Important Announcement

I am pleased to announce that I will be joining the law firm of Sicotte Guilbault LLP as of January 1st, 2024. Sicotte Guilbault LLP is a full-service law firm with whom I was associated with in the past. Of course, my assistant, Louise, will also be joining Sicotte Guilbault LLP and remains an integral […]

Divorce Act Changes to Custody & Access

As of March 1st 2021, the Divorce Act was amended, and essentially confirmed philosophies that were already in existence in the legal world but were not yet legislated by the Government. The terms “Custody” and “Access” have been abolished. Those expressions are believed to lead to conflict and have therefore been replaced by “Parenting Responsibilities” […]

Divorce Act and New Obligations of Parents & Lawyers

As of March 1st 2021, both the federal Divorce Act and the provincial Children’s Law Reform Act were amended. Changes were made in order to promote alternate dispute resolutions, with Court being, hopefully, a final resort. Lawyers in Ontario have been promoting alternate dispute resolution routes to deal and resolve family issues for many […]

Internet Harassment

For a number of years now, lawyers and the legal system have seen an increase in the improper use of social media. The frequency of harassment online is appalling. The attacker’s intent goes beyond “character assassination”. The intent of posting defamatory material and disparaging remarks online, repetitively, is to harass. The intention of that behaviour […]

Pensions – valuation issues – Marc J. Coderre

When spouses separate, their property needs to be equalized under the mechanism set out in the Family Law Act. All family lawyers are familiar with this. Pensions are viewed as property. Therefore, they need to be valued. For individuals employed by the Federal Government, they need to understand that there is a difference between the […]

Court reopening – Marc J. Coderre

In Ottawa, the “family Law court” has reopened as of the month of July 2020, although in a very different and, presumably, temporary model. Typically, there are 5 possible hearings in a family law case: the first court date, the case conference, a motion, a settlement conference and, ultimately, a trial. The first court date […]

Divorce Act – changes as for July 1, 2020

The Federal Government will be making changes to the Divorce Act as of July 1, 2020. The Divorce Act applies to “married couples” who are separating. The Divorce Act does not apply to “common-law couples”. The amendments are to come into effect on July 1, 2020. There will be several changes as a result of […]

Matrimonial Home – possession (who stays in)

Possession of the Matrimonial Home In Ontario, there is a misunderstanding, in general, with respect to the rights of married spouses to occupy the matrimonial home. The single most important rule is the following: Notwithstanding the fact that the matrimonial home may be owned by one party alone, both spouses have an equal right to […]

Default Family Orders (Undefended Orders)

Setting aside a default Order There can be circumstances where a party to a proceeding does not defend the action, is unaware of the action, or for some other reason does not participate in the litigation. The Family Law Rules provide that such a party can be noted in default and that a Default Order […]

In what province can I obtain a Divorce Order

As a general rule, a married spouse can commence a Divorce Application in any province in Canada provided either spouse has ordinarily been a in the province where the proceeding is commenced for at least one year immediately preceding the court application. However, as with many issues in family law, a Court could transfer the […]