Legal Information/ Legal Briefs
Legal Briefs
Until 2010, these legal briefs provide examples of judgments pertaining to everyday situations. Beginning in 2012, they deal with various topics of general interest, such as rental issues, family law, human rights, civil liability, insurance, dealings between spouses and social aid. They are intended to inform and to prevent undesirable situations.
Legal Briefs 2013
December
Same-sex spouses, a reality... know your rights! 
MARRIAGE
In Québec, since March 19, 2004, it has been possible for same-sex couples to marry or enter into a civil union.
As a result, in the event of a separation or divorce, same-sex couples who are married or in a civil union benefit from the various types of protection provi
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November
What is child pornography?
Perhaps you sometimes visit porn sites. So as not to commit an offence associated with child pornography, you must avoid accessing images or films that show a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of 18.
Child pornography is a crime that was added to the Criminal Code fai
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October
HAS - Homologation assistance service for agreements
The HAS is intended for parties who wish, for whatever reason, to modify arrangements pertaining to child custody or access rights or to support involving a child or a child and a former spouse, where the parties have previously obtained a judgment with respect to child custody or support. Only peop
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September
How can a decision of the Régie du logement be executed?
Martin sued his landlord before the Régie du logement for damages and to force him to make repairs to his dwelling. After a lengthy legal battle, Martin obtained a judgment in his favour granting him $1,500 in damages.
Now, Martin is wondering what to do in order to collect the sums owed to h
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June
Can I be compensated by the IVAC and also sue my attacker?
Joëlle was the victim of a violent crime that caused her serious injuries, some of which will never heal. Her attacker was caught and she is therefore thinking about taking him to court in order to be compensated for the harm she suffered. In addition, Joëlle was informed by the investigators in cha
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May
Misconduct and employment insurance
Section 30 of the Employment Insurance Act1 stipulates that a person cannot receive employment insurance benefits if they lose their job because of their misconduct or if they voluntarily leave their job without just cause. The notion of misconduct has been defined in the case law
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May
The obligation of support for spouses
Marie and Robert have been married for 25 years. During their marriage, Robert worked as an engineer in a well-known company and, on average, earned $150,000 a year. Marie stayed home to look after their three children and their home. During this time, Marie never held a paying job, because she was
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April
Wasting of property : Consequences during the partition of the Family Patrimony
You have been married to Pierre for 20 years. You left him due to his gambling problem. He admitted to you that he was going to the Montreal Casino on a daily basis. Two months before your separation, you noticed that Pierre had withdrawn everything from his RRSP, an amount of $20,000. As for you, you accumulated $15,000 in your RRSP while the two of you lived together. You wonder whether you will have to share this amount with Pierre.
The purpose of the family patrimony is to create an economic union between the spouses. The spouses contribute money, property or services to the patrimony. As a general rule, in a divorce or separation from bed and board, the value of the family patrimony is partitioned equally between the spouses. Exceptionally, the value of the patrimony can be split unequally, in particular, by not partitioning an asset such as an RRSP. One of the reasons justifying an unequal partition is the irresponsible conduct of one of the spouses, such as the conduct of Pierre who chose to squander his money at the casino. It must be proved that, through his conduct, Pierre violated his obligation to contribute to the creation or preservation of the family patrimony and that an injustice would result from its equal partition.
Moreover, the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec provide that when one spouse has “alienated or misappropriated”—that is, sold, given or disposed of—property in the family patrimony during the year preceding the application for divorce or separation from bed and board, the other spouse can ask the court for a compensatory payment. If more than one year has elapsed since the property was alienated, the other spouse can still apply for a compensatory payment, but he will have to prove that the alienation was done for the purpose of reducing his share.
Consequently, you can ask the court for a compensatory payment, given that Pierre deprived you of the partition of his RRSP. You can also ask for an unequal partition of the value of the family patrimony because of Pierre’s irresponsible conduct, given that he squandered his RRSP to gamble at the casino rather than contributing to the growth of the family patrimony.
If you satisfy your burden of proof, the court could conclude that you are entitled to keep your entire RRSP.
Legal brief *
April
2013
Number
08
Text prepared by Me Nathalie Lefebvre,avocate au bureau d’aide juridique Crémazie à Montréal
* The information set out in this document is not a legal interpretation.
The masculine is used to designate persons solely in order to simplify the text.
April
The IVAC says I’m the author of my own misfortune – What can I do?
Pierre-Olivier occasionally uses illegal drugs. One day, he asks a friend to get him some drugs for a party he is organizing at his home that weekend. During a meeting a few hours after the transaction, the two men get into a verbal argument about an old love feud that goes back several years. While
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March
Repossession of the dwelling by the landlord
Marc and Claudia have been tenants in the same dwelling for the past 10 years. Two days ago, they received a notice of repossession of the dwelling from their landlord.
The landlord informed them that he will repossess their dwelling at the end of the lease, so his 18-year-old son, who is a f
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March
I was injured at work - What should I do?
Nowadays, people are quite familiar with the program of the CSST (Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) and know that they can claim benefits from this agency if they are injured at work. However, when filing an application, many people approach the process rather clumsily, both as re
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February
Child support
Arthur and Marine had been living together for 5 years. They had two children, Philippe and Frédéric.
For some time, things between them had not been going well and they decided to separate. They therefore each found a new place to live and agreed that Marine would have custody of the childre
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January
My neighbours are too noisy.What are my rights?
You've been living for a short while in an apartment that seemed to be a peaceful haven when you visited the premises before signing the lease. Now, however, you are being disturbed by neighbours who have little respect for your peace and quiet. They turn up the music, even late at night, slam doors
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January
Psychosocial assessments in family matters:Part of the Evidence
A psychosocial assessment is an assessment performed by a specialist in social sciences. It is a complete and unbiased assessment of the family and social situation of a child about whom there is a court dispute involving custody or visitation rights.
The purpose of the expert assessment is t
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