Most people have no idea what goes on in Family Court. They can be very afraid to go there. And for good reason. There can be a lot at stake. Judges on TV can seem intimidating, or even mean. That judge can make some important decisions that will impact the lives of separated spouses and parents for ever. However, people find Family Court a lot easier if they know what to expect and things work out better when they know what to do and what not to do. In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman goes what happens the first time separated sp ..read more

Many people are very concerned about losing their assets to a partner or spouse when they separate.  It’s a big concern.  In episode, number 92, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, went over some strategies that people can use to protect their assets during a relationship or when separated.   Unfortunately, some times, there is no way to protect assets.  However, there are still ways to lose them, unnecessarily, when separating from a spouse.  So, in this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, John Schuman explains the pr ..read more

Some people avoid intimate relationships because they are afraid of what it will cost them. That should not be necessary. Over the course of their lives, people work hard to build up their homes, their savings, their pensions, their businesses and other assets that are important to them. Some people are fortunate enough to inherit important, and valuable, assets from their families, some of which may have been passed down for generations. Cottages and family businesses are items of particular concern in family law matters. One of the most common questions posed to Family Law Lawyers is “how ca ..read more

Looking at online comments about divorce, separation, chid custody, parenting and family law, is is shocking at how wrong they can be. In many cases, that misinformation can lead to bad choices that can cost spouses or parents big money, or even their kids. In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, corrects those misconceptions to help people keep out of trouble. The myths there busted in this episode are: The Child Support Guidelines are just Guidelines, you don’t have to follow them The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines are the la ..read more

In Canada, monthly child support is based on the payor's income and keeps going up as the payor's income goes up. Unlike in some US states, there is no cap on monthly child support payments. For high income earners, monthly child support can be many thousands, even many tens of thousands of dollars each month. Often it can seem that the amount of child support far exceeds what a parent could possibly spend on a child.    Will Family Court Judges order more child support than a parent could ever spend on the child? In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialis ..read more

Spouses and parents who feel their marriage or relationship is trouble, frequently ask about how go about getting a legal separation. But some of them may be legally separated already, even if they do not know it! There are no formal steps that anyone has to take to separate from their spouse. However, the date of a couple separates can be very important, especially for married couples and can really affect how thing work out, especially financially. Since the date of separation is not necessarily the date that one spouse moves out, in this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified ..read more

What types of child punishments are against the law? The answer is surprising. There are many perspectives on the appropriate way to discipline children. But, in Canada, not all forms of child discipline are allowed.  Using some forms of discipline can get parents, caregivers, or teachers into serious trouble.  They can be sent to jail or a children’s aid society, or parents can have their children taken away because of how a child was punished.  However, what child punishments are actually illegal may different than people think.  Some forms of corpora ..read more

Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, looked at separation agreements sold online and found they were full of basic errors in law.  People buy these agreements looking for a quick and easy way to bring finality and certainty to their separation.  But instead, these agreements contain many serious legal errors that can render the agreement useless and put the separated spouses, and their children, in jeopardy. In this edition of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, John Schuman, goes over an online separation agreement from a Canadian company and explains s ..read more

A lot of information posted on the internet about Family Law is simply wrong, often posted by people who lost their case. There are clearly a lot of serious misconceptions about Family Law out there from how property is divided to what being common law means, to parenting to support matters. People who have bad information can make bad decisions. So, in this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, a trusted source of about Ontario Family Law, Certified Specialist Lawyer John Schuman, will go over some things that ordinary people get WRONG about Family Law. This episode covers why the follow ..read more

This episode explains what parents need to know, from a legal persepctive, when signing their kids up a private school in Ontario. In choosing a private school, parents are choosing an education that is very different from that provided by public schools. Many parents incorrectly assume that Ontario private schools take all the standards that are supposed to apply to public school and build on them to create a more rigourous and more enriching education for children. The reality is that Ontario Private Schools do not have the same curriculum, rules or standards that public schools do. The Onta ..read more