Newest Papers Added

Jan 2005 - Get the FLC's Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines Primer to find out all you need to know about the new SSAG. A special commentary prepared by Joel Miller.

Jan 2005 - Social worker Gary Direnfeld is a busy fellow – and he’s got lots of interesting material for both family law lawyers and clients (as well as their children) experiencing separation and divorce. Check out a variety of video clips he has on different topics. I recommend the ones dealing with Divorce, Violence at Home, Mediation, and Step Families in particular.

He’s also got some new articles of interest in the Separation/Divorce Articles section of his website:

• Divorced? Have a 100% relationship with your kids
• Assessment Critique: Hired gun or dispassionate opinion
• Getting Kids Out of the Cross Fire

ARCHIVED PAPERS - by category

Property Issues:

• Oct 2004 - Preservation orders done right can be a big help to your client. Ever wondered when and how to go about getting one? Here's a paper with the answers. Take a look at Grant Gold's article Preservation Orders.
   
• Mar 2004 - The Supreme Court discusses the circumstances in which a marriage contract should or might be rescinded and tells us they're pretty slim - even in British Columbia which has a lower threshold for judicial intervention than most other provinces. See the Comment by Joel Miller: Marriage Contracts Mean What They Say: The Hartshorne Decision.
   
• Jan 2004 - If you always wanted to tie up the other side's assets Tom Bastedo gives you 6 different ways to do it, legally. See what he proposes in his paper: Injunction - Junction, What's Your Function? A Review of the Basic Principles and Uses of Injunctions Within the Field of Family Law.
   
• Jan 2004 - In Ontario spouses have deductions and exclusions when calculating the value of their assets for division at separation. Most Canadian jurisdictions have something similar. These are often very problematical. Stephan Grant reviews current law for exclusions with wit and wisdom in Exclusions: or, “That’s What You Get For Lovin’ Me”.

Child Support Guideline Material:

• Mar 2004 - The issue of whether a court will make an order for child support retroactive at all, and for how far back, is one of considerable interest to both payors and recipients. See the case comment by Joel Miller: When will a court make child support orders retroactive? The Ontario Court of Appeal gives the answer in Walsh v. Walsh
   
• Jan 2004 - Lots of support recipients want to seek retroactive child support going back long before the beginning of any variation proceeding – and lots of support payors don’t. Especially if it means making large lump sum payments for long passed years when no claim for support or readjustment was made. If you want cases going each way see Paul McInnis’ paper: Retroactive Child Support - Who's right is it anyway (I think he meant “Whose” - but who’s looking that carefully?)

Custody and Access:

• Jan 2004 - What’s wrong with Dad having overnight access with a child under 3 years? Nothing, says recent case law and social science and Melanie Kraft. Read her paper: Re-Thinking Access for Children Under Three to see if you agree.
   
• Jan 2004 - Your mother gave you money when you and the ex bought your home. Now that you’ve separated she wants repayment. The ex says it was a gift to you both and you say the two of you need to pay mommy back. Check out Brahm Siegel’s paper: “I Love You Son, But You Owe Me!”

Miscellaneous

• Jan 2004 - Too often parent find themselves dealing with their province’s or territory’s Children’s Aid Society or Agency. Each jurisdiction has it’s own legislation but the general principles are similar. Lorne Glass reviews issues of concern to lawyers acting for parents caught in this web in his paper: Child and Family Services Act Issues For The Family Law Practitioner.

Separation and Parenting Articles:

• Jan 2004 - Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW, is a practicing social worker with over 20 years of experience carrying on a marital and family counseling practice as well as counseling on matters involving children and parenting. He writes and provides workshops and has a website which includes a variety of articles on Separation/Divorce issues and on Parenting issues. Lots of interesting stuff to help clients deal with these issues and to help us understand the issues they face.