What is the test for negotiating a settlement in family law?

I embrace what my colleague LaVigne J. has said recently about negotiating settlements in family law: “Family law permits and encourages separating spouses to work out their own arrangements as the parties themselves are in the best position to evaluate the comparable advantages of alternative arrangements” (Doucet v. Doucet 2016 NBQB 201 at para. 17). In the present case, however, the wife was not even close to being in the best position to evaluate “the comparable advantages of alternative arrangements”.

For all these reasons, I find that it would be unconscionable to enforce the agreement orally entered into at the November 26th meeting. And, without knowing if and to what extent the agreement departs from the objectives of the Divorce Act and/or the Marital Property Act, I rely on the historical remedy when “a contract was found to be unenforceable because of unconscionability” (Rick v. Brandsema, supra at para. 66) – the agreement is hereby rescinded. V. SUMMARY