Our Team
Ruth Kalnitsky Roth
Partner, Head of Family Law Group
Ruth Kalnitsky Roth is the head of the Family Law Group at Brauti Thorning, LLP in Toronto, Ontario. A tireless yet level-headed advocate, Ruth’s practice encompasses every aspect of family law.
Ruth began her career in San Francisco, California, where she obtained her law degree in 2006. Following her call to the bar, she developed a family law practice alongside a niche area of civil litigation involving the wrongful removal of children from their families by child welfare agencies. In 2008, Ruth founded the Law Offices of Ruth Kalnitsky where assisted her clients in the litigation and negotiation of their separation, asset division, child custody and support issues. Ruth's practice also involved an adoption and assisted reproduction component in both contract formation and litigating matters involving agency or adoption facilitator misconduct.
After her call to the Ontario bar, Ruth acquainted herself with the Canadian legal system by working at a well-known family law boutique and a smaller general practice firm before joining Brauti Thorning. Ruth’s practice currently involves complex litigation dealing with both parenting and financial issues as well as matters undergoing various forms of alternative dispute resolution. Her clients come from all walks of life, spanning from parents facing the consequences of international child abduction to high net-worth individuals both inside and outside of Canada dealing with matrimonial issues. In every matter, Ruth is committed to moving things forward as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.
June 2020 In an impassioned decision by the Hon. Justice Pazaratz, the Court breaks down the legal principles that empower the Court to order the sale of a jointly owned property on an interim motion. Dhaliwal v. Dhaliwal, 2020 ONSC 3971
February 2021 The Hon. Justice Parent outlines the principles of costs payable following a voluntary withdrawal. Shah v. Shah, 2021 ONCJ 77
April 2021: The Divisional Court dismisses an appeal brought by a party as a delay tactic and upholds the motion judge’s decision, ordering significant costs in our client’s favour. Dhaliwal v Dhaliwal, 2021 ONSC 3258
August 2022: Despite the parties presenting polarized positions on an interim motion for spousal and child support in a matter where the payor spouse was incarcerated prior to the commencement of the parties’ relationship, the Court makes a reasonable support award despite unreasonable spending on behalf of the recipient spouse. Hohmeier v. Caputo, 2022 ONSC 4925
September 2022: The Hon. Justice Steele orders $20,000.00 as an advance on interim legal fees and disbursements as well as interim spousal support of $3,900.00 a month in a matter where the duration of cohabitation and whether it exceeded the three-year mark, was in dispute. MacDonald v. LeBlanc, 2022 ONSC 5171
January 2023: On an urgent motion relating to the abduction of our client’s two children to Lebanon, the Hon. Justice Trimble takes jurisdiction over the children of the marriage and orders their immediate return to their place of habitual residence (Ontario) while addressing when the Court may take Judicial Notice of government websites about safety concerns in another country. Bakarat v. Andraos, 2023 ONSC 582
March 2023: The Hon. Justice Shore utilizes the ‘means and needs’ analysis rather than applying the Halliwell formula for a high-income support payor residing in the US and orders that uncharacterized support be paid to take the ramifications of the US-Canada Tax treaty into account. Hopkinson v. Hopkinson, 2023 ONSC 1583
October 2023: Brauti Thorning, LLP is pleased to announce that Ruth Kalnitsky Roth has been elected as a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL). IAFL is an exclusive community of internationally practicing lawyers who are recognized by their peers as some of the most experienced and skilled family law specialists in their respective jurisdictions. You can view Ruth’s profile on the IAFL website here.