June 27, 2023: Imputing Income: More of an Art than Science

“As explained by Justice Aston in Osmar at para 5, there is a large body of case law on the interpretation of s. 19 of the Guidelines, not all of which his consistent. Hence, judicial discretion makes the determination of income in this area more of an art than a science. This was further explained by Justice Chappel in Kinsella v. Mills, 2020 ONSC 4785, 2020 CarswellOnt 12428 at para 167:

…The process of imputing income is not an exact science, particularly when the evidence before the court is imprecise or incomplete (Valley, at para. 10). In Korman, at para 51, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that the court may impute income to a spouse in excess of their presumptive section 16 income where the imputed amount is supported by the evidence, and is consistent with the Guidelines objectives of establishing fair support based on the financial means of the parties “in an objective manner that reduces conflict, ensures consistency and encourages resolution.” The overall goal is to determine a figure that fairly reflects the parties financial circumstances….”

            Leal v. Leal, 2022 ONSC 3813 (CanLII) at 40