“As stated by Justice Gordon in Bousfield v Bousfield, 2016 ONSC 3145 (CanLII), at para. 15:
Disclosure
(a) each party is required to serve a financial statement and make full and frank financial disclosure (Rule 13, Family Law Rules, and section 21, Child Support Guidelines);
(b) the onus is on the support payor to accurately disclose his income, not on the support recipient to obtain the relevant information;
(c) the failure to provide disclosure may lead to severe sanctions; and
(d) the court may draw an adverse inference against a party who has failed to comply with the obligation to provide disclosure and may impute income to him as considered appropriate (Section 23, Child Support Guidelines).
In the case of Brown v. Silvera, 2009 ABQB 523, Justice Moen dealt with the requirements for full and accurate disclosure in circumstances where parties were attempting to negotiate a separation agreement for their property. In my view her comments apply equally to parties trying to assess their position within litigation in order to obtain the proper level of child support. Moen J. stated at para. 41:
I adopt the reasoning of Justice Erb in Fercho v. Dos Santos, at paras. 40 and 45. She held that parties to a separation agreement are not expected to engage in a “scavenger hunt”, to unweave “a complex web of corporate or other intrigue” or to “make huge expenditures to untangle complex corporate structures” just to ascertain family assets. Justice Erb stated that behaviour of concealing assets is not to be encouraged. I agree.
When making a determination of what income is available for child support, the court must consider all of the factors set out in the Child Support Guidelines, O Reg 391/97. The starting point is the Objectives set out in s.1:
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- The objectives of this Regulation are,
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(a) to establish a fair standard of support for children that ensures that they benefit from the financial means of their parents and, in the case of divorce, from the financial means of both spouses after separation;
(b) to reduce conflict and tension between parents or spouses by making the calculation of child support more objective;
(c) to improve the efficiency of the legal process by giving courts, and parents and spouses, guidance in setting the levels of child support and encouraging settlement; and
(d) to ensure consistent treatment of parents or spouses and their children who are in similar circumstances.
The objectives of the Guidelines must guide the court’s interpretation of all remaining sections. The emphasis must be on establishing a fair standard of support which ensures that children benefit from the “financial means of their parents.”
In addition to the above comments I draw the parties’ attention to the following:
a. Timely, accurate and complete disclosure is the foundation of family law.
b. The Family Law Rulesmake it clear that cases must proceed in a manner that promotes the primary objective of the Rules and that is to enable cases to court to deal with cases justly.
c. It is the duty of the Court to promote the primary object and the parties and their lawyers are required to help the court to promote the primary objective.
d. Financial Statements must fully and accurately disclosure of a party’s financial situation and attach any documents to prove the party’s income that the financial statement requires.”