The current global financial crisis is also taking its toll on property division among divorcing couples. On Wednesday the Ontario Court of Appeals ruled that judges handling divorce cases must take into account the declining value of assets caused by dipping property values and stocks when computing for property division.

The case arose from a 2007 decision that mandated Harold Serra to give his former wife Barbara $4.1 million as equalization payment. Serra pointed out to the court from their separation to the trial, the estimated value of his textile business dropped by $8 million to $9 million to just $1.8 million to $2.6 million. If he would pay Barbara the entire amount, it would be over his net worth.

Trial Judge Thea Herman ruled in favor of Barbara because the province's Family Law did not take into account a drop in the value of assets due to market forces. But Court of Appeals Justice Robert Blair and two other justices reversed Herman's decision. In a 3-0 decision, the justices cut Barbara's equalization payment to $900,000.

Blair wrote, "A court may take into account a post-separation-date change in the value of a spouse's assets."

Divorce attorney Stephen Grant said the court's ruling will have a major impact on future divorce caseloads. "The court was trying to redress a very, very serious problem that was, through no making of either party, the result of a worldwide economic collapse."