The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench declared that the current definition of “parent” and related provisions in Manitoba’s Family Maintenance Act violate the equality rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Read full articleOn July 9th, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco E. L. Mendicino, announced a change in the interpretation of "parent" under the Citizenship Act.
Read full articleBill 205 passed royal assent on March 16th. Although the Act is not yet in force, the changes led to some much-needed updates to Saskatchewan’s Children’s Law Act and fertility law.
Read full article“Unreasonable failure to support a child’s relationship with the other parent is a failure of parenting,” says Ontario Family Court judge.
Read full articleIn two recent Ontario cases, the courts ordered shared parenting amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read full articleOn Wednesday, April 29, 2020, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division) issued additional updates to its Notices dealing with court operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following summarizes those updates.
Read full articleThe Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently released yet another COVID-19 parenting decision. In this case, the mother brought an urgent motion trying to vary a shared parenting order between her and the father.
Read full articleOn Monday, April 20, 2020, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division) issued updates to its Notices dealing with court operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following summarizes those updates.
Read full articleThe courts of Nova Scotia are currently operating under an emergency services model.
Read full articleOn April 14, 2020, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division) issued an updated Notice.
Read full articleUnlike Nova Scotia, the Ontario Court of Appeal is allowing parties who had scheduled appeals to request their appeal be heard in writing. In contrast, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has adjourned or postponed all hearings that were scheduled for May/June with no option to proceed in writing.
Read full articleIn an Ontario decision released on March 31, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dealt with an urgent issue regarding the mother’s exclusive possession of the matrimonial home.
Read full articleOn Tuesday, March 31, 2020, Nova Scotia’s chief public health officer, Dr. Strang, advised that children moving between homes in co-parenting situations may increase the child and family’s exposure to COVID-19.
Read full articleYesterday, Dr. Strang recommended that children should not be moving back and forth between two homes. However, Courts in Ontario have indicated otherwise. You should seek legal counsel prior to altering any current parenting order or agreement.
Read full articleThis afternoon, Nova Scotia’s chief public health officer, Dr. Strang, advised that children moving between homes in co-parenting situations may increase the child and family’s exposure to COVID-19.
Read full articleIn this case, a wife and husband had been in a long-term relationship and had been married for three years until the husband died suddenly and unexpectedly.
Read full articleThe Assisted Human Reproduction Act is the main law governing surrogacy and the donation of sperm/ ova in Canada. Bill S-216 was given a second reading on March 12, 2020. If the Bill ultimately passes into law, it will make major changes.
Read full articleThe Coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting more than just toilet paper sales. It is also impacting divorced and separated parents regarding parenting time with their children.
Read full articleInteresting legal and ethical issues have arisen with the development of new reproductive technologies.
Read full articleLast week, a widow from British Columbia was denied access to her late husband’s sperm.
Read full articleJeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, and his wife MacKenzie made headlines in January 2019 when they jointly tweeted their plans to initiate divorce proceedings after 25 years of marriage.
Read full articleParents wanting to relocate will have to undergo a new legal process to get the Court’s approval. The recent amendments to the federal Divorce Act have replaced the longstanding principles set out by the Supreme Court in 1996.
Read full articleThe federal government’s recent amendments to the Divorce Act, under Bill C-78, bring Canada one step closer to meeting its international commitments on family law.
Read full articleThe recent amendments to the Divorce Act are giving a new meaning to family violence. Before the amendments, the term “family violence” had no legislated definition, leaving courts to decide the best approach to this complex issue.
Read full articleThe federal government is changing the language on parenting, with hopes of changing the conversation. Bill C-78 has introduced a number of amendments to the Divorce Act, which have generally been welcomed by lawyers and scholars across the country.
Read full articleFurther to the blog below that we posted in February, the Bill obtained Royal assent on June 21, 2019. There is no update yet as to when it will come into force, but this is to be decided in the coming months by the Governor in Council.
Read full articleLitigants are not rewarded for bad behaviour. In a recent decision out of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, a father was ordered to pay $420,000 in costs to his former spouse, after losing the case for custody of their young daughter.
Read full articleAlthough now 10 years old, Tug of War: A Judge’s Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles, and the Bitter Realities of Family Court, by Justice Harvey Brownstone of the Ontario Court of Justice, remains an insightful and powerful read on the uses and misuses of family court.
Read full articleOur Family Law team focuses on resolving issues in families as quickly as possible, through either mediation or litigation. While we do our best to resolve matters through non-confrontational means, when it is necessary to pursue litigation, our Family Law Litigation Team has depth of experience.
Read full articleOn March 8, 2019, Justice Minister Mark Furey proposed amendments to the Judicature Act that would expand the unified family court (UFC) system across all regions of Nova Scotia.
Read full articleIn May 2018 the Canadian government introduced a Bill which will change the Divorce Act for the first time in over 20 years.
Read full articleI’m sure I was not the only one who spent a few minutes this weekend listening to the radio documentary “The Mamas and the Papas: How two Ottawa couples became co-parents ” on the CBC’s The Sunday Edition or reading the accompanying article online.
Read full articleMarriage can have a significant legal impact on a person’s property and assets. Through marriage a spouse may have legal claim to a home,[1] may have a claim to other property and a marriage may give rise to spousal support obligations.[2]
Read full articleThe use of assisted reproductive technologies to create families is becoming increasingly common in Canada. These technologies create opportunities for individuals or couples who otherwise cannot grow their families.
Read full articleAs lawyers, we often see clients that have “side deals” with their former spouse, saying something like “We talked that out and you don’t need to put anything in the agreement about that. We got it.”
Read full articleThe Government of Canada has proposed new regulations under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA).
Read full articleThe Nova Scotia Maintenance Enforcement Program was first established in 1996 and was tasked with ensuring that court ordered child and spousal support payments were paid to recipients.
Read full articleWhether you are raising children with a spouse in the military, or you are the spouse in the military, it can involve many challenges for both the parents and the children. These issues multiply when the parents are separated, and communication may be strained.
Read full articleMany people wonder how they divide up their Canada Pension Plan Credits after separation or divorce.
Read full article“Section 7 expenses” can generally be described as “special or extraordinary expenses” for a child with separated parents that share expenses in addition to child support.
Read full articleIf you’re one of the many couples in Canada exploring paying a surrogate to have a child – there could be some changes to Canadian Law that aims to decriminalize this process.
Read full articleThere are several misconceptions about the status of marriage and a common-law relationship in the estate planning context. In Nova Scotia, marriage and common-law relationships are treated differently for estate matters.
Read full articleIf you are travelling within Canada with your children, very little documentation is required, although you should be sure that you have current identification for yourself and each child.
Read full articleMarriage and your Estate Plan
Read full articleNova Scotia is in the process of updating its Interjurisdictional Support Orders (ISO) legislation, making it easier to claim spousal or child support from an individual living outside the province.
Read full articleNova Scotia will soon be introducing the ‘Domestic Violence Court’ (DVC) located in the Halifax Provincial Courthouse.
Read full articleTax season is yet again upon us. Keep in mind that if you provided payment for legal fees in relation to a family law matter in 2017, you may be able to claim those fees on your taxes.
Read full articleChild support is most often paid by one parent, to the parent who has care of the child the majority of the time. A payor parent has a legal responsibility to provide child support regardless of whether that parent has communication or contact with the child.
Read full articleThe Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division) has recently published a helpful list of tips and hints designed to aid counsel and unrepresented individuals.
Read full articleInterim Agreements and Orders can help to minimize conflict and reduce unnecessary back and forth between the parties.
Read full articleFor the first time, a court in Canada has awarded separate damages for surrogacy fees for future potential pregnancies.
Read full articleThis blog post is a follow up from the January 26, 2017 blog post. The CBA has responded to Health Canada's initiative to develop regulations covering the reimbursement of expenditures to surrogates.
Read full articleOn September 30, 2016, Health Canada announced they would be making changes to the regulations governing surrogacy under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. They will controversially be proposing to regulate reimbursable expenses for parties involved in surrogacy arrangements.
Read full articleGoing through a divorce can be a difficult time, but there are other options besides a costly court battle. Here are five advantages to choosing Mediation instead of the courts to help you decide if mediation is right for you.
Read full articleQuebec's Civil Code has long held surrogacy agreements void while other Canadian provinces have moved to legitimize the process. However, all of that may change. Quebec's Minister of Justice has recently announced to take a fresh look at the issue and it's place in today's society.
Read full articleThe Matrimonial Property Act no longer reflects the face of the Nova Scotian family. In order to address our evolving society, The Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia has released a discussion paper regarding proposed changes to the act and how it will affect Nova Scotians.
Read full articleIf you are travelling within Canada with your children, very little documentation is required, although you should be sure that you have current identification for yourself and each child. Unless both parents are travelling with the children, you should have a Travel Letter signed.
Read full articleIn 1996, the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) was established in order to allow for a government body to assist in the enforcement of existing court orders for spousal and child support. In establishing the MEP, the onus was shifted from the individual support recipient, acting at the time in
Read full articleIn recent years, Canadian Courts have allowed postings on social media sites to be used as evidence in Family Law matters. The most predominant source of these postings has been from the social media site, Facebook. Social media sites are often one of the first sources the opposing party will look
Read full articleFollowing a separation, parties regularly obtain a Court order which outlines custody, access and a parenting schedule. However, with time, things inevitably change. Parents move. Children start school, or graduate from school. Parents re-partner. Parenting arrangements change, organically. Sometime
Read full articleA cohabitation agreement is a contract signed by two parties who are living together, or are planning on living together, and who contemplate the division of their assets and debts, and/or support obligations, if a separation and/or divorce of the parties were to occur in the future. As a couple
Read full articleCustody can often refer to the “physical custody” of the child; that is, in which parent’s care is the child on a given day; however, the more usual use of the word custody refers to the “legal custody” of the child. Legal custody refers to which parent has the responsibility to make the major
Read full articleA divorce, separation or any family law dispute can be an emotional, stressful and very expensive process. However, there are certain steps you can take to keep your legal costs down. Be honest and forthcoming. Speak candidly to your lawyer, and formulate realistic goals and expectations as early
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