Posts Tagged ‘custody and access’
What does the revised Divorce Act say about parenting plans?
The changes to the Divorce Act give parenting plans a more formal role than they have had in the past, so it is worth discussing them with any of your clients who are using the Divorce Act to resolve post-separation parenting issues. Parenting plans can also be a useful tool for parents who need a…
Read moreWebinar recording: Ontario’s new Children’s Law Reform Act
Ontario recently significantly revised its family law that deals with custody and access, the Children’s Law Reform Act, to align it with the federal Divorce Act. In this presentation, you will learn about the changes, with a focus on their impact on women fleeing abusive relationships. This is another in the series of webinars on family law…
Read moreBill 207: An important step forward for women fleeing abuse
There is much that is good in Bill 207, the Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act, for women leaving abusive relationships.
Read moreDealing with school holiday issues? Pandemic-related back to school cases may help
In the early fall, there was a flurry of cases relating to whether children should go back to in-school learning or continue with online learning, some of which you can find summarized in our Case Law section. The upcoming winter school break, coupled with COVID-19 cases rising at an alarming rate in many Ontario communities,…
Read moreOntario’s family law takes a step forward in protecting the vulnerable: Toronto Star op-ed
Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, published an opinion piece in The Toronto Star about the passing of Bill 207: An Act to amend the Children’s Law Reform Act, the Courts of Justice Act, the Family Law Act and other Acts respecting various family law matters. Last week’s passage of Bill 207, which significantly changes…
Read moreBill 207: Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act
On September 24th, Ontario’s Attorney General Doug Downey introduced Bill 207, the Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act. This Bill is the province’s long-anticipated follow-up to the federal government’s 2019 changes to the Divorce Act, which are to come into effect on March 1, 2021. For that reason alone, Bill 207 is important because,…
Read moreManaging 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 moreWill Canada’s new Divorce Act keep women and children fleeing abuse safe? The gaps – Part 3/3
The revised Divorce Act, coming into effect on July 1, 2020, offers both pros and cons for survivors of family violence. The pros outweigh the cons, and create the potential for parents who have left an abusive relationship and who use the federal statute to establish parenting arrangements to be better served by the law…
Read moreRecent Court Decision: “In the long run, self-help will turn out to be a big mistake”
McNeil v McGuinness 2020 ONSC 1918 In this case, which was identified by the court as having “a long history of conflict and litigation since the parties separated in 2012,” Justice Pazaratz declined to find the father’s motion to be urgent as set out in the March 15, 2020 Notice to the Profession. In his…
Read moreTwo recent COVID-19 family law decisions
Court says no to “self-help” remedy In Burton v Woods 2020 ONCJ 158, Justice Pugsley was quick and clear in his response to a father who decided not to return the 10-year-old child to the mother at the end of his access time. The existing order, issued after a trial, was for the mother to…
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