Parents do what they can to help their children. It is now common for children of parents with means to be gifted a down payment for a house or to receive regular cash gifts to supplement their family income.

But if parents consistently support a child and his or her family and improve the family’s lifestyle, what happens when the adult child separates from her spouse?

The Ontario Court of Appeal has twice considered the effect of a parent’s largesse on the adult child’s own child and spousal support obligations — and came to two different conclusions.

To read Torkin Manes lawyer Laurie H. Pawlitza's latest column in the National Postclick here

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