Reading Time: 4 minutes When the parents of a child separate, they must make decisions about where the child should live on a day-to-day basis. Many parents prefer some form of “shared parenting” which usually means that each parent has day-to-day care of the child at least 40% of the time. However, shared parenting is not right for all families. In some […]
About Sarah Dargatz
FAMILY | What COVID-19 Caselaw Tells Us about Parenting
Reading Time: 5 minutes This column is coming out during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health authorities across Canada, and the world, have issued protocols for limiting the spread of the virus. Many family courts are only hearing “urgent” matters. The court has heard cases during this time that speak to a specific set of circumstances in our history. However, the […]
FAMILY | The Legal Status of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Divorce Act sets out the factors that a judge considers when ordering one ex-partner to pay spousal support (also knows as “partner support” or “spousal maintenance”) to the other ex-partner. The factors in provincial family law legislation that applies to unmarried couples, such as Alberta’s Family Law Act, often mirror the Divorce Act. Before […]
Common Misconceptions about Family Law
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s not unusual for someone to come see me and have some misconceptions about how the law or the legal process works. Previous articles and columns in LawNow have addressed many of these misconceptions. In this article, I’ll address a few others. 1. I can trade “parental rights” for the obligation to pay child support. […]
Alternatives to Court: Mediation
Reading Time: 4 minutes In the first column in this series, John-Paul Boyd introduced basic alternatives to resolving family law disputes in court. In the second column, I wrote about the Collaborative process. In the last issue, John-Paul Boyd explained arbitration. In this column, I’m going to talk about mediation. Mediation is a process where you and the other […]
Alternatives to Court: The Collaborative Process
Reading Time: 3 minutes John-Paul Boyd explained why people might want to find an alternative to court to reach a resolution about their family law disputes in the November/December 2018 issue of LawNow. One alternative to court is the Collaborative process. Many processes, such a negotiation or mediation, can be “collaborative”, meaning cooperative or amicable. However, here I am […]
Enforcement of Family Law Orders When Parents Live in Different Places: Part 2
Reading Time: 4 minutes Generally, Alberta court orders are only enforceable in Alberta. And, generally, Alberta judges can only grant family law orders about people who reside in Alberta. However, families are mobile and many relocate from province to province or even from country to country. Therefore, Alberta has entered into agreements with the other Canadian provinces and territories, […]
Enforcement of Family Law Orders When Parents Live in Different Places: Part 1
Reading Time: 3 minutes Generally, Alberta court orders are only enforceable in Alberta. And, generally, Alberta judges can only grant family law orders about people who reside in Alberta. However, families are mobile and many relocate from province to province or even from country to country. Therefore, Alberta has entered into agreements with the other Canadian provinces and territories, […]
Self-Employment and Family Law: Calculating Income for Support
Reading Time: 4 minutes In most cases, the amount of child support a parent has to pay is determined by their income. For an employee, this is generally simple to calculate and is usually set out at line 150 of the employee’s tax return. However, many Albertans earn income from self-employment. It can be complicated to assess that parent’s […]
Dispensing with a Parent’s Consent for Counselling for Children
Reading Time: 4 minutes When parents go through a separation, the effects on children can be harsh. Often, children benefit from counselling. Usually, both parents agree and provide their consent for this to occur. But occasionally, one parent will not consent. This leaves the other parent, and the child, in a difficult spot. Unless a court order says otherwise, […]
