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AJ's Blog

 
 
 
Posts in family mediation
Sweeping changes to family law legislation and renewed emphasis on Family Mediation

March 1, 2021, marked a very important day in family law across Canada. It saw the implementation of extensive amendments to the Divorce Act and, importantly for Ontario, to the Children’s Law Reform Act. The changes include, for example, new terminology for parenting - with the old, value-laden terms of “custody” and “access” being replaced with more modern and value-neutral terms of “decision-making responsibility” and “parenting time”.

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Children as Messengers

A kid’s job is to be a kid.

It’s not to pass on messages between his or her parents.

A parent’s job is to communicate with the other parent, no matter how difficult that might be. If direct communication is impossible, there are other options. A parent’s job is to know better than to involve a child in the dispute between his or her parents, and that includes using that child as a messenger.

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"I am separated and I can't cope"

Question: "I am separated and I can't cope. I am so devastated, I cannot even face dealing with all of the issues which I have to tackle, now that the relationship is over. What am I to do? Where do I even start."

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COVID-19 and Parenting

Hopefully, this post will be irrelevant and outdated several months from now but in the meantime, parents should consider with care, and over time:

a) how their children are processing information about the pandemic; and

b) how their actions, as separated/divorced parents, impact their children while we grapple with today's uncertainty.

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"What is a matrimonial home?" - Ontario

In simplest terms, in Ontario and for family law purposes, a matrimonial home is the place where married spouses live together at the time of separation.


Here is more information you may find interesting/relevant……..

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University/College Costs - Child Support

Questions relating to this issue are quite common, and the answers are not always as straightforward as parents might expect. Here are the BASICS:

  1. University/college costs are what are called “section 7 expenses” - they are a form of child support under the Child Support Guidelines (both federal and provincial - see section 7 of those);

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"What I had when we married - why does it matter?"

Common Question: "I was married for several years and I am now separated. Someone told me that it is important for me to show in my paperwork what I had when I married my wife. Why does this matter?"

Answer: Ontario's Family Law Act provides a mechanism, unique to our Province, for the sharing, on separation, of the spouses' assets and debts, by value.

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"When do my child support payments end?" - Ontario

Here is a hypothetical about which we receive a lot of questions:

Question: “My son turned 18 nine months ago. I stopped making child support payments to my ex-wife based on our court order a month later because he is now 18. I just got a letter from the Family Responsibility Office that I have to pay up what I owe for the last 8 months and continue to pay on a monthly basis. But he is 18!!! His mother is also sending me emails that I "do not get it" and have to continue paying. Do I have to?

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"How do I know my 16-year-old is still in school?"

Question: I am still paying child support for my 16 year old son. Someone just told me he is not in school any more and now working full-time. Am I entitled to know what he is doing? How do I find out?

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"I called the FRO and they are not helping me...."

We hear this statement quite frequently.

Here is a typical scenario:

* Parties' family law case ends with a final order for child support. They have one child. Dad pays child support for 9 years.

*Daughter turns 17 and moves in with her boyfriend. She also gets a full-time job.

*Dad has irregular contact with daughter, particularly as she gets older.

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