Debts he racked up post separation, but pre-divorce, am I on the hook?

[brokenwing]

Greetings all, first time I post here and I have a couple q's.

My ex and I have been separated for three years (today to be exact)

In those three years, my ex ran up some hefty debt. Not sure how much exactly. It is all in his name as we were separated when he applied. I think one is a RB credit line, one is a RB credit card, one is a Citifinanicial loan.

He claims that I am responsible for these debts as well. These are not joint accounts as he got these loans after we had split up. However, we are not yet divorced. What are the chances that I will have to pay his debts?

I went into debt myself, post separation, obtaining student loans to finish my degree while taking care of three kids with NO child support whatsoever from him. He only started paying support this month after 14 months of nothing. Can anyone tell me my rights and my children's rights to child support arrears?

Thank you kindly

[InterprovincialParents]

Child support: Your children are entitled to arrears, but without reason, courts will not go back more than 12 months unless there is a very good reason why you have not sought it previously. Also, the court will not impose arrears that would set up a hardship situation for either parent (supposedly, although I beg to differ). He could argue that he would be in hardship, and plead to have the arrears dropped or cancelled. Regardless, I would seek arrears to the date of separation, as that is your child's right, and your ex's responsibility to his child.

Is there a separation agreement in place?

As for being on the hook...if you can prove that they are debts incurred after the marital breakdown, after you separated, no...you ought not to be on the hook. Get account opening dates in disclosure.

[blinkandimgone]

He claims that I am responsible for these debts as well. These are not joint accounts as he got these loans after we had split up. However, we are not yet divorced. What are the chances that I will have to pay his debts?

Zero chance of you being on the hook if it happened after your seperation date.

[NBDad]

Did you file the forms with CRA 90 days post separation to both inform them of the change in marital status as well as to cement a separation date?

Your ex, to put it bluntly, is blowing smoke out of his butt.

[Mess]

Child support: Your children are entitled to arrears, but without reason, courts will not go back more than 12 months unless there is a very good reason why you have not sought it previously. Also, the court will not impose arrears that would set up a hardship situation for either parent (supposedly, although I beg to differ). He could argue that he would be in hardship, and plead to have the arrears dropped or cancelled. Regardless, I would seek arrears to the date of separation, as that is your child's right, and your ex's responsibility to his child.

This was a contentious issue in our case and I was not able to find any cases that supported this idea.

If you already have a court order for support, the incomes change, and years later the recipient tries to seek arrears dating back to the change in incomes, then the courts will not always go back further than 12 months. The payor has to provide proof of income on request, but the onus is on the recipient to ask for it, and seek change in support amount.

The situation if support has never been paid and there is no court order or agreement in place is not the same. If this were so, then every dead beat parent in the province would simply have to delay as long as they could, and then only pay 12 months of arrears. In our case my ex delayed 3 years and was responsible for the full arrears. We did end up coming to a small compromise position to settle, but this was only a small percentage.