Focusing in Family Law

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…

The first child to have 3 parents listed on their birth certificate in Canada is in the province of British Columbia. Under the new Family Law Act which was passed in 2013, a child can have up to 4 legal guardians listed on their birth certificate. In this recent case reported in the National Post,…

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…

There’s a new film coming out on January 10th narrated by Dr. Drew Pinsky (of ‘Celebrity Rehab’ fame) critiquing the the dysfunctional divorce industry in the U.S. The movie, ‘Divorce Corp.’, explores the divorce industry- from what it costs to retain a lawyer, to the length of time it takes to get a divorce, and…