Involving Non-parties in Family Law Litigation

with Mary Tersigni

Transcript of Involving Non-parties in Family Law Litigation

Hi, my name is Mary Tersigni and I am a lawyer with Feldstein Family Law Group. Today I am going to be speaking about who may be involved in family law litigation. Typically, the parties to litigation include the person who makes a claim in a matter, and the person against whom the claim is being made.

When commencing a Court action, as outlined in Rule 7(3) of the Family Law Rules, the person starting a case must name every person who they are making a claim against.

A court is not permitted to make orders against any third party who is not named accordingly in the action. With that having been said, Rule 7 (5) of the Family Law Rules permits a party to be added to the family law litigation after it has already been commenced, by a court order. This section allows a Court to add a third party to the family law proceeding if it is determined that this added person will contribute to obtaining information, that will secure obligations for support or equalization.

It is important to remember that this section is highly discretionary, and a Court will not make an order to add a party to a proceeding unless the person requesting same can meet the high threshold of proving that the added party may be held accountable for support or an equalization payment. According to the case law, unless an order could be made in favour of, or against the individual in question, the court should not make an Order to add the individual. Although the high threshold may seem unfair, Rule 7(5) is meant to protect potential third parties from the involvement in family law proceedings. If this were not in place, there would be the possibility that many individuals may want to include their in-laws or their spouse’s new partner as part of the proceedings without valid reasoning. Such an action would undoubtedly be a waste of the Court’s time and the time of the third party.

If you would like to learn more about family law litigation, visit our website at www.separation.ca. If you need legal advice about your own situation, please call us to schedule an initial consultation. Thanks for watching.