The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently had the opportunity to review a lawyer’s role in the collaborative process when the husband in a family law matter (Mr. Elliott) brought a motion to have the lawyer acting for his ex removed as solicitor of record. Mr. Elliott argued that the lawyer should be removed on the basis …
Read MoreTreating your pet as if they were part of the family has become the status quo in North American homes. However, in the context of divorce, what do the Courts have to say on the subject? Recently, Justice R.W. Danyliuk of the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan, in the Saskatoon Family Division decided to tighten …
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 …
Read More“The dog is man’s best friend.” (Ogden Nash)“ “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” (Charles de Gaulle) “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.”(Dean Koontz) People love their dogs. Dogs are treasured members of the family. Some people even …
Read MoreI just read an excellent paper on retirement and its impact on the payment of spousal support which I thought might be of interest to my readers. The paper is entitled “Can a Support Payor Ever Retire?” by Jodi R Fleishman. I would be happy to provide you with a copy of the paper – …
Read MoreWe recently highlighted a CBCNews article that discussed the plight of grandparents who have been denied access to their grandchildren after the separation or divorce of their child. An estimated 75,000 Ontario grandparents have been denied access to about 112,000 children. A private member’s bill that aims to ensure courts give grandparents a chance to make their case …
Read MoreJustice Grace of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice set a somber tone in his opening comments in Spero v. Dean: “Sadly, once married parties are no longer joined in heart, body or soul but as antagonistic parties in an ocean of family and civil litigation. This will form a small part of one chapter of the …
Read MoreSo I got really busy and couldn’t blog on the last two days of trial. Lots of stuff happening. I didn’t think anyone would notice. Figured I would just do it later. But, surprise, surprise. I got notes from people asking about the trial, who want to know what happened. I am so pleased to …
Read MoreIt is 7:30 am on the morning of the third day of trial. Yes, I slept in today. Worked late and couldn’t move when the alarm went off at 6:00. But still had trial dreams. Yuck. Yesterday was a good day. The other side didn’t seem to score any points in cross of our client. …
Read MoreIt is 6 am on the morning of the second day of trial. I have been up for hours. When I slept I dreamed of the trial. I am reminded of what it means to live and breathe a case. We opened our case yesterday. The judge is hard to read, nodding and listening and …
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