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!

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 know my 16-year-old is still in school?" - BlogBite

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Question: I am still paying child support for my 16 year old son. Someone just told me he is not in school any more and now working full-time. Am I entitled to know what he is doing? How do I find out?

Answer: Yes, you are entitled to confirmation that your son is still attending school and, therefore, remains eligible for child support. You can request the information from the other parent and it should be provided. Or, you can ask the other parent to authorize the school to provide the information directly to you.

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! 

Limited Scope Retainers and Unbundled Services - BlogBite

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Question: What is a Limited Scope Retainer? I have heard of "unbundled" legal services, what does that phrase mean?

Answer: Both of these terms relate to a scenario where a person requiring legal services or advice hires a lawyer to deal with only a part of their case or a specific issue in the case, as opposed to dealing with the entire case as part of a classic retainer. Limited Scope Retainers are becoming increasingly common. With growing frequency, individuals who cannot afford legal representation for their whole case engage a lawyer to assist them with specific parts of the case, specific issues or specific questions which arise as they represent themselves.

We do provide unbundled services - if you have any more questions, call us! (905) 898-8500.

"I want the Judge to speak to my child" - BlogBite

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Question: "My son, who is 6, has told me over and over again that he wants to live with me and not his mother. I want him to tell the Judge that. Judges speak to children to find out what they want, correct?"

Answer: When a Judge in Ontario considers a child-related issue (but not child support), he/she is expected by the legislation to take into account the views a child expresses as to the situation. It is important to realize that this is only one of the many factors a Judge is to take into account, and is not determinative of (does not decide) the issue.

That being said, those expressed views are to be considered having regard to the child's age, maturity, and ability to express themselves clearly and consistently. Further, the Judge must determine whether the views expressed, if any, are really those of the child and not of either of the parents, through the child.  If there is any general rule to be drawn from the legislation and related case law, it is that the younger the child, the less likely the Court is to take into consideration the child's views and preferences.

Judges rarely speak to children directly. That happens only in rare and unique circumstances. Children's voices come before the Court in a variety of other ways, which will be the subject of another post. Stay tuned.

Have more questions? Call us!

"Why does it matter what I had when we married?" - BlogBite

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Question: "I was married and I am now separated. Someone told me that it is important for me to show what I had when I married my wife. Why does this matter?"

Answer: Ontario's Family Law Act provides a mechanism for the sharing, on separation, of the spouses' assets and debts, by value. The Act contemplates the sharing by the spouses of the increase in their net worths (based on a formula) between the date of marriage and the date of separation. In other words, a separated spouse gets credit for the value of their assets (less liabilities) at marriage. This is why it's important for you to establish that value.

Do you have any further questions? Give us a call....

"My ex-wife is now married to a rich guy" - BlogBite

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Question: My ex-wife is now married to a rich guy. They live in a mansion and she drives an Audi. She does not need child support from me. Do I still have to pay it?

Answer: The answer is "yes".

The obligation of a parent to support a child is rooted in the parent/child relationship between them (and this includes non-biological children with whom the adult acted like a parent). In other words, it is you and your child who have a fundamental, including financial relationship. The child support you pay it not the right of your ex-wife. It is the right of your child and they continue to be entitled to receive it from you.

You pay child support based on your income, whether high or low. Your ex-wife's financial circumstances may mean that in the end, your child may enjoy a more affluent standard of living because of his or her mother's new financial circumstances but that does not affect your fundamental obligation to support your child.

By way of example, if you make $25,000 a year and your ex-wife's new husband makes $500,000, you still have to pay child support based on $25,000 but you are not expected to pay enough support to match her and her husband's $500,000 lifestyle.  Remember, you child is still entitled to support from you based on $25,000 worth of income.

"Can I change the locks?" - BlogBite

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Question: My husband and I are separated.  The atmosphere in our home is very uncomfortable and I do not think  it's good for the kids. I would like him "gone". Can I change the locks while he is at work?

Answer: No, the law does not permit you to do that. Married spouses have equal possessory rights to the matrimonial home, no matter who is actually on title (owns it). Those rights can only be set aside in one of two ways:

1. your spouse agrees to move out; or
2. the Court Orders your spouse to move out.

Changing the locks without his knowledge means taking away his possessory rights without his consent or Court Order.

If you feel that you must protect your own safety and the children's, changing the locks is not a solution to the problem - if safety is an issue, you MUST call the police.

Do you have more questions? contact us...

"Am I entitled to my child's report card?" (8)

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Question: "My ex-wife has sole custody of our son. She says that because of this, I am not entitled to our son's report card. Is this true?"

Answer: no - her position is not correct. Unless there are exceptional circumstances in your case, like every parent you are entitled to be informed about your child's academic progress. The fact that your ex-spouse has sole custody does not eliminate that right.

Do you have more questions? call us....

Custody of pets - BlogBite

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Question: We had a family dog when we separated - will the Court give either of us custody of the dog?

Answer: In Canada, the word "custody" does not apply to pets in a legal sense. Courts do not preside over hearings where parties fight over custody of a cat or pet or budgie. The Court may turn its attention to a pet, as a possession/chattel, especially in a case where there are children who have bonded with the pet.

Do you have more questions about your pet? please contact us.

Disclosure in Family Law - BlogBite

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Question: "do I really have to give the other side my tax returns, records for my business and copies of my bank account statements?"

Answer: Most likely - yes.  Disclosure in family law is virtually a foregone conclusion. I say "virtually" because there are some requests (for example, whether or not a party to a family law case needs to produce their new spouse's financial information) which are arguable before a family Court. Overall, however, a party to a family law case should be prepared to make broad, thorough and ongoing disclosure. Legislation and case law provide for it and family Courts expect it. It is fundamental to assessing and addressing family law claims. 

My child is 18, why is FRO still collecting? - BlogBite

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Question: my child is over 18 but FRO are still collecting child support from me.  Why is that?

Answer: the most basic answer to your question is:  "because they have not been told to stop".

Why have they not been told to stop collecting? There may be different reasons for this, for example (and this is not a complete list):

(a) your child is still entitled to child support, even though she/he more that 18 years old;

(b) neither the payor (the person paying support) nor the recipient (the person receiving support) have advised the FRO that the collection by FRO is to stop;

(c) the payor and the recipient do not agree that FRO collection should stop and a Court Order to this effect is needed. The payor has taken no steps to get that Order.

Do you still have questions? Call us for a 30 minute free consultation.

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! 

Introducing - BlogBites

We are all pressed for time - professional and personal responsibilities compete for our attention at various points in the day. How many times have YOU wished you had more than 24-hours to play with?

We face time pressures too but we do want to continue to provide you with pointers as you search for answers to your Family Law questions. Full-length blog posts are time-consuming and we are not always able to keep up at a pace we like.

With this in mind, we came up with the idea of BlogBites - much shorter and more frequent posts on family law topics.

Please follow along and participate.

What is an uncontested divorce?

The answer to the question above depends on how "divorce" is defined.

If by divorce, we mean the steps of formally ending the parties' marriage by a Divorce Order, granted by the Court, then here, an uncontested divorce is one which is either:

(a) proceeding on the consent of both parties; or
(b) is requested by one party and not opposed by the other.

A divorce in such a case can proceed either at the request of one spouse or based on a joint Application made by both parties. Uncontested divorces are quite common - they involve primarily the completion of the required paperwork, its service on the other side, its filing with the Court and a Judge's signature.

If by divorce, we mean all of the issues arising out the separation of a couple (for example custody, child support, spousal support, etc.) then uncontested divorces in this instance are less common but they are still possible. There are couples who work out all the terms of their separation directly with each other and then one retains a lawyer to incorporate them into a separation agreement, for example. There are also situations where the agreement is reached in the context of mediation.

Not every separation results in an "all-out fight" between the spouses - if you are interested in finding out how to complete a sane separation and divorce, please contact us for more pointers.

Support and related income considerations

When support (either child or spousal) is an issue in a family law case, there are a number of questions which need to be addressed before the actual support calculation is made.  

For example, in the case of child support, is a young person over the age of 18 still eligible to receive child support?  If so, in what form is that support to be paid? To whom? 

On the issue of spousal support, is the potential support recipient making best efforts to contribute to his or her own support based on their current ability to do so?

The income of the potential payor is a key question to address in any consideration of support obligations.  “Income for tax purposes" is not necessarily “income for support purposes” in family law.  In other words, simply because Canada Revenue Agency accepts a potential payor’s representations of his or her income for tax purposes does not mean that a family law Judge will do the same. 

Family law spreads a much wider sweep over a potential payor’s income sources to determine the true extent of his or her ability to pay support.  

The Child Support Guidelines, which technically apply to the calculation of child support but have now been wildly accepted as applying to spousal support calculations as well, permit the inclusion in income for support purposes of a wide variety of income sources.  The intent of the legislation is to ensure that financial dependants receive support based on all sources of the payor's actual income but also on sources which are available to the payor, even if he or she chooses not to tap into them. 

By way of one example only, income earned by a business which is not paid out to a shareholder but could be is vulnerable to being included in his or her income for support purposes.  Personal expenses run through the business are also vulnerable to being added back to the payor’s income for support purposes.

Our Family Wizard - how to "speak" to the other parent.....

Separation and divorce strain communication - that is because high emotions of disappointment, hurt and even anger are involved. And yet, in many cases, parents must continue to communicate about their children - this involves setting aside their own emotions for one another and focusing on the children's needs. 

Here is one suggestion of how they might do so effectively: 

Imagine: Parent 1 and Parent 2 recently separated. Parent 1 is supposed to pick up Child from school but is caught in a meeting that seems like it will never end. Parent 1 sends an email to Parent 2 (underneath the table so as to not draw any attention) asking Parent 2 to pick-up Child. Email goes to Parent 2’s junk folder and Child is left at school wondering...

When a relationship breaks down and there are children involved, effective communication between parents is essential to any successful co-parenting arrangement.

Our Family Wizard is an affordable software tool that is designed to streamline communications between parents. Some of the features include:

·        

• Calendar: This allows parents to clearly delineate parenting time or post when a child has an activity scheduled.

• Message Board: Parents can communicate freely about any child-related issue using the Message Board. Along with all of the other features of traditional email, Our Family Wizard indicates when a message has been viewed by the receiving Parent (avoiding the hypothetical situation described above). Parents also have optional access to the “ToneMeter”, which checks the tone of a message against 8 levels of connotative feeling to ensure that what you type is what you mean – no more 24 hour rule!

• Expense Log: When one parent incurs an expense on behalf of the child, and is seeking reimbursement from the other parent, s/he can post the expense and attach receipt/proof of payment on Our Family Wizard. This feature also allows you to keep a live record of payments on account of children’s expenses.

Because Our Family Wizard is a centralized and comprehensive hub of communications between parents, third party professionals can view the exchanges to offer insight in to how parents can better communicate with each other in light of the children’s best interests. Our Family Wizard is also a useful tool for Courts in understanding children’s issues in a particular family law case.

For more information, please go to: Our Family Wizard

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! 

Christmas Access Tips......

(re-posting a previous Blog post, on a subject about which we receive many questions...)

With the holidays approaching, many parents are thinking of and planning for Christmas access. Here are some basic tips:

1. Plan and prepare early. Give yourself and the other parent a reasonable opportunity to propose a schedule to each other, discuss it and confirm it. Leave room and time for some negotiation.

2. Always think of your child/children first. This may sound like the most basic of concepts but, surprisingly, it gets lost in so many fights about access over the holidays. This is a special time for kids - yes, it's a special time for you as well but they, and not you, are waiting for presents and the smell of gingerbread. Make the holidays as stress-free for kids as possible - this includes not having to watch parents fight or to hear one parent making disparaging comments about the other.

3. If you plan on travelling with your child/children, advise the other parent as much in advance as possible. Draft, sign and have notarized a detailed Travel Consent so that you are less likely to be turned away at the border when travelling for your holiday. Give the other parent (and include in the Travel Consent) detailed information about your destination, method of travel and contact information.

4. If you and the other parent cannot agree on holiday access, one of you may have to ask the Court to assist. Family Courts are very, very busy before the holidays, precisely because of numerous requests for assistance with access. Try and not be the parent sitting in Court for hours, waiting to be heard by a stranger to your family, a Judge, to make a decision about your children over the holidays. Work with the other parent.

5. There are many different ways of handling the holiday access schedule. For example, you can divide the school holidays in half and alternate those two halves, year to year. Or, you can alternate just Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Other alternatives are available. Speak to a family law lawyer to assist you and tell you about other choices.

Above all, have a safe and restful holiday season....