An Ontario court recently outlined the factors that must be considered when determining whether a party who is not a biological parent will be granted access to a child. What happened? The respondent parents had one child, who was nine years old. The parents, who were no longer together, had always co-parented the child without …
Read MoreThe Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned an earlier decision by an Ontario judge which compelled the mother of two children who had taken her children from England to Canada to return the children to their father in England. The Court found that the original application judge who had heard the father’s Hague Convention application …
Read MoreAn Ontario court recently assessed a motion filed by a father seeking to prevent the mother of his children from moving into a different school district. The court declined to make the order, noting that they did not want to restrict the mother’s ability to find affordable housing. What Happened? The parties met in Indonesia …
Read MoreA judge in Nova Scotia gave custody of a toddler back to the child’s birth parents after finding that there would be no substantial risk of physical or mental harm to the child. The child had been removed from the parents care by the Minster of Community Services who felt that the parent’s mental health …
Read MoreAn Ontario court recently considered a situation where the parties’ custody and access proceedings were adjourned so that the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) could become involved and potentially conduct an investigation under section 112 of the Courts of Justice Act (CJA). What happened? The parties were married in July 2013 and separated in …
Read MoreAn Ontario court recently examined a request by a non-parent for access to a child, and found that it would not be in the child’s best interests to have continued contact with his mother’s ex-boyfriend (who was not his biological father). What Happened? The man in question (the Applicant) was not the biological father of …
Read MoreAn Ontario court recently grappled with the interesting question of when it is and is not appropriate for a parent to be prohibited from changing the name(s) of their children after a separation. As we’ve explored previously, this is often a source of tension for separating parents. In this case, the court allowed the mother …
Read MoreThe rights of the child and their best interest should trump a parent’s “right” to shared parenting. Read my article at http://www.advocatedaily.com/jennifer-samara-shuber-childs-rights-trump-parents-in-custody-arrangements.html.
Read MoreAn interesting decision from Ontario took away a father’s joint custody of his son, but allowed him to retain access so that the son, who was a competitive hockey player, could “… have a sense of relaxation which he currently enjoys at this father’s home in contrast the rigors of a very busy schedule while …
Read MoreAn Ontario court recently considered a contested interim parenting arrangement. In making a final decision on care and control of the child in question, the court had to determine what the status quo was in relation to custody and access of the child prior to her parent’s separation. What Happened? The party’s relationship began in …
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