35. Keeping Child Custody/Access Issues Out of Court

Keeping Child Custody/Access Issues Out of Court

The research is clear that parental separation or divorce does not harm children, it is the conflict between parents, even at mild levels, that have serious long-lasting negative impacts on children.  While there are many things parents can do to protect their children in these situations, one of the most important, if not the most important, is to work out post-separation parenting issues without a big fight.   Family Court, as part of its adversarial system of justice, most often requires some form of conflict over children’s issues.   However, there are many alternatives to Family Court for parents who want to work out custody/access issues with less conflict and with more control over the results. While judges always decide custody/access cases in the best interests of the children, what a judge thinks is in a child’s best interests can be different from what the child’s parents think.

In this edition of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains the options for working out custody/access issues without resort to the Courts.  He describes parenting mediation, parenting coordination, family law arbitration, custody/access assessments, the Office of the Children’s Lawyer and how each of these options works and when each of them can be best.   This podcast also describes how parents can have greater control over the parenting plan after separation by using these other methods.

All separated parents, who do not have a parenting plan or agreement over custody/access issues must listen to this podcast to find out not only how to get the best results and protection for their kids, but also how to get the parenting arrangements that work best for them.

Contact Us

To contact John Schuman, Education Lawyer, call 416-446-5847, email him at john.schuman@devrylaw.ca, or use the form on this page.

Give us a call
Contact Form Fluent Form (#6)