Does a lack of consultation with the other spouse preclude a payor from apportioning his or her proportionate share of an extraordinary expense for their children's education?

While it is clear that a lack of consultation with the other spouse does not automatically preclude the proper apportionment of an extraordinary expense, it is a factor the judge can take into account when exercising his or her discretion. In some cases, the courts have reduced the payor’s contribution due to the lack of consultation. In Pepin v. Jung, [1997] O.J. No. 4604 (QL) (G.D.), for example, Aitken J. noted that, although the father had been supportive of his children’s participation in soccer in the past, he was not consulted about their participation in a more expensive, elite soccer program. At his income level, the father would be forced to make some financial sacrifices to cover his proportionate share of these increased expenses. In the circumstances, Aitken J. reduced the father’s proportionate share of the increased expenses, stating (at para. 14): …. It is one thing for a parent in consultation with his or her children to embark upon significant sacrifices in order to enable the children to pursue special extracurricular programs. It is another for a parent not to have any say in the decision but to be forced to make such sacrifices.