Brief history:
My ex-husband & I separated in August 2001; divorce finalized in July 2002.
I have 2 children (18 & 19) who live with me full time; very limited contact with dad, though he lives in the same town..
I receive child support to the table based on my ex-husband's 2003 Tax Return amount.
My ex-husband, who turned 58 on December 30, 2005, accepted early retirement from his employeer, effective January 1, 2006. He immediately sought reduction in the support payments to his, now, "lower" pension income, via a letter sent to me from his attorney the middle of February, requesting my "consent" to the variation, under threat of returning to court, where, by the way, they will be seeking costs.
I understand that the company was offering early retirment incentives in order to affect labour force reduction; while I'm not positive of the actual numbers, I believe him to have been in receipt of 2 weeks salary for each year of service, which would amount to around $95,000. Several questions arise......
1) Of the lump sum payment, is there a precedent in law for me to have claim to any portion of that - considering the association with years of employment (we were married for 15 years) I'm wondering if there would be entitlement, much like CPP contribution splitting; can it not be considered income that accrued during our period of marriage that paid out at a later date? Of course, at the time of our separation, he was NEVER going to be able to retire, because I had destroyed him so financially; obviously, there would have been no ability to anticipate this potential future income.
2) How will he report this "income" for 2006 - I've spoken with several CA's & done some research on investment options for lump sum payouts, and understand there is the ability to roll this into some form of RRSP; will this income show reported on his 2006 income tax return, and if so, where?
3) What impact, if any, this income potentially has for re-assessing child support payments in 2007 (under court order, we are to reassess each June based on previous years earnings, but I have never pursued this), as well as how it would be used in pro-rating extraordinary expenses (our youngest will be off to university in the fall); I understand through case law review that extraordinary expenses are normally split based on pro-rated income, although, to this point, I have never pursued anything more than a 50/50 split (I am entitled to 67/33 based on income levels)
4) Also, because he insisted at the time of our separation agreement that he would not be able to retire until 65, the value of his pension at 65 was used in the valuation of our marital assets. There was a several thousand dollar difference in the valuation at 58 vs. 65; is it possible to re-evaluate the maritial assets based on his actual retirement age? I've read through the act, and it appears that any change to marital asset valuation must be accomplished within 2 years of the agreement, which, of course, we are past.
Would appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge or experience with this type of situation.
My ex-husband & I separated in August 2001; divorce finalized in July 2002.
I have 2 children (18 & 19) who live with me full time; very limited contact with dad, though he lives in the same town..
I receive child support to the table based on my ex-husband's 2003 Tax Return amount.
My ex-husband, who turned 58 on December 30, 2005, accepted early retirement from his employeer, effective January 1, 2006. He immediately sought reduction in the support payments to his, now, "lower" pension income, via a letter sent to me from his attorney the middle of February, requesting my "consent" to the variation, under threat of returning to court, where, by the way, they will be seeking costs.
I understand that the company was offering early retirment incentives in order to affect labour force reduction; while I'm not positive of the actual numbers, I believe him to have been in receipt of 2 weeks salary for each year of service, which would amount to around $95,000. Several questions arise......
1) Of the lump sum payment, is there a precedent in law for me to have claim to any portion of that - considering the association with years of employment (we were married for 15 years) I'm wondering if there would be entitlement, much like CPP contribution splitting; can it not be considered income that accrued during our period of marriage that paid out at a later date? Of course, at the time of our separation, he was NEVER going to be able to retire, because I had destroyed him so financially; obviously, there would have been no ability to anticipate this potential future income.
2) How will he report this "income" for 2006 - I've spoken with several CA's & done some research on investment options for lump sum payouts, and understand there is the ability to roll this into some form of RRSP; will this income show reported on his 2006 income tax return, and if so, where?
3) What impact, if any, this income potentially has for re-assessing child support payments in 2007 (under court order, we are to reassess each June based on previous years earnings, but I have never pursued this), as well as how it would be used in pro-rating extraordinary expenses (our youngest will be off to university in the fall); I understand through case law review that extraordinary expenses are normally split based on pro-rated income, although, to this point, I have never pursued anything more than a 50/50 split (I am entitled to 67/33 based on income levels)
4) Also, because he insisted at the time of our separation agreement that he would not be able to retire until 65, the value of his pension at 65 was used in the valuation of our marital assets. There was a several thousand dollar difference in the valuation at 58 vs. 65; is it possible to re-evaluate the maritial assets based on his actual retirement age? I've read through the act, and it appears that any change to marital asset valuation must be accomplished within 2 years of the agreement, which, of course, we are past.
Would appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge or experience with this type of situation.
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