THIS BLOG HAS MIGRATED

Dear Readers of this Blog - we have migrated HERE. Please join us for further posts about Family Law and Family Mediation in Ontario.

Children and Separation......

Drafting an Affidavit and need assistance?

Q: Are you representing yourself in Court and do you need to draft an Affidavit?

Q: Having trouble understanding what is expect of you?

Q: Do you want to be effective at your last?

A: We have HELP for you!

Check out our online shop and find instant download instructions for how to draft an effective Affidavit, here:

SelfRepSupport

Child Support and Mediation

IT IS possible to mediate the issue of child support.

In other words, if parents cannot agree on who should pay it, for whom, in what amount and for how long, court IS NOT the only option.

MEDIATION gives parents an opportunity to have a dialogue about the issue of child support, with a skilled professional - the mediator - who will moderate their dialogue so each side gets a chance to say what they need to say.

TRY MEDIATION - it's seldom too late to give dialogue a chance....

Your decisions for your children post-separation do not have to fit a "one-size-fits-all" mold. The best decisions are individualized - for each child and each family (even when no longer intact). Mediation gives you a chance to explore options for such decisions.

We MEDIATE! find out more here: MettaMEDIATION

A THOUGHT FOR A TUESDAY: when you have a disagreement with someone, your goal should be to resolve the disagreement at hand but also to maintain the relationship in the long-run. Dialogue with a skilled mediator gives you the best chance of achieving those goals. That is because mediation, as a method of resolving a dispute, is not reactive - it is thoughtful, deliberate and methodical - that is the most fertile soil for a long-term solution.

For more information about our MEDIATION services, visit here: MettaMEDIATION

WE MEDIATE!

We now offer mediation services.

May Ontarians are under the misconception that separation HAS to involve the Court.

THAT IS INCORRECT - we cannot make it plainer than that!

Separating spouses have A RANGE OF OPTIONS for addressing all issues arising out of their separation. MEDIATION is one of the available methods for addressing issues like kids, where they live, who makes decisions about then, support for a spouse and/or the children and all issues related to property division.

MEDIATION is a much more hands-on process than is a court proceeding. In MEDIATION, parties/parents have a much better opportunity to participate in decisions about their future, and the future of their children. In Court, most of such decision are handed to a stranger, a JUDGE. In MEDIATION, the parties, with the assistance of the mediator, have the opportunity to craft their own deal.

While MEDIATION is not appropriate for every case, it is a valuable option for MANY Ontarians.
To find out more about our mediation services, please call the office at (905) 898-8500.

Sound or Signal? - BlogBite (24)

NOISE IS A FACT OF LIFE.

Some noise is pleasing to the ear, the mind and soul. Take the sound of birds chirping as an example. Or the sound of waves along the shore.

Some noise is disturbing. Loud construction work along a route we take every day can disrupt the expected sounds of the morning commute.

Some noise is downright disruptive. Sometimes, disruption and upheaval are the sequential results of noise. At other times, that disruption and upheaval are desired by the noise-maker - they are the goal.

Separation and disputes between spouses result of a variety of noises. 

In navigating the sometimes stormy waters of separation it is important to distinguish between

SOUND and SIGNAL.

ASK: 

-is the latest comment from my spouse (whether made directly, through email, by text, through a letter from a lawyer) only SOUND or is it a SIGNAL? 

-is the comment actually conveying a message to which I am well-advised to pay attention or is this comment simply noise, sound, deliberately designed to upset me?

Here are a couple of examples of comments made by one separating spouse to another:

"You are worthless. You always have been. All our friends agree. You had nothing when you came into the marriage and now you think you can take half. I will fight. You are worthless." - THIS IS SOUND only. This statement is designed to disturb and hurt the other spouse. File it in the folder you have marked "Sound only". Let is go.

"I am sick of your new wife. She will never be the children's mother. I am going to move with the children so I don't have to watch your new happy little family. I have a place lined up already but I won't tell you till it's done"  - THIS IS SIGNAL - and you need to pay attention. The comments ARE hurtful and designed to upset the father and his new wife but there is also important information in the comment - that mom plans on moving with the children and plans to tell father that she has moved only after she does so. Father should be taking further steps in connection with this information.

Separating spouses who are in conflict hurl "noisy" communications at each other almost daily, in a variety of forms. Learning to distinguish SOUND from SIGNAL can help deal with the onslaught and to maintain some clarity.

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on:

• preparing an effective Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); 
• preparing an effective Affidavit; and
• the basics of service and filing...

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

Why what you brought into the marriage matters - BlogBite (23)

Here is a hypothetical scenario:

• You are married and now separated,
• you are completing a Financial Statement,
• you need to make a list of what you owned and what you owed on the date of marriage,
• you are not quite sure why:
• and you are too embarrassed to ask your lawyer for another explanation; or
• you are representing yourself, you do not understand the reason but you have seen the Financial Statement form and you know you have to do that.

Ontario's Family Law Act provides a formula for dealing with assets and debts when married spouses separate. Some people refer to this as "property division" - in fact, the process based on the formula, is called "equalization".

In Ontario, in the calculation of their "net worth" for family law purposes, called Net Family Property, deceive credit for the value of their assets at marriage minus their debts. 

That is why you are preparing that list.....

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on:

• preparing an effective Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); 
• preparing an effective Affidavit; and
• the basics of service and filing...

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

Confused about service and filing?

Are you representing yourself in a family court case in Ontario?

The experience CAN be overwhelming, we understand that.

If you are struggling with the concepts of the service and filing of court materials, you are not alone!

Many self-represented litigants (SLRs) find the court rules challenging, particularly because

how you serve and

when you serve

and then file

depends on a number of factors.

Our Etsy shop now makes available to you a 15-page E-book called:

How to Serve and File - the Basics

You can find it here:

ETSY SHOP

DO NOT FORGET that our firm offers unbundled legal services, in the event you have any questions!

SELFREP MANUALS

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on:

• preparing an effective Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• preparing an effective Affidavit and
• the basics of service and filing.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

"I need to change my child support payments" - BlogBite (22)

"I need to change my child support payments"

Folks, this is one of the most common phrases we hear in our family law practice.

People who want to change child support payments may present the following reasons (or a combination of them):

1. the payor may be making more money
2. the child is no longer in contact with the payor - ie: I am not seeing my child, why should I pay?
3. the child is over 18
4. the child is no longer in school full-time
5. the recipient of child support is refusing to provide the payor with information about the child's school attendance
6. the payor may be making less money...

and so on and so on.....this is not a complete list by any means.

Also, in the above list, not all reasons are actual reasons why child support would be changed by the Court.

When considering a change in child support, you need to address two basic questions:

1. do I have a legitimate reason to change child support?        and

2. how do I do it? - the procedure differs depending on whether the child support payments are being made based on a Court Order, based on a Separation Agreement or based on a verbal agreement.

As to a potential reason for the change, this is a legal issue and we suggest you obtain legal advice on it.

As to the procedure, we will soon be able to assist, even if you are self-represented. We are about to launch a series of Manuals and Kits, including to assist you in changing your child support payments.

STAY TUNED!!!!


UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on:

• preparing an effective Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); 
• preparing an effective Affidavit; and
• the basics of service and filing...

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

Self-Rep Support - Kits and Manuals

Happy New Year!

For a wide variety of reasons about which we will not post today, more and more people are representing themselves before Ontario's family courts.

We have found that many such "self-reps" or "SRLs" (self-represented litigants), as they are known to judges and lawyers, need help. The legal machinery can be overwhelming.

This blog was born from the idea that people out there need a bit more information about family law in Ontario. Since we began posting here, we have noted the ever-increasing numbers of self-reps and considered some of the difficulties they face when they appear before Courts without a lawyer.

While our ability to help you with substantive issues (actual legal concepts, "the law") is limited, we will try and help at least with some of the procedure, paper-work and so on.

We plan on doing so with a series of manuals which will be available to you in our Etsy shop - to be opened by the middle of January, at the latest.

PLEASE WATCH FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

Topics for our manuals will include, for example:

1. How to complete an effective Financial Statement
2. How to complete an effective Application and Reply
3. How to complete an effective Answer
4. Pointers for filling out the Office of the Children's Lawyer questionnaire
5. Steps to take when changing child support.

"I called the FRO and they are not helping me" - BlogBite (21)

We hear this statement quite frequently.

Here is a typical scenario:

* Parties' family law case ends with a final order for child support. They have one child. Dad pays child support for 9 years.
*Daughter turns 17 and moves in with her boyfriend. She also gets a full-time job.
*Dad has irregular contact with daughter, particularly as she gets older.
*Neither daughter nor Mom tell Dad she is now living with her boyfriend (and not Mom) and working full-time.
*Dad finds out a year later.
*Dad calls Mom and asks her to advise FRO that child support ended some time ago. Mom refuses.
*FRO continues to collect child support.
*Dad calls FRO - he is told (correctly) that they cannot help him in ending the child support payments. FRO's job is to enforce the last court order. They are going so.

What is Dad to do?

Dad needs to go to Court and ask for an Order changing the last Court Order and terminating his child support obligations. If Mom is not agreeing to advise the FRO of the change and Dad is successful in terminating the support payments, he may be entitled to costs (Mom may have to pay his costs for having to go to Court on this issue).

We will soon have a KIT available on our website for situations exactly like this one - Stay Tuned!

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

Child Support when young person attends a co-op program or undertakes apprenticeship - BlogBite (20)

More and more young adults ("children" over the age of 18) attend co-op programs which include periods of both study and work, or undertake apprenticeship programs.

We receive a lot of questions on how such programs impact of child support. Here are some key points on this issue:

1. There are circumstances in which a young person over the age of 18 will continue to be eligible for child support. We have posted on this issue before - we invite you to search for earlier discussions.

2. Generally speaking, a young person who continues with their education past the age of 18 will continue to be eligible for support. That being said, the facts of each specific case need to be considered to determine whether child support continues to be owing.

3. A young person over 18 does not automatically become disentitled to child support just because he or she is in a program of study which involves a work component or even some form of income.

4. When this happens, the focus should be on the a) form of child support payable and b) amount of child support payable. If the student receives income in connection with the work component of the program of study a) he/she may be expected to contribute at least a portion of the income to their own costs and b) the amount of financial assistance that young person will receive from his or her parents may be affected.

Again, each case is unique - inform yourself and get legal advice.

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

A serene Ontario vista - Photo by AJ

SELF-REP HELP KITS

ANNOUNCEMENT: we are working on a series of HELP KITS for self-represented litigants.

So far, we are considering KITS on the following topics (and they will include Forms and instructions):

1. How to complete an effective Financial Statement

2. Ending or changing child support by Motion to Change

3. Navigating Case Management in Ontario

4. Understanding pleadings (Application, Answer and Reply)

and others!

STAY TUNED!

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

The child support "grid"...tables under the Child Support Guidelines - Ontario

I once heard a radio talk show host refer to a "child support grid". We have heard this phrase used in other contexts as well. What does it mean?

The "grid", otherwise known as a "table", is a tool which assists us in calculating the first of the two components of child support, commonly known as the "table amount".

Child support in Canada is generally calculated using both federal and provincial legislation (depending on whether the parents of the child were married or not) called the Child Support Guidelines. This legislation includes a series of tables which set out monthly amounts payable by the parent with whom the child or children in question do not live primarily, in different Provinces and based on different income levels. 

These tables are sometimes referred to as "grids" because they actually look like grids. On the left hand side of each table, there is a column with incremental income amounts and to the right are corresponding table child 

support amounts, depending on the number of children involved.

There is a separate table for each Province because the cost of raising children varies from location to location. 

The child support amounts set out in the grid represent the monthly amount to be paid by the non-residential parent to the primary residential parent, on a monthly and repeating basis - the tables do not provide for an automatic terminating event or date - that is a question which depends on the facts of each particular case.

The amounts provided for in the tables are "net" to the recipient parent. This means that no tax is paid by that parent on the table amount received. Correspondingly, the payor parent does not have an opportunity to deduct these amounts for tax purposes (this is different than the tax treatment of periodic spousal support).


UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME! 

"How do I get a divorce?" - Ontario - BlogBite (19)

As you can imagine, we hear this question A LOT!

In Canada, only a Judge can grant a divorce. For this reason, the Court must be notified if either party wants a divorce, even if all of the other issues are settled, by way of Separation Agreement, for example.

How does the Court "get notified"? One of the parties needs to commence a court proceeding, by Application (a joint Application is also an option). In the Application, the spouse commencing the court case would ask for a divorce BUT may also ask for other relief, like child support, custody and other claims.

When to ask for a divorce and whether to ask the Court for just a divorce or a divorce with other claims is a very important, strategic decision for which you likely need legal advice.

In lay terms, a "divorce" is what happens when two married spouses separate but in strict legal terms, a divorce is only the order of the court which ends a marriage and as a result of which the spouses are no longer spouses and are divorced.

It is important to realize that the granting of a divorce DOES NOT deal with any of the other issues in the case between separated spouses.

SO: if your case involves issues like custody, access, child support, spousal support and property division, to mention just a few, then your court case must name all those IN ADDITION to a divorce and ask the Court to deal with those issues as well.

These are complex, technical issues Get legal advice. We offer unbundled services to give you advice on limited, specific issues as well. 

What is a matrimonial home - Ontario? - BlogBite (18)

In simplest terms, in Ontario and for family law purposes, a matrimonial home is the place where married spouses live together at the time of separation.

Here is more information you may find interesting/relevant:

1. A matrimonial home does not have to be owned by both spouses or even one of them. It can be a rental unit, for example, or a property owned by a corporation.

2. A family can have more than one matrimonial home. For example, a family cottage can, in the right circumstances, be the second matrimonial home.

3. The Family Law Act gives spouses special "possessory rights" in connection with a matrimonial home, no matter who actually owns the property.  A spouse cannot be deprived of such rights without consent or court order.

4. The value of matrimonial homes is divided between the parties on separation in a unique way, based on the provisions of the Family Law Act. Homes which are brought into the marriage and which are the matrimonial home at separation are also treated in a very specific way under this legislation (and unlike the division of other assets). Legal advice is crucial in this area.

5. Remember: The phrase "matrimonial home" applies only to situations where the spouses are married to each other (ie: are not common-law spouses).

UPDATE - January, 2018

We are pleased to let you know that our Etsy shop is now OPEN!

Visit it here: SELFREP SUPPORT

In the shop, we make available to you Manuals (E-books) on various topics, to assist you in representing yourself before Ontario's family law Courts.

So far, we have Manuals on preparing an effective:

• Financial Statement (both long-form and short-form); and
• Affidavit.

MORE MANUALS TO COME!