Earlier this year, an eight-month-old baby in British Columbia made international news when the child was issued a health card that does not specify a sex. The document is widely believed to be a first, both in Canada and worldwide. A Health Card with No Specified Sex The child’s parent, Kori Doty, a non-binary transgender …
Read MoreA recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision demonstrates that a judge can interview a child to determine that child’s best interests, but only where an interview is the only practical method of obtaining the child’s opinion in a timely fashion. What Happened? The separating parents were never married, but had a child together. In August …
Read MoreA recent Ontario decision discussed the circumstances under which separated or divorced parents have an obligation to a child who had been emancipated. Specifically, the court reviewed whether the father of a 17-year old daughter who had left home and obtained a legal emancipation order was responsible for financial supporting her through university. Emancipated Daughter …
Read MoreThe Ontario Superior Court recently addressed the question, “Do nude pictures of parents help judges decide who should get custody?”. Justice Pazaratz answered in the negative and criticized a father for attaching series of nude selfies of his ex-spouse to an affidavit that he filed in support of his motion for a custody change. The …
Read MoreA Nova Scotia court recently explored a dispute between two divorced parents, in which the father claimed that the mother had forged his signature on a government form and changed the last name of their child without his permission. The Name Change: What Happened? The child in question was born in 2009. At the time, …
Read MoreIn a decision in which a father sought a court order forcing the mother of his child to return to Toronto after she moved to New Brunswick in violation of a previous court order, an Ontario court permitted the mother to remain in New Brunswick, based on the best interests of the child in question. …
Read MoreCellphone videos and photos have become an epidemic in family law cases. Almost every client who comes in the door wants to show me a video of his or her spouse behaving badly. This is particularly so in custody cases. One parent videos (often surreptitiously) the other parent’s interactions with the child, in the hopes …
Read MoreJustice Sloan of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently observed that, Deciding the custody and access of children is part science and part art. In Henderson v. Cayuga, Justice Sloan was asked to rule on a motion with respect to the residency schedule of a 4-year-old girl, Sophie. Sophie’s father expressed serious concerns about …
Read MoreHow much money is too much money to spend battling your ex? How much time is too much time to spend battling your ex? How much conflict is too much conflict to endure while you battle your ex? A Cautionary Tale for Parents M. v. F., a 2015 decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal, …
Read MoreA Manitoba Court recently examined the relationship between mental illness and parenting when it was asked to rule on the issue of custody with respect to the children of a divorced couple who were dealing with the mother’s Delusional Disorder diagnosis and the father’s violent temper. In Ulloa v. Ulloa, the parties each took the position that the …
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