Wife did not move expeditiously to set aside cohabitation agreement

Husband separated from first spouse in 1992 and parties began cohabiting in 1993. In 1995 husband presented draft cohabitation agreement to wife and she signed agreement in 1996. Parties did not provide financial statements detailing their assets and liabilities at any time before cohabitation agreement was signed and neither made any direct or indirect request for financial disclosure from other. Parties married in 1998, separated in 2002, reconciled in 2007 and separated again in 2010. Wife applied to set aside domestic contract. Application dismissed . It was undisputed that cohabitation agreement met technical requirements for domestic contract. Onus rested on party seeking to invalidate domestic contract to satisfy one or more criteria in s. 56(4) of Family Law Act. Party to marriage contract cannot enter into it knowing of shortcomings in disclosure and then rely on those shortcomings as basis to have contract set aside. Husband’s failure to provide financial disclosure to wife was deliberate in sense that it was intentional omission but was not done to hide assets from wife. There was no duress, undue influence or unconscionable circumstances and wife made no effort to seek disclosure from husband. Wife did not move expeditiously to set aside cohabitation agreement and husband fulfilled his obligations under cohabitation agreement. Husband’s non-disclosure was immaterial to wife’s decision to enter into agreement and wife would have signed agreement on same terms in any event.

Golton v. Golton (2018), 2018 CarswellOnt 17542, 2018 ONSC 6245, R. Raikes J. (Ont. S.C.J.).