Research & Publications

Damages: Estimating Pecuniary Loss (Chapter 13)

by Cara L. Brown

Chapter 13 - Economic Advantage and Disadvantage Assessments in Marriage Breakdown

The purpose of Chapter 13 is to document the process of calculating economic advantages and disadvantages upon marital breakdown according to s. 15 of the Canadian Divorce Act. In order to illustrate the quantification of the advantages and disadvantages accruing to a married couple as a result of the roles they adopted during the marriage, the chapter is divided into several sections. Specifically, the economic consequences of traditional marriage roles are reviewed, developments in the field of family law since Moge v. Moge and Bracklow v. Bracklow are summarized, the role of expert evidence is evaluated, and the theoretical underpinnings of economic advantage and disadvantage are discussed. This chapter also provides an overview of various data sources regarding the incidence and amount of spousal support awards, as well as a discussion of how the economic advantage/disadvantage methodology may be useful for quantifying pecuniary damages in Family Relief Act claims.