law Act,SBC c 25 (the “FLA”), property acquired by a spouse before the relationship between two spouses begins is considered “excluded property.” Because of the language of s. 81 of the FLA,and unless the court makes a determination under s. 96, excluded property is not divided equally between […]
Under the British Columbia Wills and Estate Succession Act, a court has the power to vary a Will from the original intentions of the testator. In Hagan-Bourgeault v. Martens Estate (2016 BCSC 1096), a daughter applied to have her mother’s Will varied. Tataryn v Tataryn Estate, [1994] 2 SCR 807, 93 BCLR (2d) 145 (SCC) […]
Online defamation can have very harmful effects on your life. The power of the Internet means that information can be spread much more quickly and have far reaching personal and professional consequences. If someone is defaming you online, there are three options which might be open to pursue. These options are aimed at stopping individuals […]
The relationship between an employer and employee is contractual. As such, there is no general principle that an employer has to employ any particular person. Employment contracts, whether written or unwritten, can therefore be terminated provided certain requirements are met. To terminate an employee, an employer must give an employee notice that they are being […]
In the recent British Columbia case of Brennan v. Burrow, 2016 BCPC 78, the purchasers of an original painting from an artist sued to recover the $9,000.00 purchase price. The purchasers commissioned a painting for their West Kelowna home after viewing the artist’s work at the Calgary Stampede. The purchasers noticed a problem immediately upon […]
Hannaford v. Hannaford, 2016 BCSC 398 One issue dealt with in this decision was whether a “right of first refusal” (regarding parenting time) adopted by the parties first in Minutes of Settlement, and later incorporated into a consent order remained appropriate. The “right of first refusal” required that if one parent was unable to care […]
Sindaco v. Sindaco, 2016 BCSC 389 This case involved the determination of the appropriate amount of child support for an adult who remained a child of the marriage due to psychological disability. The adult child was estranged from his father, who was the payor, and lived with his mother, who was the recipient. The father […]
Bahniwal v. The Mutual Fire Insurance Company of British Columbia, 2016 BCSC 422 The plaintiff’s owned and operated a garden center in Oliver, BC, which was severely damaged by fire. The plaintiff’s also operated a residential rental suite on the property. In the course of responding to the fire it was discovered that the rental […]
KR v JW, 2016 BCSC 225 This decision of Justice Betton involved an in-depth analysis and application of section 61 of the Family Law Act. Section 61 provides for remedies where one person entitled to parenting time or contact with a child is wrongfully denied that parenting time or contact by a guardian of the […]
The Nanaimo B.C. law firm Heath Law LLP is very pleased to announce that Rick Killough has joined the firm effective February 1, 2016. Mr. Killough will be practicing with the ICBC Insurance Defence (Insurance Litigation) Group. Rick has practiced for more than 25 years. He spent the first 11 years of practice with Douglas, […]