Ontario Family Law Podcast
59 - Why You Won’t Get Custody of the Kids
59 - Why You Won't Get Custody of Your Kids
For many years, custody of the children was the big prize in any divorce or separation. Especially with the introduction of “no-fault divorce”, custody of the children was important because it showed who WON the divorce. For separating parents, getting custody, and controlling the other parent’s “access” has been the ultimate goal, which superseded other considerations, like maintaining an amicable relationship with other parents, or being able to co-parent, or addressing the children’s needs. With the introduction of the Child Support Guidelines, custody became even more important because it also meant entitlement to child support and even sharing parenting meant getting less child support. The huge importance separated parents have placed on getting custody is indisputable.
Then, in 2019, the Federal Government, followed by the provincial governments, made big changes to the Divorce Act and other family laws to abolish the terms “custody” and “access” and change the focus of “parenting orders” on to the children and their needs. Those changes went into effect on March 1, 2021.
Judges now make parenting orders, not custody orders, and those parenting orders have two components – parenting responsibilities and parenting time.
In this edition of the Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains how if you go to court to get custody of the children, you are certain NOT to get it.
If you enjoyed this episode, you will want to check out these ones:
46 - Do Parenting Plans and Family Court Orders Continue During COVID-19?
46.2 - Update on Parenting During the Pandemic
37 - Sharing the Holidays After Separation
35 - Keeping Child Custody/Access Issues Out of Court
18 - Hearing the Voice of the Child in Custody/Access Proceedings
17 - Sole Custody. Joint Custody, Split Custody, Shared Custody - How do Judges Decide?
7 - What Does the term “custody of a child” mean? How does a judge decide who should get it?
5- What Say Do Children Get in Separation and Divorce?
Paperback available from:
The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores. Anyone who has to deal with issues related to separation or divorce, the financial considerations in those circumstances or parenting concerns should rely on both this podcast and the book for easy-to-understand information and advice about how the law applies to their case and what are the best ways to address their concerns. The book also covers all the other related family law issues, such as child support, spousal support, property division and restraining orders. To get your copy of the book, click on the picture of the book above and to the left.
Thousands of people tune into the Ontario Family Law Podcast to get valuable pointers on family law, divorce and separation issues. Please feel free to share this podcast with your social network using the sharing buttons below. The host of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, John Schuman, is a Certified Specialist in Family Law, practicing in Toronto. If you would like to contact him, either call 416-446-5847, email us, or fill out form below and click “send.” To book a consultation, at a reduced rate, use this form.
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