Paying the Fees of Child Advocates

A "child advocate" is a lawyer hired to represent the interests of a child in a family law dispute between the child's parents. (Once upon a time, the court could have appointed a "family advocate" under s. 2 of the Family Relations Act, however the provincial government defunded this program years ago.) I have been retained as a child advocate and it is a challenging but very rewarding role.My friend Agnes Huang has pointed me to a very interesting case from the Supreme Court in 2010, C.L.M. v. D.J.M., on the issues of whether and how...

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A Note About the Present Effect of the New Family Law Act

I've been getting a lot of questions over the past few weeks about the status and current effect of the Family Law Act, a fair number of which have come from colleagues. Here's the deal.The Family Law Act passed third reading on 23 November 2011 and received royal assent the next day. However, the lion's share of the new act is not presently in force. The act will come fully into force on 18 March 2013. The parts of the act that are not in force — which is all of the important parts, really, including the parts about the care of children and the...

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Guest Column: "Mediation Tips"

by Brenda Shapiro, Esq.When you are getting ready for your first mediation conversation, chances are that your mediator will share with you some tips and/or rules of the road to guide the conversation. The number of tips and the emphasis placed on each may vary from mediator to mediator but here are some of the critical considerations and commitments that we ask of our mediation clients. Enter into the mediation process in good faith and with the belief that a satisfactory resolution for the dispute is possible. Understand that the best possible...

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Still More Family News from KTLA

I popped by the website of Los Angeles-based KTLA Television again today and their fine, fine reportage continues apace. Here are just some of the stories you'll find under the Popular Stories banner today:Toddler Badly Beaten For Mispronouncing Sister's NameNew Mom Goes Berserk After Smoking Bath Salts in Maternity Ward9-Year-Old Goes On Wild Tubing Ride With Dolphins19 Kids Found Alone in Filthy, Hot Kentucky HomeThere really is something strangely compelling about KTLA's choice of conte...

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