Family and Divorce Lawyers in Ottawa

When a relationship ends, a stepparent can end up paying child support to a child of the marriage even if they do not have an ongoing relationship with that child. According to the Child Support Guidelines, a court can order both a biological parent to pay support and anyone else who stands in the place…

Recently, the Law Society has allowed lawyers to offer unbundled legal services to clients who may not be able to afford full service representation. In the family law context, choosing to retain a lawyer for what is called ‘limited scope representation’ will allow clients to save money if it looks like their relationship breakdown is…

If you’ve been watching the news this week, you’ll know that the U.S. has declared that all same-sex couples, even those in states which don’t recognize same sex marriage, will receive the same rights as heterosexual couples in court proceedings, the prison system, and in bankruptcy proceedings. Interestingly, as this CBC article discusses, the movement…

Should there be a presumption of equal shared parenting in the courts- ie. where separated parents spend a relatively equal amount of time caring for their children? In an article in the National Post, Barbara Kay argues that it’s time for this presumption to gain a foothold in family law disputes. Her article points out…

British Columbia’s new Family Law Act came into force on March 18th, 2013. Most notably, it confers family property rights upon common law couples. Previously, only married spouses were entitled to a division of property when their relationship ended. Now, any couple who has been living together for at least 2 years in a marriage-like…