Frequently asked questions
Managing back to school decisions during the pandemic with an abusive ex-partner: Tips for frontline workers
Decision-making with an abusive ex-partner is never an easy or straightforward process. Even when the ex-partner has had little involvement in making decisions or planning for the children, many of them have plenty of ideas about what they think the mother should or should not do. For women with school-age children, decisions about education are…
Read moreTowards Reconciliation: A tipsheet for working supportively with Indigenous clients
Becoming fully competent in working in the spirit of reconciliation is a process. This tip sheet is intended to provide you with ideas to think about and for you, your colleagues and your organization to work towards over time. Community 1) I know something about the territory and Indigenous communities where I work and live,…
Read moreWebinar: Restraining orders and managing post-separation abuse
Family violence continues and often escalates post-separation. This webinar explores post-separation abuse and strategies for managing it, including restraining orders and safety planning. What is a restraining order? How would someone get one? This webinar answers those questions and more. This webinar is the latest in a series on family law issues when there’s family…
Read moreDifferences between religious/cultural family laws and Canadian civil family law
There are significant differences between some cultural or religious family law and the civil family laws in Canada. It is important for women to know about these differences before they make any decisions about how they want to organize their intimate relationships or how they want to resolve the issues that arise when those relationships…
Read moreWebinar: What is the best interests of the child test in family law?
In Canada, all decisions about post-separation arrangements for children are made using the best interests of the child test. Both Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act and the federal Divorce Act set out the criteria judges are to use when applying the test. This webinar explains what each of those criteria are and mean and discusses…
Read moreAre there strategies that can make long distance access work?
This is the second installment of a two-part series There are many ways a family can organize access even when one parent lives some distance away from the kids. Factors that need to be considered include: Distance The children’s ages Finances Extent of contact before the move History of violence and ongoing safety issues Generally,…
Read moreHow can separated parents manage long distance access?
This is the first installment of a two-part series We are living in an increasingly globalized world, so it is not surprising that families move – often long distances – more than they used to. While this can pose challenges when the parents live together – finding new schools for the children, setting up house…
Read moreWhat is legal coaching?
More than 80,000 people are unrepresented in family court proceedings in Ontario every year. You see many women who don’t have lawyers and, often, their former partner is also unrepresented. As we have discussed in the past, while the lack of legal representation is a challenge for any family court litigant, it raises particular issues…
Read moreHow do I make a complaint about a lawyer?
It is not uncommon for a woman to experience difficulties with her family law lawyer. The lawyer may not understand the unique dynamics in a case involving family violence. They may be good at the legal aspects of their work but not so good at communicating. They may not explain their fee arrangement well. They…
Read moreHow can I prove to the family court that I was abused in the relationship?
Track the abuse throughout your relationship by thinking about what went on at key points. Write this down; point form is fine. Take some time to organize this information before any meeting where you may have to talk about it; for instance, before you meet with duty counsel or a mediator or before your first…
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