May 28, 2020 – Obligation to First Families

“In Fisher v. Fisher, 2008 ONCA 11 (Ont. C.A.) at para. 39, the court stated:

While courts generally recognize a “first-family-first” principle (which provides that a payor’s obligations to the first family take priority over any subsequent obligations), inevitably new obligations to a second family may decrease a payor’s ability to pay support for a first family. [Emphasis Added]

As explained in Fisher, and also in Dean v. Dean, [2016] O.J. No. 3521 (Div. Ct.) at para. 83, an obligation to a second family must be considered in context.  For example, was it a voluntary assumption of an obligation for a second family when the payor knows, or ought to have known, of his pre-existing obligation to his first family.  Similarly the court should consider whether there is any evidence that the payor’s obligations to his first family will impoverish his second family.”

Oja v. Oja, 2019 ONSC 3277 (CanLII) at 34-35