In our education law practice, around half of our cases are on behalf of parents against private schools because the school did not meet the parent’s expectations, or told a child to leave without good reason, or did not meet their child’s needs.  This post is not intended to take a stand against private schools, especially those that our firm represents.  Half our cases on behalf of parents are against public schools.  However, it is often the private school parents, not the public school ones, who have large misconceptions about how Ontario’s Education Act, or Education Law ..read more

Recently, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a spouse to pay his spouse over a million dollars, but not in relation to property division nor child support, nor spousal support.  The husband had to pay those amounts in addition to over a million dollars that the Court ordered him to pay to his ex-wife to cover her legal fees.  Yes, courts can order one spouse to pay all the costs for the divorce and surrounding litigation.   Doing the right things after separation, and in Family Court can create big savings for a separated spouse, while denying a “big win” for his o ..read more

Parenting (formerly child custody) cases in Family Court are supposed to be what is best for the children and not about the behaviour or concerns of adults, unless it impacts the children.  But, the time after separation is a particularly difficult time in which it can seem a former spouse makes all kinds of terrible choices – especially around choosing a new partner.  Handing over young children to an apparently untrustworthy former partner can be one of the hardest things for a parent to do.  So, what will a Family Court Judge do if a parent repartners with someone with a c ..read more

Often when spouses separate, one spouse leaves with much greater access to money than the other.  Then that spouse wants to hold on to his or her money after separation, so doesn’t want to be cooperative, knowing that his or her ex does not have the money to go very far in Family Court, and so will just have to take what is offered and give up what he or she is entitled to receive.   There are a lot of good reasons to avoid going to Family Court.  The cost of going through the process is a big one.  Family Court costs exponentially more than mediation, arbitration or col ..read more

      As the new year approaches, people start mulling over the idea of divorce.  Shortly after New Year’s, family lawyers get bombarded with questions about how easy it will be to get a divorce in Ontario and how long will it take.   People looking for a “new me” don’t want to have their ex hanging around like an anchor.    It MAY be possible to get divorced in as little as three months, but the spouses must be eligible to get divorced and they must not having any legal barriers to divorce.   This post will explain.   Do You Need a Di ..read more

At the time of this article, Ontario’s education workers are on strike and Ontario’s public schools are closed to students.  It is important to note that teachers (licensed teachers) are not on strike and are not doing anything to close the schools.  Ontario’s school board’s have decided that they cannot allow students into the physical school buildings without the education workers present.  This is because educations workers perform many essential tasks in schools.  Some are custodians, who keep the buildings clean, heated and maintained.  Others are educatio ..read more

Children’s aid societies are not like the police in that they do not go out patrolling looking for child abuse and neglect.  Even if they did, that would not help as most cases of child abuse and neglect happen in private – where people can’t see them and leaving only, sometimes vague indications of what had occurred that could NOT picked up by people unless they have some first-hand knowledge of the kids involved.  For that reason, children’s aid societies rely on people bringing their suspicions forward.  Most commonly, reports to children’s aid societies are not first ha ..read more

In Canadian Society, it is commonplace to find people who were married someplace else either because the couple got married before immigrating to Canada or because the couple left Canada to get married someplace else.   Those marriage breakdown like many others. Sometimes the stress of immigration, or financial pressures mean they breakdown even more often.   No matter where they were married, many spouses can get divorced in Canada, as long as they meet certain criteria. To be clear, married couples do not have to get married in Canada to get divorce ..read more

Getting an uncontested or simple divorce is thought by many to be a straightforward process.  As a result many people who try to do their divorce on their own are surprised when a judge refuses to grant the divorce. There is no absolute right to a divorce.  Judges can, and do, refuse to grant divorces in Ontario, but for some very specific reasons. Often people trying to get their divorce on their own make a mistake that prevents them from getting divorced. Divorce legally ends a marriage in Ontario and Canada.   The divorce order itself does only that and allows the spouse ..read more

After they separate from a spouse or partner, most people expend considerable effort protecting their financial situation.  People want to protect what they have, either for themselves or for their children.   They also do not their exes to get more than necessary.  Everyone wants their own money that they can use, or give away, free from interference.   After separation, nearly everyone is very careful in organizing finances.  But, often they are NOT careful in organizing their finances if they die and that can mean that, even after a long fight, a forme ..read more