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In an affidavit, McCain said his father “made no secret of his unshakeable desire to pass on his wealth through generations of his bloodline, not fragmented by marital breakups.”

After the marriage ended, Christine McCain stayed in the family’s home, which was transferred to her. She also kept two of their four cottages.

She told the court her ex-husband tried to paint her as an irresponsible spender with mental issues in an effort to retain control of her finances and deny her claim to nearly $119,000 in monthly living expenses.

These included $2,600 for a pilates and yoga instructor, $1,500 in club fees and $13,000 on clothing.

Greer wrote in her decision that Michael McCain “openly tried to say that she was not capable of managing money and wanted to control the management of the lump sum he eventually paid to her.”

She noted he once clandestinely invited mental health professionals to a party so that they could observe his wife, whom he believes suffers from bipolar disorder.

This in turn forced Christine McCain to seek the services of a psychiatrist, who found no evidence to warrant a diagnosis, the judge wrote, adding the experience “must have been very hurtful.”

Greer found that regardless of the contract, “each spouse should be able to continue to live in a fashion that, while not equal, does not require the wife, in this instance, to have to immediately sell her matrimonial home or one or more of the cottages in her name.”

She also ordered McCain to keep his former spouse as a beneficiary of his life insurance policy and include her on his health, medical and dental plans.

However, she denied Christine McCain’s claim for child support, saying the spousal payments should cover the costs incurred by the two youngest children during their visits.

It’s not the first time members of the McCain family have turned to the courts to settle family disputes.

In the 90s Wallace McCain and his brother Harrison staged a bitter battle in the New Brunswick courts for control of McCain Foods.