Words and Phrases - "has discretion"

A court order required Monsieur to pay, as support, all expenses related to the marital home and a weekly amount for Madame and the children. Before finding that the payments did not qualify as an allowance, the Directorate stated:

In Assaf v. The Queen (unreported), a written agreement provided for the payment of $10,000 to the ex-spouse to cover a portion of the children's university expenses. In concluding that the sums received did not constitute an allowance, Garon J. stated:

In interpreting subs. 56(12) it should be noted that, for amounts received for example by a spouse or former spouse to be an allowance within the meaning of this subsection, it does not matter that the person paying the alimony does not control or attempt to control the use of the money in question. However, the judgment or agreement, as the case may be, must not specify the use to be made of these amounts. If there is such an indication, it follows that if the spouse or former spouse receiving the money in question does not use it in the way specified in the judgment or agreement, he or she will be failing to perform the obligation contained in the judgment or agreement. It is in this sense that the recipient of the amounts in question does not legally have discretion as to their use under subs. 56(12).