Divorce Explained with Steve Benmor & Leanne Townsend

What happens when “in sickness and in health” becomes the greatest challenge a marriage faces?

Serious illness can change a couple’s relationship, turning partners into caregivers and reshaping intimacy, finances and plans for the future. It can also bring difficult questions about separation and divorce, along with feelings of guilt, responsibility and fear of judgment.

This week on Divorce Explained, hosts Steve Benmor and Leanne Townsend welcome Stephanie Johnson, MSSW, Founder and Director of PD Alliance of Wisconsin, who will share her journey with her husband, who died of Parkinson’s disease.

Her experience will open a broader conversation about how illness affects a marriage and the difficult decisions couples may face when their relationship is also breaking down. How can someone acknowledge that they are overwhelmed without feeling that they have failed their partner? What happens when one spouse wants to leave but the other depends on them for care? How can couples approach separation with compassion while recognizing both partners’ needs?

Imagine being confronted with a recording of yourself saying something you never said. Now imagine having to defend yourself against it during your divorce.

What happens when the “proof” isn’t real?

This week on Divorce Explained, Steve Benmor and Leanne Townsend are discussing “Can You Believe the Evidence? AI, Deepfakes and Divorce.”

We’ll explore what fabricated messages, altered images and fake recordings could mean for separating couples and the professionals trying to distinguish fact from fiction. How do you challenge something that looks convincing? And what happens when real evidence is dismissed as fake?

Join us for a conversation about credibility, technology and what’s at stake when seeing is no longer believing.

A marriage can end. The royalties can keep coming. So who gets paid?

This week on Divorce Explained, Steve Benmor and Leanne Townsend welcome Matt Herzfeld, founder of Seasons Music Group, for a conversation about what happens when music royalties become part of a divorce.

How do you put a price on future earnings? Can a music catalogue be divided or does selling make more sense? And what do family law professionals need to know about these unusual assets?

You think the house is worth $1.5 million. Your spouse says $1.2 million. So how do you settle a $300,000 disagreement?

This week on Divorce Explained, we’re tackling a question that can become one of the biggest sticking points in a separation: “What’s the House Really Worth?”

Join Steve Benmor and Leanne Townsend as we welcome Tejveer Walia, CRA, P. App., founder and principal appraiser of Walson Consulting Inc., to discuss how property values are determined and what separating spouses need to understand before making decisions about their home.

We’ll explore what goes into an appraisal, why valuations can differ, and what happens when one spouse wants to buy out the other but they can’t agree on the price.

Whether you’re navigating a separation or supporting clients through one, bring your questions and join the conversation.

You’ve left the relationship. But what if the trauma hasn’t left you?

For people who have experienced intimate partner abuse, a traumatic marriage or a painful divorce, “moving on” can feel far more complicated than those two words suggest.

Could psychedelics play a role in healing?

This week on Divorce Explained, we’re joined by Dr. Alia Offman, Registered Psychologist and Co-Director of MiCBT Institute, to explore how psychedelic-assisted therapy may help people work through trauma and what they need to understand about its potential, risks and the importance of professional support.

An honest conversation about the pain that can linger after a relationship ends, and the search for a way forward.

Divorce planning is not only about dividing what a family has today. It also requires thinking carefully about what tomorrow may bring.

This week on Divorce Explained, we welcome Raymond Lavine, MBA, CLTC, for an important conversation about the intersection of family law, financial planning and long-term care.

What happens when separation or divorce occurs later in life? How should future care needs factor into financial decisions? And what should families consider now to avoid being caught unprepared later?

Thinking About Separation? Start Here.

Separation can feel overwhelming, and most people don’t know what they should be doing before they begin the process.

What should you know before making major decisions? What information should you gather? Who should be on your team? And can better preparation help reduce conflict, legal fees and costly mistakes?

This week on Divorce Explained, Steve Benmor and Leanne Townsend are joined by Jennifer Donison and Julie Gill to talk about their new program, Separation Preparation.

Jennifer and Julie created Separation Preparation to help people understand what lies ahead and become better informed and prepared before and during the separation process.

They’ll be talking about why the decisions made at the beginning of a separation matter, what people often wish they had known sooner, and how the right preparation can lead to better decisions throughout the divorce process.

If you’re thinking about separation, already navigating one, or work with people going through divorce, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

The “Bank of Mom and Dad” has helped countless young couples get into the housing market.

But when that couple separates, a question that once seemed simple can become a major legal and financial fight:

Was the money a gift or was it a loan?

On Wednesday, September 2 at 6:00 p.m., we’re joined on Divorce Explained by Marc Weisman, Chair, Tax Counsel at Keslassy Freedman Gelfand LLP, for a conversation about family loans, what parents and grandparents should consider before advancing money, and what can happen to those funds when a relationship ends.

We’ll also discuss the recent decision in Massaar v. Moneck and what it means for families helping their adult children financially.

If you’re a family law professional, a parent thinking about helping a child buy a home, or someone whose family has already contributed to a home purchase, you’ll want to hear this conversation.

In this episode of Divorce Explained, Leanne sits down with Steve to unpack his experience attending Canada's prestigious National Family Law Program in Kelowna a conference that brings together the country's leading family lawyers, judges, academics, and experts to discuss the biggest issues shaping the future of family law.

Steve shares his key takeaways from four days of thought-provoking discussions, including the groundbreaking impact of the Ahluwalia decision on intimate partner violence (IPV) claims, emerging legal questions surrounding compensation and family property, and how Canada's family law landscape is evolving in response to changing societal expectations.

The conversation also explores one of the profession's newest challenges: artificial intelligence. How will courts determine whether financial documents, tax returns, or text messages are authentic in an era of AI-generated evidence? What safeguards are on the horizon, and what does this mean for separating couples?

The episode also dives into practical issues surrounding prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, and standstill agreements, highlighting the real-world challenges couples and lawyers face when trying to protect assets before and after marriage.

Finally, Steve explains why mediation-arbitration (Med-Arb) may become an increasingly valuable option for resolving complex and sensitive family law disputes particularly those involving allegations of intimate partner violence offering privacy, efficiency, and practical solutions that traditional litigation often cannot.

Whether you're navigating separation, interested in the future of family law, or simply curious about the legal issues shaping divorce in Canada, this episode provides valuable insights from the country's leading family law minds.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the practice of law but it also comes with significant professional responsibilities.

Join us on this week’s episode of Divorce Explained as we discuss a recent Ontario case in which a lawyer was disciplined after AI-generated legal research included fictitious case law that was filed with the court, followed by a failure to be candid when the errors came to light.

We’ll discuss:

• Where AI fits into legal practice and where it doesn’t.

• Why lawyers can never delegate their professional judgment to technology.

• The duty to verify AI-generated legal research.

• The ethical obligation of candour to the court.

• What this decision means for family lawyers and the future use of AI in legal practice.

Whether you’re a lawyer, mediator, arbitrator, law student, or simply interested in how AI is changing the justice system, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.