Financial Divorce Counselling Useful Links
Click on topic of your choice to go to a useful link. Use of these links is not an endorsement of their products and services. My goal is only to assist you in finding useful information that is already available on the web. Blair Corkum Financial Planning Inc. accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of information presented on these sites. You should do your own due diligence.
Covid-19 and Parenting your children – shared parenting
Sources of Useful Information
- Your provincial or territorial public legal education organization, which you can find “here.” For example, in PEI, family law information is available from Community Legal Information Association of PEI . Particularly see their library of publications for lots of easy to read information about separation and divorce in PEI. For other locations, search for your provincial legal education association – see this Justice Canada site for links.
- for free legal information, lawyer referral service, and Do-It-Yourself Divorce Kit
- Canadian Bar Association publications
- Getting Separated or Divorced – Information from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
- Family Law information from the federal Dept. of Justice
- Information about PEI Legal Aid services
- Non-Lawyers Guide to Legal Terms – A U.K. document but with much in common with Canadian terms
Support and Canada Child Benefit Calculators and Information
- Child Support Calculator from Government of Canada when you know the income on which support is based – if not, see the Do-It-Yourself workbook link below.
- For child support to be paid Nov 22, 2017 and later – click here
- For Jan 1, 2011 to Nov 21, 2017 (perhaps for retroactive orders) – click here
- Support Calculator online – child and spousal support calculator from DivorceMate Software Inc.
- Do-It-Yourself workbook for calculations of income and child support provided by the federal Dept. of Justice.
- Calculate your Canada Child Benefit, GST/HST Credit and other family benefits at this CRA site (or get further information here)
- To apply for a change to the Canada Child Benefit and GST/HST Credit, see Canada Child Benefits Application Form RC66. Read the instructions – you may not need to complete the form. This will be the case if primary parenting responsibilities have changed from one parent to the other, or to shared custody (between 40% and 60% sharing of physical time with a child). For shared custody, if you already get the benefits, you may use “Apply for child benefits” in My Account at cra.gc.ca; by calling 1-800-387-1193; or by sending Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application, indicating shared custody; or sending CRA a letter explaining the shared custody situation.
- CRA web site to compare business income statements to Canadian statistics by province – help in looking for under-reported income
Finding Asset Values
Guessing at values and using the wrong one could cost you thousands of dollars; letting legal and accounting professionals argue over values could also cost you many thousands of dollars. Why not hire a professional appraiser or search the web for resale statistics to get good estimates at a reasonable cost? Remember, it is the current resale value of your asset – not the original or replacement cost. A few examples (and for professionals, consider interviewing 2 or 3 to meet your specific needs by way of experience and cost):
- For vehicles, try your local dealer or the Canadian Black Book site, VMR Canada or Auto Trader
- Valuations of defined benefit pension plans (those that pay a guaranteed lifetime pension based on your wage, such as from the provincial and federal governments, and certain large companies) require use of an actuary (a pension valuator). Find an actuary from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, but ensure they have pension valuation experience. I have had good experience with Jamie Jocsak of BCH Actuarial Services Inc.
- Real estate appraisals – Find an appraiser at Appraisal Institute of Canada
- What are people asking for used furnishings and equipment on Kijiji and similar sites?
- To value a business, you should use someone trained to do so, unless you are certain it has negligible value. Your accountant my offer an estimate, but can he/she defend it in court and will it be the right number? Find a Chartered Business Valuator here
Counsellors / Mediators / Lawyers / Financial Divorce Specialists / Other help (for other than PEI, do an Internet search for services in your location)
- Find a Mediator in Canada – Family Mediation Canada
- Find a Mediator in Prince Edward Island – Mediationpei.com
- Psychologists – PEI Psychologists Private Practice Directory ; Other provinces click here
- 211 is an information and referral service available to support all Islanders. Whether a permanent resident, a visitor, or a service provider, this resource can help you get connected to the social, community, government and non-emergency/non-clinical health supports – See this page for web sites for various provinces. For Prince Edward Island assistance with financial counselling, such as assistance with preparation of your budget, see this page.
- Find a Lawyer in PEI – PEI Law Society Find a Lawyer
- Parenting Help – Free access to the Triple P parenting program in PEI
- Collaborative Practice PEI – Find a Family Professional
- Family Service PEI
- Family Legal Aid in PEI – 902-888-8066 (Prince County); 902-368-6540 (Elsewhere)
- PEI Positive Parenting from Two Homes – 1-877-203-8828 for free education sessions on dealing with child custody concerns
- PEI Maintenance Enforcement Program – 902-894-0383 or 902-368-6010
- PEI Mental Health Services for mental health issues, including severe stress, anxiety or depression
- Find a Chartered Financial Divorce Specialist – The Academy of Financial Divorce Specialists
- Find a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst – The Institute of Divorce Financial Analysts
Legislation and Supporting Information
- Federal Child Support Guidelines
- Family Law Act of PEI can be found on this page of PEI Statutes
- Divorce Act – Federal Dept. of Justice
- Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (2008) and the Revised User’s Guide (2016); additional references, guidance, history and documentation related to the “SSAG” can be found here.
- Family law information from Community Legal Information Association of PEI or your own provincial public legal information association
- Canada wide resource – Free Legal Answers and Referrals – legalline.ca
- Court forms for Prince Edward Island (in other provinces, search your provincial government justice web site or contact your provincial public legal information association) – for PEI, see the series 70 forms available See Form 70 I series (Financial Statement) to list assets, liabilities, income and expenses; for a form to list your assets only, see 70 L (Net Family Property Statement). For a full list of all forms for PEI, go to the Courts of PEI web site forms list.
Income Tax, Canada Child Benefit and Canada Pension Plan Information
- P102 Support Payments – Canada Revenue Agency publication
- CRA interpretation related to taxation of child and spousal support – Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C3
- CRA interpretation related to deductibility of child care expenses, including shared custody information – Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C1
- CRA Interpretation Bulletin IT-325R2 – Property Transfers after Separation, Divorce and Annulment
- Find your marginal tax rate and your average tax rate based on your income at Tax Calculators for Personal Taxes – Ernst & Young. See my article on income tax adjustments to know which rate to use.
- CRA web site to compare business income statements to Canadian statistics by province – help in looking for under-reported income.
- Forms required for separation and divorce
- C65 Marital Status Change – Canada Revenue Agency form to file within one month of separation (after being separated for 90 days)
- T1213 – Request to Reduce Tax Deductions as Source – to reduce tax withholdings from your income if you have deductions or credits known in advance of the end of the year (e.g. spousal support payments)
- T1198 – Statement of Qualifying Retroactive Lump Sum – if prepared by the payer of a lump sum payment of spousal support arrears, the recipient may have their taxes reduced. CRA will re-calculate prior year tax returns based on what year the retroactive payment relates to and issue a refund if it helps.
- To have more tax withheld if you are receiving taxable spousal support, update your form TD1 with your employer, or contact payers of other taxable income.
- T2220 Transfer from an RRSP, RRIF, PRPP or SPP to Another RRSP, RRIF, or SPP on Breakdown of Marriage or Common-law Partnership. Complete this form for transferring your RRSP type of plans to your former spouse/partner. Section I is for the person transferring; Section II is for the person receiving; Section III is for the financial institution doing the transfer. Ensure all of the account numbers are correct, and everyone signs accordingly. Normally, I suggest that the recipient of the funds complete Section II and then give the form to the former spouse/partner for completion of the balance. The personnel at the financial institutions should be very willing to help to you.
- Canada Pension Plan (CPP) splitting upon separation or divorce (Note that post-retirement benefits cannot be split.) Application form: Canada Pension Plan Splitting ISP1901
- T1158 – Registration of Family Support Payments – File this form if you have an agreement or court order that requires payment of spousal support. It is filed separately from your tax return, with a copy of the agreement or order attached.
- Canada Child Benefits Application Form RC66 – To apply for a change to the Canada Child Benefit and GST/HST Credit. Read the instructions – you may not need to complete the form. This will be the case if primary parenting responsibilities have changed from one parent to the other, or to shared custody (between 40% and 60% sharing of physical time with a child). For shared custody, if you already get the benefits, you may use “Apply for child benefits” in My Account at cra.gc.ca; by calling 1-800-387-1193; or by sending Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application, indicating shared custody; or sending CRA a letter explaining the shared custody situation
- The Home Buyer’s Plan is being updated for 2020 to allow separated couples to be eligible to use it even if they previously owned a home. If conditions are met, one person may purchase the marital home from the other person also. This CRA site discusses the new rules.
- NR4 form for payments of spousal support to a non-resident of Canada. See CRA publication T4061 NR4 for instructions
- Election to avoid capital gains tax before divorce – Prior to divorce, if a property previously owned by the taxpayer’s spouse is sold and will trigger a capital gain, an election must be filed to prevent the spouse, as original owner, from needing to report the capital gain and pay related taxes. The election is a letter filed by the transferor of the property, i.e. the original owner / spouse, to elect not to have section 74.2 of the Income Tax Act apply.
- Election to opt out of an automatic rollover – Properties with capital gains that are transferred to a former spouse because of separation will normally be transferred on a tax-deferred basis to the other spouse (i.e. rolled over). Taxes will be paid upon sale by that spouse in the future. If you wish to trigger taxes immediately, the transferor spouse should report the capital gain on their tax return for the year of the transfer – there is no other formal election form. However, the transfer should be documented in the separation agreement.
Professional organizations
- Academy of Financial Divorce Specialists
- Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
- Collaborative Practice PEI
- International Association of Collaborative Practice
- Mediation PEI
Examples and Precedents
If you are looking for precedents and examples of agreements, you can do an Internet search. These are a few that I identified using a search for “separation agreement precedent.” I remind you that I offer no advice on the reliability of information provided by these sites, and that use of a lawyer for preparation of all legal agreements is in your best interest. Always research issues related to shared custody and pension splitting because the boiler plate wording may not be correct for tax and valuation purposes. Reasons for using a lawyer, which I recommend you do, are set out in this article. While I recommend having your agreement reviewed by a tax planner regardless, particularly get tax advice on any agreements that suggest using a set-off amount instead of individual payments for child support payments in a shared parenting arrangement.
- What to include in a separation agreement – by CLIA PEI
- Precedent separation agreement for Ontario with related useful information
- Fillable online precedent from PDF Filler web site based on Ontario law
- Do it yourself separation agreement on Law Depot(R) web site for various provinces