Alberta divorce mediation: Who gets the hockey tickets?

On behalf of Gary Kirk of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Divorce Mediation on Thursday, October 12, 2017.

A contentious issue in a recent divorce case concerned who would get season tickets to the Edmonton Oilers. It took divorce mediation to help the Alberta couple sort out the situation. In the end, a judge ruled the couple should share the tickets, but wouldn’t have to sit together. The pair had been married 35 years and both are die-hard NHL fans.

The husband agreed to pay his wife $15,000 a month in spousal support, but the two couldn’t agree on what to do about the season tickets that are in his name, though he shared with his wife for more than a decade. The wife sought a court order to have her ex share the season tickets, including those for the playoffs. But the husband didn’t know if they would be considered matrimonial property and refused to give his ex wife any tickets.

In her ruling, the judge said the tickets were shared for 11 years and so should be shared. The husband gets to choose the games he wants to see first, then the wife gets to choose. They will alternate like this until the tickets are all assigned.

If the Oilers make it to the playoffs, the wife gets to choose tickets first, then the husband until those tickets are assigned. The judge said the tickets are an asset and were used for enjoyment and so the wife should share in that enjoyment. During the last season, the husband gave his ex wife one-third of the tickets and only one set of playoff tickets.

These kinds of disputes may work out with divorce mediation. If they don’t, the experience of an Alberta lawyer would be invaluable in a court room. A lawyer knowledgeable in family law will guide his or her client in any litigation process.

Source: cbc.ca, “Nevermind the kids, who gets the Oilers tickets? Divorce, Edmonton-style“, Sept. 28, 2017

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