In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the effects conflict between parents can have on their children. In Part 2, I talked about a number of techniques to defuse or diminish conflict, including a few basic communication strategies. In this, the final part of the series, I’m going to talk about … [Read more...]
Conflict Between Parents, Part 2: Strategies to Reduce Conflict
In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the effects conflict between parents can have on their children. In this part of the article, I’m going to talk about some steps parents can take to protect children from their conflict.First, the bad news. Children are commonly negatively affected when … [Read more...]
Conflict Between Parents, Part 1: The Effect of Conflict on Children
When parents separate, they must find ways of answering a lot of difficult questions about how they will care for and manage their children. Where will the children live? How much time will each parent spend with them? How will decisions about the children be made? Who will pay child support, and … [Read more...]
Symposium on Children’s Participation in Justice Processes Coming to Calgary
Canada and its provinces are signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international treaty that requires governments to recognize children’s fundamental human rights. In particular, Article 12 of the Convention says that children must be given “the opportunity to be heard in … [Read more...]
Obtaining Evidence in High Conflict Parenting Disputes, Part 4: Parenting Coordination
In Part 2 of this series, Sarah Dargatz wrote briefly about parenting coordination, one of the interventions available in family law cases before the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. In this article, the final part of this series, I will talk about how parenting coordination is used in British … [Read more...]
Obtaining Evidence in High Conflict Parenting Disputes, Part 3: Views of the Child Reports and Parenting Assessments
In Part 1 of this series, Sarah Dargatz wrote about the use of children’s lawyers in high conflict family law disputes in Alberta. Sarah said that hiring a lawyer to represent a child can be an effective way to get information about the child’s views and preferences when the parents cannot agree. In … [Read more...]
Obtaining Evidence in High Conflict Parenting Disputes, Part 2: Using Experts in Parenting Disputes
In most disputes over parenting time, parents come to reasonable decisions about what is in their child’s best interests. However, a small percentage of disputes are “high conflict”. In high conflict cases, the parents have great difficulty communicating, make decisions together, and treating each … [Read more...]
Obtaining Evidence in High Conflict Parenting Disputes, Part 1: Lawyers for Children
In most disputes over parenting time, parents come to reasonable decisions about what is in their child’s best interests. However, a small percentage of disputes are “high conflict”. In high conflict cases, the parents have great difficulty communicating, make decisions together, and treating each … [Read more...]
Changes to Child Support Applications
Exchanging financial information is crucial to determine child support. John-Paul Boyd gave a great overview of child support in LawNow Issues 38-4 and 38-5. I covered the general duty to disclose financial information in family law cases in LawNow Issue 39-5. There have been some recent changes in … [Read more...]
Dealing with Pets after Separation, Part 2: Going to Court
In the first half of this article, I wrote about the laws on personal property that might apply when a couple can’t agree on how they’ll manage their pets after they separate. In this half, I’ll talk about the sorts of orders you can and can’t ask the court to make about pets, assuming you and your … [Read more...]
