What is the Office of the Children’s Lawyer?
For those of you who are parents and are involved in Family Litigation in Ontario, you may have heard about the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL). This brief blog will touch upon the basics points you need to know about this provincial government entity. What is the OCL? The Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) operates as a specialized Ontario government agency,...
Custody and Access Orders
Legal Orders Close Gaps in Parenting and Protect Children’s Rights In most custody instances, parents have a legal right to spend quality time nurturing their child. A Parent’s Right is a Child’s Right After a separation or divorce where children are involved, custody and visitation typically play an important role in legal proceedings. There are times, however, when matters related to...
Are You Worried about How Custody Arrangements Affect Children?
Did you know that trying to get your child to hate your ex will cause them to hate you? As the parent, you can have a big influence on how your child custody agreement will affect your children. You can help set the tone for how your children should interact with your ex. Like a trickle-down effect, your kids could mimic your behaviour and attitudes so you want to be mindful of what you say...
Paternity Test Guidelines: What If He Refuses?
Every part of your relationship with this man has been a struggle… so why should this be any different? You know he’s the father of your baby, but he’s refusing a paternity test, and any of the parental obligations that would go with a positive result. Is there a set of legal paternity test guidelines? What do you do now? Can you force him to take the test? This isn’t the answer you want to...
What Exactly is Custodial interference?
If you’re a divorced parent, one of the biggest issues you and your ex fight about most is probably raising your children. And if you’re the custodial parent, your ex might give you a hard time about being involved in your kid’s life. While it may seem only an annoyance, this situation can actually be a serious problem, especially if it creates a barrier between you and your children. Read...
3 Things That Can Cost You Your Joint Custody Visitation Rights
Can your ex-spouse’s constantly missing support payments cost them their joint custody visitation rights? A lot of people wish this was the case. But in Canada, you can’t withhold child access for missed child support payments, nor can you refuse to pay child support because the other parent will not let you see your children. A court will also never take away access because of overdue...
What Every Father Needs to Know About Custody Rights BEFORE the Divorce
Divorce can destroy a family. The relationship between children and parents, especially between fathers and their kids, can suffer enormously. In many cases, children wind up living with their mothers, and their fathers sometimes have to go to court to see them more frequently. Dads have legal rights too, though. Read on to learn what you need to know about child custody laws in Ontario before...
Are Your Visitation Rights Being Violated?
Divorce breaks a family apart, but it’s even worse when your ex-spouse interferes with your rights to visit or access your children. It’s a frustrating, heartbreaking situation, especially because you might not know what your rights are, and you aren’t sure if your spouse is violating the law. Read on to learn how you can tell whether your spouse is disobeying the court’s orders about...
What All Divorcees Can Learn From a Couple That Spent 500K on a Child Custody Battle
While some may cringe at the term “conscious uncoupling” used by star divorce couple Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, the idea of collaboration during a divorce can be valuable to a couple that’s ready to battle in court. Divorce is rarely a pleasant experience for either side of the marriage, but the damage that a broken relationship causes may be minimized for all family members involved....