COVID-19 Family Law Decisions » Guerin v. Guerin, 2020 ONSC 2016

MOTION FOR EXCLUSIVE POSSESSION OF MATRIMONIAL HOME AND ACCESS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS

Source: CanLII

In the recent case of Guerin v. Guerin, the Court dealt with a urgent motion for exclusive possession of the matrimonial home and that the contact between the Father and children be by video chat/telephone. The Court granted the Mother’s request to have exclusive possession of the home and that the Father’s access to the children be by electronic means temporarily.

Prior to the order, the parties had been in a “nesting arrangement” where they would each move in and out of the home on alternate weeks. Since COVID-19, the parties had both remained in the home.

In this case, the Mother had extensive pre-existing health conditions and medical evidence that she was to self-isolate as much as possible. The Mother stated that the Father was not adhering to COVID-19 protocol and the Father’s evidence was that he was following the protocols (though the evidence before the Court was to the contrary).

In making the decision, the Honourable Justice Doyle stated that the decision was based solely on the events in the specific family and the evidence supporting the Father’s lack of following the COVID-19 protocols, as well as the medical evidence regarding the Mother. Justice Doyle furthered that the decision was made on a temporary basis in an exceptional time. The Father will be able to return to the Court after April 17, 2020 to provide the Court with evidence of his compliance with the COVID-19 protocol.