‘Have some sympathy, Tasha. I just lost the love of my life is probably one of the wildest and funniest lines ever said on TV.
Let me give some context.
Okay, the show’s name is Power. It’s about James “Ghost” St. Patrick, a drug dealer with a nightclub named “Truth” as a cover. Oh, the irony. Ghost is married to Tasha, and they have three children together, Tariq, Raina and Yasmin. The first episode starts with Ghost running into his high school sweetheart, Angela. They start up a relationship again and fall deeper in love. Now, Angela is a lawyer (I promise her last name is not Princewill) and eventually becomes privy to Ghost’s shady business. They break up for a little while. Ghost goes to prison for, funny enough, the one crime that he did not commit, and then they get back together. Long story short, Angela worked for the District Attorney looking to prosecute Ghost for the actual crimes he committed (you know, the drug dealing, the murders, etc., no biggie). Angela had actually come around to Ghost’s drug dealing and illegality because love conquers all, and she was now looking for a way to help him out. Ghost’s business partner, Eminem look-alike and my personal favourite character from the show, Tommy, decides to kill her because he does not trust her. He succeeds. Right after her funeral is when the above words were said by Ghost… to his wife… about his girlfriend on the side! Meh, it’s funnier if you watch it, I promise.
Anyways. They decide to divorce for incredibly obvious reasons. And as we love to do, let’s figure out what would happen if this happened in Ontario, Canada, shall we?
Divorce
Infidelity is a valid ground for divorce in Canada. Ghost cheated with Angela, and Tasha cheated with Shawn. They could, however, also decide to use their separation because, by the time they were getting divorced, they had probably effectively been separated for over a year.
Parenting Time and Decision-Making Responsibility
So Tariq is an… interesting kid. His dad was a drug dealer but did not want that life for his son, so he made sure he went to the best schools, lived in the best neighbourhoods, and overall had the best life. Tariq did not want this, however. He wanted to be just like his dad, a drug dealer and feared in the streets. You know what they say about apples and trees. Tariq’s wannabe drug dealer antics killed his twin sister, Raina, because he had pissed off a dangerous man. Anyways, in one of my favourite episodes, after Tariq had done something very stupid yet again, Ghost walks into his room, puts a gun to his cheek and says, ‘Wake the f**k up, sleepy time is over, you little mu*******er, let’s go.’ The Court may have a slight issue with a parent pointing a gun at his child. Such softies.
Realistically, Ghost was not really a present father. He wanted the best for his children, but all his time was spent selling drugs, being in jail and cheating on his wife. He is also a dangerous man who hates killing people but will still do it. While Tariq’s stupid decisions got his sister killed, it was Ghost who had the connection in the first place. It may be in the children’s best interests for Ghost to have minimal parenting time and decision-making responsibility.
If we are being fair, Tasha is not fully innocent either. She spent her time covering up Ghost’s tracks, burning his bloodied clothes and getting rid of guns/murder weapons. Realistically, it may also not be in the children’s best interests for Tasha to have parenting time and decision-making responsibility either. The difference here, however, is the fact that Tasha is not the face of the operation. Everyone knows who Ghost is, and many people are trying to kill him. But no one really knows Tasha, except as Ghost’s wife, and no one is really trying to kill her (except maybe Ghost). She may be the lesser of the two evils; from what we see, she is actually a good mother.
Child Support
This will actually be interesting to calculate. Likely, Ghost will only claim his income comes only from Truth, but Tasha knows better. An average bar owner makes $67,390, according to Google, but honestly, Ghost’s club seems as if it makes legitimately makes significantly more. Regardless, Ghost is able to afford Choate Private School for his children and a penthouse in Manhattan, New York. Tasha will likely be seeking to impute income to him, which will probably be granted because he is the biggest drug dealer in New York.
Marriage Contract
Tasha signed a marriage contract or “prenup” before they got married. I’m not exactly sure what the contract terms are, but Tasha had previously stated that she did not want to get divorced from Ghost because it meant she would be left with nothing. Tasha could possibly try to contest this contract in Court. She could claim that she did not have independent legal advice and that some contract terms are unfair and should be set aside. She could also even claim that she signed the contract under duress. I mean, the man is a drug dealer with access to many weapons. Tasha paused her whole life to raise the children and help Ghost run Truth/the drug business. It does not seem fair that if they get divorced, she gets nothing. Unfortunately, because I have no idea what the contract terms are, I can’t state her level of success in setting aside the contract.
Spousal Support
Tasha, as I mentioned above, does not have any income. She has dedicated her life to supporting Ghost and his enterprises and raising children. For her, spousal support will be on a compensatory basis and on a needs basis.
Equalization
A user on Reddit suggests that Ghost was worth about $150 million. I have no idea how they got to this figure, but we are running with it. Tasha is probably not worth that much. She may have some jewelry or maybe her name is on a title for the penthouse. Let’s say she’s worth $ 1 million, for argument’s sake. Ghost will pay Tasha half of the difference between their net worths to calculate equalization.
$150,000,000 – $1,000,000 = $149,000,000
$149,000,000/ 2 = $74,500,000
Ghost would have to pay Tasha a whopping $74,500,000. Whew! Except for the marriage contract states otherwise.
I hope that gives a little insight into what would happen if a Big rich town was set in Ontario, Canada. Anyways, RIP Proctor. The legal profession misses you.
If you need any help with family law matters, contact AP Experienced Lawyers in Scarborough, Toronto, Pickering, and Markham. You can call us at (905) 492-7662 or email us at [email protected] to schedule a consultation.
