Partner, Family Law
Not too many people are aware that Judges who sit in family court are not necessarily specialized in the area of family law. Under the current system, due to lack of judicial resources, Judges are appointed to the Bench from all different legal backgrounds. Some practised criminal law, some corporate…
Thomas Dart, Partner, Family Law
The Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters has published its report on Family Justice. This committee was convened at the invitation of the Chief Justice of Canada, the Honorable Beverly McLachlan and is chaired by Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell. It addresses the concern…
Thomas Dart, Partner, Family Law.
There are, sadly, similarities between the NHL lockout and warring spouses. Here are a few:
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Thomas Dart, Partner, Family Law.
Lawyers who are also mediators are almost schizophrenic. As advocates, they have to pretend that they are, in effect, at war with the other side, a war which must be conducted with “civility”, but war nonetheless. As mediators, they have to find peace. So should family law be conducted…
Many people are surprised by the high cost of legal services when they go through separation and divorce. It is not unusual to spend tens of thousands of dollars to have issues resolved even in an “amicable divorce”. Here are some of the reasons.
First, in most cases, people have many issues to resolve:
1) …
There are so many people who believe that when they separate from their married or common law partner, the law automatically requires them to divide the property they own equally between them. People believe that common law partners eventually acquire the same rights as married partners if they live together long enough. Most of us…
This week, let me digress a bit from the family law field, although I think this topic is directly related to the issues we mediators face on a daily basis. If any of you have watched the Rick Mercer report on CBC television, you are undoubtedly a fan of his “weekly rant” in which he…
A relationship breakdown affects people in different ways. Some people know that they have grown apart, accept that fact and are able to move on with their lives rather quickly. These are the people who can come to a quick and rather painless resolution of their parenting and financial issues. If they use lawyers, their…
When you separate, there are often so many things that must get resolved – the parenting plan for the children, financial support for the children or for the spouse, the property division and all the details involved with all of those issues. Even if both sides are cooperating, resolving all these issues can take what…
In my previous blog on the high cost of lawyers in family matters, I promised to lay out a couple of additional ways in which fees can be reduced.
A lot of time is taken up in gathering the necessary information for your lawyer so that he or she can…
