Travel Consent Letter

We receive many questions about Travel Consent Letters and based on them, we understand there are many misconceptions out there about what this document is and who needs it for travel with whom.

Travel Consent Letters are generally prepared when a child or children travel with one parent and without the other. Such situations are not limited to separated or divorced spouses but we will focus on them in this post.

Travel Consent Letters are not a requirement but they do make these travel situations simpler. When an Immigration officer sees a single parent travelling with a child or children alone, a travel letter, signed by the other parent, will go a long way in addressing any concerns about the children's potential safety. While many parents find the preparation of the Travel Letters cumbersome, we ask: "is this not preferable to having to deal with situations where children travel without the other parent's knowledge or may even be abducted?"

What is important to realize is that a Travel Consent letter will not guarantee your leaving the country with your child or children without further questions. Immigration Canada retains the right to investigate the legitimacy of the proposed trip, even if you have a Letter in hand.  That being said, Travel Letters do help and we highly recommend them.

2 other points:

1. we have heard the following before, post-trip: "don't know why I bothered, they did not even ask for the letter" - you may not be asked but our policy is - better safe than sorry - see 2. below

2. we have also heard the following before the trip: "I will just take a risk, they did not ask the last time so I am not going to fuss with this now" - we say again, better safe than sorry - we know of actual instances when parents were turned away at the border because they did not have a Travel Letter and the other parent could not be contacted immediately to verify that the trip was authorized.

Here is a link to some further useful, official information about Travel Consent Letters:

Government of Canada Travel Consent Letter information

The child support "grid"...

I recently heard a radio talk show host refer to a "child support grid". I 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).

Do I need a lawyer to go to Court?

More and more people ask this question, particularly as the costs of living increase and financial pressures on average Ontario families mount.

The simple answer is "no, you do not".  There is no rule which says that only lawyers can present or defend cases in Court.

Courts in Ontario are equipped to deal with people who come before a Judge without a lawyer. Such individuals are referred to as "unrepresented" or "self-represented".

Now let's consider the question from a different perspective and use the following analogy to illustrate the point. What is the answer to the following question: "do I need a doctor to treat my red eye?" The simple answer is you do not - you can certainly treat the problem yourself and you may be able to cure the problem too, after trial-and-error with different remedies at your disposal. On the other hand, if you see a doctor about your red eye, he/she may diagnose the problem with more precision and zero in a lot faster on the treatment, including prescription medication, all leading to a speedy recovery.

Back to our lawyer question: an average person on the street is not trained on what family law legislation says and means, and what case law has provided by way of precedent. Nor is he/she familiar with court administration and the rules related to the conduct of a family law case (and all unrepresented litigants are expected to "play by the same rules" as those who attend with lawyers).

The right lawyer CAN help your case move forward faster and in a more organized way. Most importantly, a lawyer is able to advise you all issues relevant to your circumstances - you may not even be aware of such issues because you lack the legal training.

If you cannot retain a lawyer to act for you then at least invest in a consultation as to your legal rights. It's important.

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! 

Telephone and other types of access....

Access between a parent and a child does not have to be limited to physical access, ie: based on a schedule, the child spends time with the parent, during the day, overnight or for a couple of days at a time. Other forms of access are acceptable and in fact, quite common. The goal is meaningful "contact" between a parent and a child - and that may take a variety of forms.

Telephone access is quite common and has been for a long time. Such access can be ad hoc, meaning the child (usually) calls the parent whenever he/she wants. The more usual arrangement is for set times during the week when the parent speaks to the child by phone (time and frequency often depend on the child's age)  - this gives the child structure, certainty and a reasonable expectation when contact with that parent will take place. The other parent's cooperation is required to make this happen - the child has to be close to a phone for the scheduled telephone access. Provisions and schedules for such access are common these days in Court Orders and Separation Agreements.

As technology advances, new forms of access have been introduced and are becoming part of our everyday family law "parlance". Access by Skype and Facetime are two examples. More and more Separation Agreements and Court Order include such access. Both parent and child much have access to the right hardware and software but that is becoming less of an issue these days given the availability of technology in virtually every household.

When considering access for your child, think out of the box of physical access. There are other options as well.

Parenting Plan

When family law lawyers use this term in Ontario, they are usually talking about a multi-page document which creates a "road-map" for parents on how to deal with their child(ren) and each other after a separation.

A Parenting Plan may be authored by a variety of people. Many Parenting Plans are the result of negotiations between Mom and Dad, with the assistance of lawyers. Other Parenting Plan result from the recommendations by professionals involved, for example, in a custody/access dispute. An assessor under section 30 of the Children's Law Reform Act can be one such person. Mom and Dad might also have met with a mediator to work out the terms of a Parenting Plan and if successful, that document would contain all the agreed-to terms.

Parenting Plans in Ontario can address a whole host of issues relating to children. Here are some examples:

1. who will make decisions about major issues in the children's lives (custody).
2. where the children will live (residence).
3. if the children will live mainly with one parent, much often and when specifically the other parent will spend time with the children (access).
4. whether the parents can move with or without the children (mobility).
5. what the protocol will be if a child requires emergency care when in the care of one parent.
6. what happens when access is missed.
7. what happens if one parent cannot care for the children on their time.
8. who, other than the parents, can look after the children.
9. how holidays and special occasions will be shared.

This is not a complete list of issues covered by Parenting Plans - they differ from family to family depending on the particular needs of the children and their parents.

Some Parenting Plans, particularly in high-conflict cases, include the appointment of a Parenting Coordinator (commonly known as a "PC") - usually, this person assists the parents in resolving their disputes and depending on the parties' agreement, may have arbitral powers, meaning, they can actually be empowered to break any deadlocks and made final decisions.

A thorough, thought-through Parenting Plan is an invaluable tool for separated parents. It can help immensely on the road ahead, particularly during periods, as there are in life in general, when the separated parents are not getting along very well.