If future international pop-sensation Oksana Grigorieva accepted Mad Mel’s
settlement offer way back in 2010, this article would be alternatively titled –
Ransom. Unlike the one-word films, Payback, as it were, is working out better
for the former mega-star as it pertains to Family Law. Last year, Mr.
Gibson reportedly offered Ms. Grigorieva (the mother of his youngest child,
Lucia) a settlement that would have seen her collect $15 million and obtain
primary custody of Lucia. Apparently, she was advised by her legal counsel
to hold out for more money and try to get Mr. Gibson to agree to a more
favorable parenting arrangement.
As it turns out, the advice given was not very sound. Ms. Grigorieva signed
a settlement for just $750,000.00 last week. The agreement also stipulates
that the parties will have joint custody of Lucia. Ms. Grigorieva has
expressed concerns about Mr. Gibson’s anger management issues and
was concerned for the well-being of the child. She originally stated that
she had hoped to minimize Mel’s unsupervised contact until the child
was over three years of age. Under the executed agreement, no such clause
exists and Mel is authorized to have unsupervised access with his daughter
immediately.
If these two parties were Canadian, how would the sections of the
Family Law Act pertaining to domestic contracts apply to them? Section 54 reads as follows:
Separation Agreements
(a) ownership in or division of property;
(b) support obligations;
(c) the right to direct the education and moral training of their children;
(d) the right to custody of and access to their children; and
(e) any other matter in the settlement of their affairs.
Without knowing the full particulars of the agreement, it is hard to speculate
as to which issues referenced in Section 54 were most prominent during
negotiations. We can speculate, however, as to how some of the issues
were resolved. It would appear that Mel’s support obligations have
been addressed through one lump-sum payment of $750,000.00. Because Mel
will have Lucia reside with him from time-to-time, the contributions he
would make during their stays together are factored into the calculation
for support. With an agreement like this, it is unlikely that any additional
monetary award would be ordered by the court, but what would happen if
Mel flipped out and threatened or endangered the health and safety or
Lucia or her mother? Is the agreement impenetrable? Section 56 reads as follows:
Provisions that may be set aside or disregarded
Contracts subject to best interests of child
56.(1) In the determination of a matter respecting the education, moral training
or custody of or access to a child, the court may disregard any provision
of a domestic contract pertaining to the matter where, in the opinion
of the court, to do so is in the best interests of the child.
Therefore, if proof surfaced that Mel was abusive towards the child and
the court believed it was in the best interests of the child to have a
different relationship with her father, with respect to custody and access,
then the court could order that the relevant provisions in the agreement
be set aside.