What type of child custody arrangements can a Quebec court award?

What are the factors that a Quebec court will consider to render a child custody judgment?

In this article, we will go over child custody under Quebec laws. We will define what is child custody, what happens after the break up of the parents, the type of child custody arrangements possible and the factors the court will consider to render a child custody judgment.

We have divided the article into the following sections for ease of navigation:

• What is child custody?
• Child custody when parents break up
• Types of child custody
  • Sole custody
  • Sole custody with prolonged access rights
  • Sole custody granted to each parent
  • Shared custody
  • Child custody combinations
• What factors will a family court consider for child custody?
• How is child custody established?
• Takeaways

Let’s get started…

What is child custody?

Child custody is the term we use to refer to how a child or children are cared for by the parents.

Having custody is having the responsibility for the care of the child.

When a couple is together, the couple will take care of their children and mutually arrange their activities and obligations.

They each exercise shared custody of their children.

The parents will provide their children with emotional support, stability and security.

They’ll make sure their child is happy, well-nourished and develops in a healthy way.

The parents will educate their children academically and socially.

They will provide their children with moral and religious guidance.

Child custody as a concept does not change whether you are in a relationship with the other parent or not.

From the moment you become the parent of the child, you have custody over that child.

Child custody takes on more of an importance after a break up as the parents will need to find new ways to individually care for their child and manage the custody schedule and logistics among themselves.

Let’s look at child custody when parents break up.

Child custody when parents break up

The concept of child custody after the break up of the parents does not change.

Parents remain responsible to take care of their children, provide them with emotional and financial support and make the right decisions in the life of their child to help them become contributing members of our society.

What is challenging in most cases is how the parents will handle the child custody logistics among themselves.

There are several factors making this process quite challenging after the break up:

1. The parents are no longer in a relationship as they no longer consider their relationship as viable long-term
2. In many cases, the end of the relationship is as a result of conflict between the parents
3. The parents will need to adjust to their new life after their relationship
4. As the parents adjust to their new lives, they must also continue providing care for their children
5. The break up in most cases results in financial hardship for both parents
6. The children may not accept the break up and have difficulty adjusting to their new lives

There are many factors that will result in major challenges for the parents to move on.

It will take dedication, effort, patience, concession and collaboration on the part of the parents to make it work.

After their break up, parents must keep good communication to be able to sort things out with one another.

If the parents are able to mutually manage and handle the care of their children following their break up, things will be much easier to handle.

If the parents are unable to handle the care of their children after break up, then chances are a family court will need to define how child custody will be managed between them.

Under the Quebec laws, there are different types of custody arrangements.

Based on the circumstances of the parents and the family, the family courts will render a custody judgment in such a way that the best interest of the child.

What are the different types of custody arrangements under Quebec laws?

Types of child custody

Child custody under Quebec laws is divided into sole custody, sole custody with prolonged outing rights, sole custody granted to each parent, shared custody and child custody combinations.

Sole custody

Sole custody is a type of custody arrangement where one parent has sole custody of the child and the other parent may exercise visitation rights for less than 20% of the time.

When we say 20% of the time, we are referring to the number of days in a year.

For example, if one parent has the sole custody of a child and the other parent has the child every Saturday, then we are in a sole custody arrangement.

The parent with sole custody will have the child 313 days in a year while the other parent will have 52 days in a year.

The parent with sole custody therefore has 85.7% of custody time while the other parent has 14.3% of custody time.

Sole custody with prolonged access rights

The second type of custody arrangement under Quebec laws is the sole custody arrangement with prolonged access rights.

Under this type of child custody arrangement, one parent will have sole custody while the other parent will have visitation rights anywhere between 20% to 40% of the time.

This means that the parent not having sole custody will exercise custody over the child between 73 days and 146 days in a year.

An example of this type of child custody arrangement is when one parent has custody 5 days a week and the other parent has 2 days a week.

When you look at the number of days each parent will have child custody in a year, one parent will have 260 days (71.2%) while the other parent will have 104 days (28.8%).

Sole custody granted to each parent

The third type of child custody arrangement in Quebec is sole custody granted to each parent.

Although rare, for this type of child custody to be possible, the parents will need to have at least two children.

The court will grant the sole custody of one child to one parent and the sole custody of the other child to the other parent.

The same visitation right rules apply.

If the visitation rights are under 20%, then the custody arrangement for the child is considered sole custody arrangement.

If the other parent has visitation rights ranging between 20% and 40% of the year, then we’ll say sole custody with prolonged access rights.

Shared custody

The shared custody arrangement is the custody schedule where each parent will have between 40% and 60% of the child’s custody time in a year.

If parents share custody on a weekly basis, on an alternating basis, then they’ll have a 50/50 child custody arrangement.

Each parent will have exactly half of the child’s custody time.

Child custody combinations

The final possible custody arrangement is when the court grants a different type of child custody arrangement per child.

For this child custody arrangement to be possible, the parents will need to have at least two children.

For example, the court may grant a sole custody arrangement for one child and a shared custody arrangement for another child.

What factors will a family court consider for child custody?

Child custody is established by the Quebec family courts in consideration of the best interest of the child or children.

Each family’s situation is different and the interest of each child will also be different.

Child custody is not a one-size-fits-all type of solution.

The family courts will have the delicate task of considering what’s the family dynamic, what are the children’s needs, the parent’s relationship and what type of child custody arrangement will promote the best interest of the children.

There may not be a perfect solution where both parents will be happy.

In some cases, the court will need to make a difficult decision and allocate the child custody time in such a way that it considers the children’s health, safety and overall progress will be optimized.

The family court will try to establish what is the best interest of the child by considering several factors such as:

1. Your child’s age
2. How your child has been developing so far
3. Your child’s special needs
4. Your child’s level of maturity
5. Your child’s relationship with siblings
6. Your child’s relationship with each parent
7. Your child’s opinion and wishes
8. The caring abilities of each parent
9. How each parent has been handling himself of herself after separation
10. The ability of the parents to cooperate
11. The ability of the parents to communicate well
12. Cultural differences
13. Religious differences
14. Language barriers 

These are just some factors the court will consider in order to render a child custody judgment.

There may be more depending on the particular facts of each case.

How is child custody established?

Child custody can be established either by the court or upon the mutual agreement of the parties.

If the parents are able to mutually agree on the child custody arrangements, they’ll be able to find a more long-term solution and the transition for their children can be smoother.

However, if the parents are unable to mutually agree on the child custody arrangements, implementing a judgment from the court may be adversarial and frustrating and the transition for the children will be more difficult.

Takeaways 

Child custody under Quebec laws defines the criteria the court must take into consideration to decide on child custody.

There are also several types of custody arrangements possible under Quebec laws:

1. Sole custody
2. Sole custody with prolonged access
3. Sole custody granted to each parent
4. Shared custody
5. Child custody combinations

Depending on how much time you have with each child, your child custody arrangement will fall under one of the above child custody buckets.

With this article, we hoped to provide you an introduction to child custody under Quebec laws.

We hope that you enjoyed it.

Should you need the assistance of a child custody attorney or a child custody family law firm having experience in the area of child custody laws, we are here to support you.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to our experienced family lawyers.

In the meantime, we wish you all the best!

The post Child Custody Under Quebec Laws (Overview) appeared first on FamilyLawyer.Zone.

You’ve heard of the concept of parental authority and want to know what it entails?

Perhaps you are curious to learn about the Quebec custody laws!

No worries, we’ve got you covered!!

In this article, we will discuss what is custody based on Quebec laws, what is parental authority, routine or important decision in the life of a child, relocation with the child and more.

This article is divided into the following sections: 

• What Is Custody Based On Quebec Law?
• What Is Parental Authority?
• Make Decisions Concerning The Child While Having Custody
• Objections Raised For Routine Custody Decisions
• Relocation With The Child By Parent Having Custody
• Best Interest Of The Minor Child
• Takeaways

What Is Custody Based On Quebec Laws?

Having custody of a child means having the right to make decisions about the care of the child.

In the Province of Quebec, having custody does not mean the same thing as having parental authority.

While custody has to do with taking physical care and maintenance of a child, parental authority is the concept of making important decisions about a child.

You can consider custody is a component of the rights and obligations of parental authority.

Article 599 of the Civil Code of Quebec states that “the father and mother have the rights and duties of custody, supervision and education of their children. They shall maintain their children.”

The Civil Code clearly states that each parent has a duty to care for the child and ensure they are well maintained and educated. 

What Is Parental Authority?

Parental authority refers to the rights and responsibilities of the parents to ensure they make the important decisions relating to a child’s development, progress and well-being.

Article 600 of the Civil Code of Quebec states “the father and mother exercise parental authority together”.

Concretely, parental authority means that the parents must:

1. Ensure they take care of their children until at least the age of 18
2. They provide the child with a safe and secure environment
3. They make decision in the best interest of the child
4. They provide the child education
5. They make all health and medical-related decisions in the best interest of the child 
6. They provide the child with food and shelter
7. They offer the child with psychological support 
8. They provide moral and religious values to their child

Essentially, all the important decision impacting the life of a child is captured under the notion of parental authority.

Under the Civil Code, both parents will have parental authority regardless of the custody and access rights arrangement.

The parenting time does not take away parental authority rights of a parent or component of it.

The court has the ability to deprive a parent of parental authority rights or attributes of parental authority if there is a “grave reason and in the interest of the child”. 

Make Decisions Concerning The Child While Having Custody

A parent with custody over a child will have the right and obligation to maintain the child and make the day-to-day decision relating to the child.

Day-to-day decisions mean what time the child wakes up, what the child wears, with whom they hang out with, what time they come home, what time they are allowed to stay out at night, how much time they spend on the computer and so on.

When a parent has the physical custody of the child, that parent will be legally entrusted to make the best decisions to ensure the child goes through the day happily and safely.

Objections Raised For Routine Custody Decisions

If a parent having custody is negligent or recklessly puts the child or children in danger, even though that parent is entrusted with the right to make the day-to-day and routine decisions for the child, the other parent may object to it.

The objection is grounded upon the fact that any decision made relating to a child must be in the child’s best interest and to keep the child safe and secure.

If a parent consumes excessive quantities of alcohol and is not in a good state of mind, the other parent may ask to court to reconsider the custody arrangement.

The court may take custody time away from a parent if that parent is unable to adequately care for the daily and routine decisions relating to the child.

It must be noted that if the court reduces a parent’s parenting time with the child, unless the court expressly deprives that parent of parental authority rights or attributes of parental authority rights, then that parent’s parental authority remains intact.

This means that both parents will need to mutually consult one another on important decisions concerning the child.

Relocation With The Child By Parent Having Custody

The relocation with a child can quickly become a highly disputed and adversarial between the parents.

If a parent has the custody of a child, that parent, in normal circumstances, will have the right to move.

The breakup or a custody order must not prevent a parent from being able to move on with their lives and exercise their fundamental freedoms of movability we enjoy in a free and democratic society. 

However, if the relocation will adversely impact the child, then the other parent may object to this decision and ask the court to intervene.

If it’s proven that the relocation may do more harm than good to the child or children, the court may potentially prohibit the relocation.

Here are some circumstances where the court may most likely disapprove of the relocation:

1. The move is primarily intended to frustrate the other parent
2. The move will adversely affect the children
3. The children are old enough to express their opinion and are highly against the move
4. The children have a good relationship with the other parent and the move will prevent the continuation of the healthy relationship

The court will be guided by the principle that all decisions must be made in the best interest of the minor child.

Best Interest Of The Minor Child

All decisions concerning the custody, access rights and parental authority must be done in the best interest of the minor child.

The best interest of a child is not fixed and exactly identical for all children.

Every child has different needs and every family’s situation is unique.

The parents must exercise proper diligence in deciding what’s best for their children by taking their family circumstances into consideration along with the psychological and emotional needs of their child.

There are some factors you can consider in evaluating what’s in the best interest of the child such as:

1. Your child’s age
2. How your child has been developing so far
3. Your child’s special needs
4. Your child’s level of maturity
5. Your child’s relationship with siblings
6. Your child’s relationship with each parent
7. Your child’s opinion and wishes
8. The caring abilities of each parent
9. How each parent has been handling himself of herself after separation
10. The ability of the parents to cooperate
11. The ability of the parents to communicate well
12. Cultural differences
13. Religious differences
14. Language barriers 

The list can go on.

What’s very clear is that a judge will want to consider any variable that can affect a child in a divorce case or separation to come up with the best possible parenting arrangement. 

Takeaways

We hope this article helped clarify for you the concept of custody and parental authority under the Quebec laws.

A parent with custody has the right to make the routine and daily decisions concerning the child.

Both parent are automatically vested with the right and obligations resulting from parental authority which is to make important decisions in the life of their child.

Should you have any questions or need the assistance and support of a child custody lawyer, our family law firm is happy to help.

Contact us now if you have child custody legal issues or have questions about your rights and obligations.

The post Custody And Parental Authority Under The Civil Code of Quebec appeared first on FamilyLawyer.Zone.

You’ve heard of things like decision-making responsibility and the principle of the best interest of the child and wonder what it all means?

We have great news!

You are at the right place.

In this article, we go over the concept of parenting arrangement, decision-making responsibility, joint decision-making responsibility, divided decision-making responsibility, parenting time and more. You will understand what each concept means and how it may be applied to you.

This article is divided into the following sections:

• What Is A Parenting Arrangement?
• Best Interest of The Child
• Joint Decision-Making Responsibility
• Sole Decision-Making Responsibility
• Divided Decision-Making Responsibility
• Parenting Schedule
• Terms Used Referring to Decision-Making Responsibility
• Takeaways

Let’s get started!

What Is A Parenting Arrangement?

A parenting arrangement is the manner both parents will continue to take care of their children and split the parenting obligations between themselves.

After you separate from your spouse or get divorced, you will continue to make important decisions related to your children.

These decisions will relate to things like where the child will live, the choice of school, religious education, medical care and other things like extracurricular activities. 

Your parenting arrangement is essentially how you agree to handle these important decisions with the other parent.

When making parenting arrangements, you’ll need to make your decisions in light of what is in the best interest of your child.

This sounds easier said than done!

If you have a conflictual relationship with the other parent, you may end up in court if you cannot agree on the parenting arrangement.

If that were to happen, a family court can allocate the decision-making responsibility based on what the judge will evaluate to be the best interest of the child.

In that case, the judge may award a joint decision-making responsibility to both parents, a sole decision-making responsibility or perhaps a divided decision-making responsibility.

Best Interest of The Child

In case you are unable amicable handle the parenting arrangement amicably, you may need to go to court to have a family judge render a judgment.

You will quickly hear about the principle stating that all decisions must be made in the best interest of the child.

This means that the court will evaluate what’s a good parenting arrangement from the perspective of the child and not from the perspective of the parents.

Although a parenting arrangement may be more convenient for a parent, this does not mean that it may be in the best interest of the child.

Family laws are designed in such a way that the focus and primary attention is to protect the children in a relationship.

To decide in the best interest of the child is to decide in such a way to promote your child’s development, happiness and overall well-being. 

What’s challenging is that the best interest of one child is not the same from one child to the other.

Every family and child’s situation is different.

There are some factors you can consider in evaluating what’s in the best interest of the child such as:

1. Your child’s age
2. How your child has been developing so far
3. Your child’s special needs
4. Your child’s level of maturity
5. Your child’s relationship with siblings
6. Your child’s relationship with each parent
7. Your child’s opinion and wishes
8. The caring abilities of each parent
9. How each parent has been handling himself of herself after separation
10. The ability of the parents to cooperate
11. The ability of the parents to communicate well
12. Cultural differences
13. Religious differences
14. Language barriers 

The list can go on.

What’s very clear is that a judge will want to consider any variable that can affect a child in a divorce case or separation to come up with the best possible parenting arrangement. 

The judge will weigh the pros and cons of any possible parenting arrangement and will decide on an arrangement that will give the most benefit and the least adverse effects on the child.

Joint Decision-Making Responsibility

A joint decision-making responsibility is a parenting arrangement where both parents will have the right to make important decisions in the life of their child.

Each parent will need to consult with the other to make such decisions.

For example, if you have a joint decision-making responsibility, then you must consult the other parent should you want your child to go to private school.

If you both agree, that’s great.

If the other parent does not agree, then you can have the court render a decision based on what’s in the best interest of their child.

Sole Decision-Making Responsibility 

Sole decision-making responsibility is a type of parenting arrangement where one parent is allocated the sole right to make all important decisions in the life of the child.

Remember that decision-making responsibility and parenting time is not the same thing.

You can have parenting time with your child but not have decision-making responsibility.

This means that you are able to spend time with your child and see your child but you may not have the right to decide on medical treatments, religious teachings or education if you do not have decision-making responsibility.

We suspect that if the court were to award decision-making responsibility solely to one parent, it must result from a highly conflictual relationship or a situation where there is a critical concern for the best interest of the child or even the chid’s safety.

In most cases, both parents should have some form of decision-making responsibility.

A joint decision-making responsibility can be a good parenting arrangement when both parents have a good enough relationship allowing them to jointly decide on important aspects of their child’s life.

However, if the court takes that decision-making right away from one parent, probably the parents are highly incapable of jointly deciding on what’s good for their children or there is a safety concern for the child.

Divided Decision-Making Responsibility 

Divided decision-making responsibility is essentially allocating different components of the decision-making responsibility to each parent.

For example, one parent will have the right to make decisions about the health and medication treatment related to a child while the other will decide regarding school and religious education. 

Depending on what you consider to be in the best interest of the child, you may agree with the other parent to divide the decision-making responsibilities so each of you can make the best possible decision for your child.

You should be careful in how you divide the decision-making responsibility as a decision in the realm of one parent’s responsibility may affect the other.

This type of parenting arrangement should be considered with care to avoid future conflict.

For example, imagine if one parent can decide on medical treatments and health of the child while the other parent decides on school and education.

If the parents disagree on the proper administration of medication to the child, then the child may suffer at school.

This is a type of conflict that can arise if the parenting arrangement is divided as such.

It would be a good exercise to consider how such conflicts may be resolved so your child is not affected.

Parenting Schedule 

A parenting schedule is the actual parenting time of each parent with their child or children.

For example, two parents may choose to have a 50/50 parenting time.

This means that each parent will equally share half of the time in a period with a child.

A typical 50/50 parenting schedule is one week of parenting time for one parent and one week for the other in an alternating way.

The parenting schedule you will determine for your child will also need to be designed in the best interest of the child.

For example, if one parent lives very far from the child’s school, it would be difficult to have a lot of parenting time as it will force the child to wake up very early in the morning and commute for hours to reach go to school.

All the factors should be considered in devising a parenting schedule that makes sense for the child and the parents.

Terms Used Referring to Decision-Making Responsibility

There are many terms used to refer to decision-making responsibility, parenting time and contact.

The Divorce Act has been amended to modernize the terminology in the Act to better reflect the parenting roles and responsibilities and therefore new legal terms are now used.

Here is a list of the different terms you may encounter:

1. Custody
2. Sole custody
3. Joint custody
4. Shared custody
5. Split custody
6. Access 
7. Access rights
8. Visitation rights
9. Decision-making responsibility
10. Parenting time
11. Contact
12. Parenting orders
13. Contact orders
14. Parental responsibility
15. Guardianship
16. Tutorship
17. Parental authority 

Depending on the applicable law, each of these terms may be employed.

For example, in Quebec, if the Civil Code of Quebec applies, the terms custody and access rights will be employed.

The Civil Code also refers to the parental authority to refer to the concept of decision-making responsibility under the Divorce Act.

You will need to pay close attention to the legal foundation of your family law case so you can better grasp the actual legal significance of the terms referring to the care and parenting of your child.

Takeaways

In this article, we have looked at different types of parenting arrangements possible.

The family laws in Canada are designed to protect the children and promote their overall growth and well-being.

Having said that, the parenting arrangements should be considered in light of what works best for the child as opposed to what’s more convenient for the parents.

There are different types of arrangements you can have with respect to the decision-making responsibility such as joint decision-making responsibility, sole decision-making responsibility or even a divided decision-making responsibility.

If the parents are unable to decide what’s best for their children and agree on a parenting arrangement, the courts will do it with what they have.

We hope this article was informative.

If you need any legal support and advice from our family lawyers relating to decision-making responsibilities and the parenting arrangement, be sure to contact us as needed.

Our family law firm operates in the area of family law and our family lawyers have the experience and competence to provide you practical and useful legal advice.

We wish you all the best!

The post Different Types of Custody And Parenting Arrangement After Separation appeared first on FamilyLawyer.Zone.

You heard about decision-making responsibility, parenting time and contact and wonder what they mean exactly?

We have good news for you!

In this article, we go over the Divorce Act amendments relating to the decision-making responsibilities of the parents. What used to be custody and access rights are now referred to as decision-making responsibility, parenting time and contact. What does the decision-making responsibility actually mean? We will cover that in detail!

This article is divided into the following sections:

• Objectives of The Divorce Act Amendment
• Changes To The Terms Referring to Custody
• What Does Decision-Making Responsibility Refer to?
• Decision-Making Responsibility Refers To Major Decisions
• How is decision-making allocated between parents?
• Previous Divorce Act Terminology Related to The Care of A Child

Let’s get started!

Objectives of The Divorce Act Amendment 

On June 21, 2019, Bill C-78 received Royal Assent and provided for important changes to the Divorce Act to take effect as of July 1, 2020.

The amendment of the Divorce Act is an important revamping of the divorce law aligning its terms and provisions with the realities of our society today.

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Promote the best interest of the child
2. Address family violence
3. Help reduce child poverty 
4. Make Canda’s family justice system more accessible and efficient

Changes To The Terms Referring to Custody

The wording used under the Divorce Act prior to the amendment referred to “custody” and “access rights” when referring to the care and parental responsibilities in raising a child. 

The wording employed was highly parent-centric adversely impacting the parents. 

The parents were led to fight for the custody as if it was a property to be won or the prized legal achievement objective in court.

The amendment to the Divorce Act repealed the terms custody and access replacing them with “decision-making responsibility”, “parenting time” and “contact”.

Article 16.3 of the Divorce Act now states:

Decision-making responsibility in respect of a child, or any aspect of that responsibility, may be allocated to either spouse, to both spouses, to a person described in paragraph 16.1(1)(b), or to any combination of those persons.

Based on this new provision, the court can allocate decision-making responsibility to either one or more persons.

A person can be either souses or a person other than a spouse who is a parent of the child, stands in the place of a parent or intends to stand in the place of a parent.

As you can see, the court has a greater level of discretion in grant decision-making responsibilities to the parents or other persons who care for or intend to care for the chid.

The replacement of the terms custody and access is found upon the objective to focus the attention on the parental relationship with the child as opposed to subjecting the child to a parent in parent-focused terminology of “custody” of a parent or “access” of a parent.

What Does Decision-Making Responsibility Refer to?

Decision-making is a fundamental responsibility of the parents to make important decisions in the life of their children.

Every child needs and deserves the to have parents make the best possible decisions to give them the best chance at life.

Parents need to step in and make important decisions such as the choice of school, medical treatments, the child’s overall health, values, religion and others.

The decision-making responsibilities are essentially the ability of a parent to make important decisions in the life of their child.

In Quebec, we are already familiar with this concept when referring to parental authority. 

By referring to decision-making responsibility, the person allocated with this responsibility will be the one making the important decisions about a child.

This could be both parents or one parent as the court may decide.

Decision-Making Responsibility Refers To Major Decisions

The concept of decision-making responsibility refers to major decisions related to a child, not the routine day-to-day decisions.

For example, decisions about the choice of school, doctors and religious teachings will be considered as decision-making responsibilities.

Decisions about where the child goes today, with who they play, what they eat and what time they come home will by their day-to-day decision that will be handled by the parent having parenting time.

Major decisions for a child can include:

1. Choice of schools
2. Extracurricular activities
3. Health-related questions
4. Medical treatments
5. Choice of doctors
6. Surgeries
7. Religious teachings

How is decision-making allocated between parents?

In most cases, if the parents are able to demonstrate that they care for their child and they are able to overcome their differences for the greater good of their child, the court will grant decision-making responsibility to both parents.

In situations where the parents are unable to get along or there are unique circumstances the court can consider such as family violence and abuse, the court may allocate decision-making responsibility to only one parent.

The court’s decision must be based upon the best interest of the child.

Previously, there was a presumption that a child needs the most compatible time with each parent.

Today, the courts must consider the best interest of the child and decide what type of decision-making responsibility will lead to the greatest protection of the child’s interest.

It’s worth noting that the court will have the ability to allocate elements of decision-making responsibility to a parent.

In other words, the court can say that parents will have decision-making responsibility only with respect to cultural and religious matters. 

The court must always be guided by the best interest of the child in any parenting order.

Previous Divorce Act Terminology Related to The Care of A Child

Previously, the Divorce act referred to the term custody and access rights.

It was not clear which parent had the ability to make important decisions in the life of the child.

Was it the parent with custody? 

Was the parent with access right enabled to make important decisions in the life of the child or just be consulted?

The law was not clear.

The courts across Canada had developed a set of jurisprudential rules and local statutes to clarify this legal ambiguity. 

Now, the law is clear.

The decision-making responsibility will be decided by the court in the best interest of the child.

If it is allocated to both parents, regardless of parenting time, then both parents are responsible to make important decisions.

If not, then the person appointed by the court will have such responsibility.

The terms custody and access rights evoked negative feelings and a custody battle typically resulted in a winner and loser mentality.

Takeaways

The Divorce Act is modernized to reflect how society requires better protection of the children in the context of a divorce and parental conflict.

The changes to the law are intended to promote the best interest of the child and coin a more appropriate term related to their care and upbringing.

The parent-focused terminology of custody and access rights have been changed to a more child-focused terminology of parental decision-making, parenting time and contact.

In the next few years to come, we will see how the courts will interpret these new concepts and align past jurisprudential teachings to the new statutory regime.

This article focused specifically on the decision-making responsibility of the parents so you can get a better understanding of this concept.

We hoped you were able to find the answers to your questions.

Our child custody lawyers are here to support you for any question or legal assistance in this regard.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to use for legal assistance and consultation.

The post Divorce Act Amendments Custody and Decision-Making Responsibility appeared first on FamilyLawyer.Zone.

Perhaps you are dealing with a child custody dispute and evaluating if you should hire a child custody lawyer?

Or maybe you are just educating yourself on the benefits of hiring a child custody attorney or not.

No matter the reason, this article will help you find the answers!!

In this article, we will look at child custody disputes, how your actions and behaviour can impact the outcome of a child custody battle or legal case, when should you hire child custody lawyers and what value they will bring.

This article is divided as follows:

1. Child custody disputes
   • Child custody disputes are emotionally draining
   • So many questions need answers
   • Child custody lawyers can steer you in the right direction
2. Ensure you do not jeopardize your own case?
   • In a custody battle, your actions matter
   • Child custody lawyers can give you precious advice
3. Modification to child custody and access arrangements
4. When to hire a child custody lawyer?
   • When should you involve a child custody lawyer?
   • What situations can your child be at risk?
5. How child custody lawyers can help you!

Let’s get started…

Child custody disputes

Child custody disputes can be extremely challenging for separating parents both emotionally and financially.

Child custody disputes are emotionally draining

Not only you must deal with the realities of your separation and all the hardships resulting from it but you must also find a way to protect your children.

As a parent, you can only think of how you can give your children the most normal life after your separation. 

No doubt, this is very difficult.

So many questions need answers 

What’s going to happen with the custody of your children?

How are we going to manage their day-to-day activities?

Who is going to pay for their expenses and how much?

So many questions need answers!

Child custody disputes, although difficult, can be managed.

Others have done it and you will too!

Child custody lawyers can steer you in the right direction 

You can overcome all your child custody disputes by working with experienced child custody lawyers.

We understand that you do not want to deal with a custody lawyer.

You had not planned for spending money on lawyers nor is it an enjoyable process!

What you should know is this.

Custody lawyers are like doctors.

Nobody wants to be sick or see a doctor, but when you have an illness, the doctor can detect the symptoms, give you a diagnostic and help you heal from it.

A child custody lawyer will do the same.

They will quickly identify your legal challenges, provide you with the legal diagnostics and provide you with the best legal solution to help you in your circumstances.

Ensure you do not jeopardize your own case?

Child custody disputes can get emotionally heated.

In a custody battle, your actions matter

When our emotions run high, we may do things or say things that can actually be detrimental for our own cause.

Don’t let that happen to you!

Make sure you find a way to cool off and avoid making rash decisions!!

Dealing with a child custody battle is not going to be easy.

It may not be over very fast either.

It is crucial that you are aware of your rights and obligations as a parent so you can make the best possible decisions for your children and ultimately for your case.

Your behaviour, your actions and the manner you handle yourself are going to potentially have an impact on what a family court may decide.

Custody lawyers can give you precious advice

The child custody order does is not rendered in a vacuum.

The judge will consider the actions and the behaviour of the parents to decide what’s best your children.

You should leverage the experience and knowledge of a child custody attorney to help you make the right decisions and to better understand the legal consequences of your actions. 

It sucks that you need to see a lawyer but it’s better than having no plan or thinking you have the right plan while you are far from it.

Modification to child custody and access arrangements

You’ve got a child custody order some time ago and now things have changed. 

What can you do to change the child custody and access orders?

You’re not sure if the changes are significant enough to justify changing the court judgment previously rendered.

What are the legal conditions a family court judge will consider to make changes to a previous custody order?

These are all important questions that you are entitled to get a clear, concise and accurate answer.

Custody lawyers are the best legal professionals to support you with this.

They understand the legal tests, the rules procedure, the court dynamics, what works and what doesn’t.

They’ve handled many child custody cases before you so they have the advantage of knowing first hand how family court judges perceive a certain set of facts and circumstances.

You should not hesitate to consult with good child custody attorneys to help you in your journey.

When to hire a child custody lawyer?

There are certain situations that will require you to immediately hire a child custody lawyer.

When should you involve a child custody lawyer?

If ever your child is at risk due to the behaviour and actions of the other parent, you should immediately get in touch with a custody attorney!!

Your child can be at risk if the other parent behaves in such a way that is detrimental to their well-being, progress and best interest.

What situations can your child be at risk?

These are some scenarios where the actions of the other parent will warrant that you speak to a lawyer:

1. parent does not provide you access to your child without any justification
2. parent brainwashing your child, legally called parental alienation
3. parent intends to travel with your child to an undisclosed location or to a dangerous place
4. parent wants to perform a highly dangerous activity that could put your child’s life at risk
5. parent exposes your child to drugs and constant alcohol consumption 
6. parent does not share any information about your child’s health and medical condition 
7. parent does not consult with you in selecting a school for your child
8. parent deliberately breaches the terms of a custody order or custody agreement
9. parent is unfit to provide medical care to your child
10. Sexual violence
11. Violent behaviours and emotional abuse 
12. Substance abuse 

There are potentially other grounds as well but you should make sure you remain alert and cautions in case you see behaviours that resemble what we’ve listed above.

How child custody lawyers can help you!

No matter the custody challenges you are facing during or after your separation, a good custody lawyer can help you in many ways.

You can benefit from sound legal advice in the following situations:

1. You want to negotiate a parenting plan or a custody arrangement
2. You want legal advice with respect to child custody laws in Quebec
3. You want to know your rights and obligations for a given situation
4. You want to have the court establish a child custody order for the first time
5. You want to modify or change certain terms of a child custody judgment
6. You just want the advice of someone knowledgeable in custody-related matters 

Getting into a child custody battle without knowing the rules of the game and understanding how the family courts work can put you in a significant disadvantage.

Let a child custody lawyer become your voice and advocate for your rights and that of your children both in and out of court.

Should you wish to speak with our child custody lawyer, it will be our pleasure to provide you with legal advice and support! Contact us whenever you are ready!

The post Hiring Child Custody Lawyers appeared first on FamilyLawyer.Zone.

You want to have a clear plan in raising your child with your ex-partner?

You wonder if there is a legal way to ensure that your child is protected?

Well, it sounds like you are looking to set up a parenting plan.

A parenting plan is an agreement between you and your ex-spouse where you each agree on the terms based on which you will manage your children.

In this article, we will look at the parenting plan in more detail and understand what is typically covered in such an agreement.

1. When do I need a parenting plan?
2. Does a parenting plan need to be formalized through the court?
3. Do I need a lawyer to formalize a parenting plan in court?
4. What do I include in a typical parenting plan?
5. Custody and access rights
6. Summer holidays
7. Christmas and New Year holidays
8. Religious holidays
9. Special medical needs and health care
10. Education and schooling
11. Extracurricular activities
12. Travel authorizations
13. Child support
14. Child’s special expenses
15. Conclusion on Parenting Plan

1- When do I need a parenting plan?

You need a parenting plan if you want to have a formalized agreement with your ex-spouse on matters related to the upbringing of your child or children.

You may also need a parenting plan when you and your former partner are unable to reach an agreement on matters relating to your children.

This agreement is therefore a legal mechanism that will help you achieve stability in your children’s dealings and also provide legal protection in case one parent does not comply with its terms and conditions.

2- Does a parenting plan need to be formalized through the court?

This is a question that we see very often.

In many cases, the spouses have come up with their own agreement on custody, access rights and child support for example, wrote their agreement down on paper and even signed it.

Now, you will naturally assume that a signed contract will create binding effects between you.

However, this is not the case when we are dealing with the future of your children.

In fact, the legal and statutory obligations relating to children will supersede any agreement of the parents, even an agreement in writing.

In order to give your agreement legally binding effects, you must submit your agreement to the court, either yourself or through a child custody lawyer, and have the courts ratify it.

Ratification is essential totally the court giving their seal of approval and incorporating your agreement in a judgment of the court.

3- Do I need a lawyer to formalize a parenting plan in court?

For a parenting plan to acquire legally binding effects and acquire executory effects between the parents, the agreement must be approved by the court and incorporated in a judgment.

To achieve this, you will need to file a child custody application in court and submit your parenting plan dealing with matters like custody and child support.

Your agreement must observe the legal conditions and cover all the legal topics necessary for the court to grant you its seal of approval.

If the agreement is incomplete or is inconsistent with the best interests of your children or even does not offer the minimum legally required protections for the children, the court will surely reject it.

Even though as a parent you are given the parental authority in deciding what’s best for your children and you do not appreciate anyone telling you how to raise your kids otherwise, when dealing with separation, you will need to find a way to make certain compromises to make it work.

As a result, your parenting plan has to be legally found and complete for the court to ratify it.

4- What do I include in a typical parenting plan?

The parenting plan is a document that should reflect your mutually desired parenting arrangement that you’d like to have with your children.

This means that each parenting plan will be drafted to suit some general needs and some specific needs applicable to your family situation.

There are some topics that will generally need to appear in your parenting plan and they are:

1. Custody and access rights
2. Summer holidays
3. Christmas and New Year holidays
4. Religious holidays
5. Special medical needs and health care
6. Education and schooling 
7. Extracurricular activities
8. Travel authorizations
9. Child support 
10. Child’s special expenses

5- Custody and access rights

The custody and access rights arrangement deals with matters like the residential arrangement of your child.

You will lay out the residential schedule where you will determine how your children will live.

In a joint custody arrangement, a common arrangement is for each parent to have custody of the child one week at a time in an alternating way. 

For example, from Monday morning to the next Monday morning, the child will live with the mother and the week after the child will live with the father.

Of course, the living arrangements of your child will largely depend on many variables such as how far each parent live’s from the child’s school, the suitability of the parent’s home and so on.

In the case of access rights, the living arrangement consists of the child or children living with one parent and have access rights scheduled during the week or the month.

For example, the child lives with the mother while the father has access rights and can come pickup the child on Saturday mornings to the end of the day.

You could also have access rights where there may be one or a couple of sleepovers per week.

For instance, the father can have access to his child from Friday evening to the evening of the following day.

At the end of the day, you will be defining the living arrangements and parenting schedules concerning your child or children by defining a mutually agreeable framework that you are comfortable with.

6- Summer holidays

An area of attention in a parenting plan may also be the summer holidays.

It is a good practice to provide for a default custody schedule for holidays should you be unable to reach an amicable decision for arranging your summer holidays with the children.

By having a default summer holidays schedule in your parenting plan, you know that you can rely on that at a minimum.

7- Christmas and New Year holidays

Similarly, it is a good practice to provide for any special custody and access rights arrangement applicable during the Christmas and New Year period.

This is a time of the year where families traditionally wish to gather and celebrate with one another.

As a result, parents also can find some normality in their lives after separation by having the chance to spend this time of the year with their children.

In many cases, parents will have a custody and access rights arrangement that will apply to them throughout the year and define a special arrangement applicable on Christmas day, New Year’s day or even the period.

For example, parents in a joint custody arrangement can say that the mother will have the Christmas period this year and the father will have New Year’s and the following year, they alternate where the father will have Christmas and the mother New Year’s.

In the case of a couple having custody and access rights, the parents may decide that the father or the mother having access rights once a week can also have the Christmas day or New Year’s day.

Remember that at the end of the day, regardless of your arrangement, you should think about the best interest of your children.

If it makes sense for them to see both parents during the Christmas and New Year’s period, it would be healthier for them to do so.

This way, the children will also achieve a higher level of normalization after the separation of their parents.

8- Religious holidays

Religious holidays can be another factor to consider putting in your parenting plan to prevent any disagreements.

In cases where both parents are religious and observe the same religious practices, it may be easier to mutually arrange the parenting schedule to reflect the parents’ religious obligations.

However, the parenting arrangement can become more critical in cases where one parent observes one religious practices while the other parent observes another one.

The parenting arrangement will therefore help the parents clarify the religious ceremonies and practices to be observed by the children.

The question of religion is a far more complex subject and will also have hearings on the notion of parental authority but we will not get into the detail here as it is not the purpose of this article.

Having said that, it’s a good idea for both parents to be clear and aligned on the religious holidays with the children.

9- Special medical needs and health care

This category may apply to some parents and not to others depending on the health and special needs of the children.

The medical and special needs can range from allergies, autism and to severe forms of handicap.

Depending on the specific need of your child along with the abilities of both parents to arrange for such care, your parenting plan should provide an arrangement that will meaningfully address such child needs.

If your child has allergies, this may not require a special parenting schedule of some sort but will require vigilance and organization of the parents.

The parents will need to ensure they have the proper allergy medication on hand and take appropriate measures in dealing with the allergy if an incident were to occur. 

If your child has a severe form of handicap, then you will probably need extensive planning and scheduling to ensure the child is cared for not having any autonomy.

The arrangement regarding your child’s health, medical needs and special arrangements will need to be crafted and designed to truly deal with your life realities.

10- Education and schooling

Education and schooling is a crucial area in the life of a child.

Quite naturally, in today’s economy, a minimum level of education is a must if your child wants to have a chance in finding a career type of job or even land a good job. 

Of course, your child may be able to find a great job without an education but having an education puts more chances on his or her side.

The parents can also have very different views on what’s best for their children.

In other words, while the father may think public school is just fine the mother will want the children to go to a private school.

11- Extracurricular activities

Your parenting plan can also deal with extracurricular activities in which your children are involved in. 

If both parents mutually agree on the nature of the extracurricular activity along with the corresponding scheduling obligations, time commitments and effort, then this subject may be less controversial or disputed between parents.

It is a good practice to ensure that both parents are aligned in the nature, scope, cost and effort required when committing to an extracurricular activity for the children.

As a result, the parenting plan can specify the actual activity in question, such as hockey lessons, music lessons, dance or any other extracurricular activity a child wishes to pursue.

The parenting plan should also provide for any parenting schedule adaptation required to allow for the activity. 

For example, if your son is playing hockey very actively and has three training sessions during the week and a full day of hockey on the weekend, then the parents must decide who will take the child to which sessions and who will be sacrificing one full day in the weekend to this effect.

The challenge that separated parents will face is that if the extracurricular activity takes a significant part of the child’s time, then the parents will feel as if they are also losing time with their child as well.

The parenting plan should also provide for the costs associated with the activities. 

Some activities are not that expensive but other activities such as hockey can be quite an expensive undertaking for the parents.

Having said that, the purpose of the parenting plan is to have the parents talk through the needs of their child and discuss their own abilities and limitations so that the process can be as smooth and peaceful as possible for all.

12- Travel authorizations

Travel authorization is another source of potential disagreements between the parents and it may be worth considering to include travel authorization parameters in the parenting plan. 

When parents decide on a parenting schedule and access rights in their agreement, they may not immediately think about the possibility that one day they may want to travel with their children during their summer holiday.

As a result, a parent may assume that since he or she has custody over the child for a week during the summer, then he or she can book a trip down south for a week and return just in time to give the child to the other parent.

However, if the custody agreement does not provide for travel authorizations, the you may face a more challenging situation if the other parent does not accept to give you a written approval.

Let’s be clear, even if your custodial agreement has travel authorization clauses, you are surely better off getting a specific travel authorization letter from the other parent every time you travel as the Canada border agent may refuse to let you travel without it.

So the less risky approach is to always have a travel authorization letter for each travel destination.

In your travel authorization letter, you should mention the duration of your trip, the name of your children, the name of the other parent, the place you will be staying during your travel abroad, telephone or email address to which you can be reached and any other notes or comment regarding your travel.

The travel authorization letter should also be sworn by a lawyer, notary or a commissioner for oaths.

If your parenting plan has a general authorization, at least you know that the other parent has already demonstrated willingness to travel with the child.

If your ex-spouse does not want to include a travel authorization clause in the custody agreement, then you will need to ensure that you get your authorizations before incurring any expense to avoid losing your money.

13- Child support

Another fundamental part of the parenting plan is related to child support.

In fact, the law requires that any parenting arrangement, custody or access rights plans also be submitted with the appropriate calculation of child support to take into consideration the basic needs of children.

The child support objective is to distribute as equitably as possible the basic and essential costs that parents will incur in raising a child.

Although each parent may raise their children differently and allocate priority to different types of expenses, when dealing with child support calculation under the law, you will be bound by the legal calculation of child support and what the law considers as the basic needs of your child.

Under the laws of Quebec, the legislator has considered the following to represent the nine basic needs of children:

• food
• lodging
• clothing
• furnishings
• communications
• transportation
• personal hygiene
• household maintenance
• leisure activities

As a result, the child support guidelines in the province of Quebec will provide for a child support obligation that takes into consideration the above list of nine basic needs.

Again, some parents may agree with this list and some parents may not.

However, when you are in a disagreement with your former spouse, then the application of the law will impose the Quebec child support guidelines on you.

This child support guideline will apply to all families and is the same regime applicable to all, no matter the income of each family.

14- Child’s special expenses

Your child’s special expenses will also represent another important element to include in your parenting plan and child support calculation.

The special expenses can be different for each family’s unique situation.

For some families, they will enroll their children in private school and so the tuition costs and additional expenses resulting from private school will be considered as a special expense that will need to be added to the basic child support amounts derived by law.

For some other families, having their children play sport activities and participate in tournaments is very important.

Therefore, if that’s a serious endeavor taken by the child, then the court will consider the sports expenses, like hockey or tennis or any other sport, as a special expense to be assumed by the parents.

Special expenses can also be related to other type of expenses such as:

• daycare expenses
• child care expenses for health reasons
• health insurance premiums
• college expenses
• university expenses
• sport activities
• music
• extracurricular activities

When dealing with special expenses, the court will consider the history of the family and how things used to be managed by you in “good times”, the overall financial capacity of the parents, the relevance of the underlying matter for the child and the child’s best interest and other factors.

In essence, the court must be satisfied that the special expense sought by a parent will truly serve the best interest of the children and that it will not impact the payer of child support so negatively as to compromise the person’s ability to provide child support.

15- Conclusion on Parenting Plan

The parenting plan is an excellent way for clarifying the terms and conditions governing your relationship with your former spouse in the context of separation.

It is also crucial to include the essential terms and conditions to assist you in preventing litigation and potential dispute going forward.

The parenting plan can be mutually negotiated between the parents without the need of a child custody lawyer or a professional intervention, however, you must make sure that you include all the legally mandated elements in the agreement so that a court can potentially accept it and ratify it.

A parenting plan that is signed between the parents but not submitted to court for ratification will not produce legally binding effects.

If you are comfortable that your ex-partner will comply with the terms of a parenting plan that was never ratified by the court, then you may choose to work it out that way.

On the other hand, if you feel that your ex-spouse will not pay child support on time or will not respect some fundamental terms of your parenting plan, then you are better off in submitting the agreement to the court for validation.

You can speak to a good family lawyer to get further information and details on the purpose of the parenting plan and best practices in case you have any questions or concerns.

Should you wish to speak to our family lawyers, we are happy to be able to assist you with any potential questions you may have and even represent you in negotiating and having the court ratify your parenting plan.

Feel free to contact us at your convenience.

FamilyLawyer.Zone

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You want to educate yourself on how the Quebec courts handle child custody orders?

Don’t go any further! 

You are at the right place…

We will present to you the different types of custody orders possible in Quebec, what factors the court will consider in rendering a child custody judgment and the impact on your parental authority. After reading this article, you will know precisely how child custody his handled in the Province of Quebec.

In this article, we will look at:

1. Best interest of the minor child
2. What is considered to be in the best interest of the child?
3. Child custody orders in Quebec
   1. Joint custody or shared custody orders
   2. Sole custody with access rights 
   3. Sole custody without access rights or exclusive custody
   4. Is there a custody arrangement that the court prefers?
4. Child’s opinion regarding custody arrangements
5. Parental authority
6. Every child custody case is unique
7. About our family law firm

Let’s dive right in!

1- Best interest of the minor child 

When the court is required to make a decision about child custody, one important guiding principle is the best interest of the minor child.

This means that the court will weigh the pros and cons of different types of custody arrangements to assess the overall impact on the parents but also on the child. 

The judge must be satisfied that the decision rendered will be, to the extent possible, suitable for the child and will help promote the well-being and best interest of the child.

2- What is considered to be in the best interest of the child?

There is no cookie-cutter answer to this question. Every family situation is different, the parents are in different circumstances and the children have different needs. 

By looking at the general tendencies and teachings offered by the courts over time, we can extract some recurring factors considered by the court when assessing the best interest of the child.

The courts in Quebec will consider the following factors, among others, in deciding what’s best for your child:

1. Child’s medical condition and needs
2. Both parents’ physical and financial situation
3. The relationship between both parents 
4. The relationship between each parent and the child
5. The past behaviours and actions of the parents in dealing with the child
6. Each parent’s lifestyle and its possible impact on the child
7. Each parent’s sense of responsibility and overall stability
8. The reasonableness of the parenting arrangement proposed by each parent
9. Child’s age and level of maturity
10. Ability to provide a custody plan offering the most stability for the child

The judge may consider other factors as well but the above list gives you a good idea. The driving force here is what’s better for the children and not for an individual parent.

3- Child custody orders in Quebec

In Quebec, the court can render different types of child custody orders, they are:

1. Joint custody or shared custody 
2. Sole custody with access rights
3. Sole custody without access rights

A- Joint custody or shared custody orders

A joint custody or shared custody order is one where each parent will exercise at least 40% and no more than 60% of parenting time with the child.

For instance, if the mother has custody for 219 days in a year, then she has 60% of the parenting time (219 days of custody / 365 days in a year). The father will therefore have 146 days in a year giving him 40%. 

Since each parent has a custody percentage between 40% and 60%, their custody arrangement will fall under the qualification of joint custody or shared custody.

B- Sole custody with access rights 

Your custody order can also be qualified as a sole custody arrangement with access rights. In this type of custody arrangement, one parent will primarily have custody over the child and the other one will be able to have the right to have the child for more limited time.

In this arrangement, one parent will have custody for over 60% of the time but below 80% and the other between 20% and 40% of the time. 

So using an example, if the mother has the child 292 days in a year, that will give her 80% custody time. The father will therefore have 73 days giving him 20% custody time. Since the mother is within 60% to 80% and the father is within 20% and 40%, they are in a sole custody arrangement with access rights for the father. 

When referring to access rights, we can refer to it as custody time, visitation rights or prolonged visitation rights in our example above.

C- Sole custody without access rights or exclusive custody

When one parent has the child 100% of the, we can refer to this as having an exclusive custody.

In most cases however, one parent will have sole custody and the other can have very limited access rights, life a few hours a week, or none at all. Hence, sole custody without access rights.

In this type of custody arrangement, one parent in a range of over 80% to 100% of the parenting time with the child and the other parent between 0% and 20%.

D- Is there a custody arrangement that the court prefers?

The court does not prefer one custody arrangement over the other, it’s a question of what is good for the children and what will help the parents manage. Each family situation is different and the family judge will be keen to understand the nuances so as to make the best possible decision.

The decisions may not be perfect, but a judge will have to use his or her experience and proper understanding of the case to render a judgment that could help fix what may be broken.

4- Child’s opinion regarding custody arrangements

If your child is old enough and mature enough to formulate an opinion and share his or her views, the judge may be interested in hearing what the child may have to say about a particular custody order.

In these cases, the court will appoint a lawyer to your minor child so the lawyer can interview your child outside of the court in a neutral place and get your child’s views. The lawyer to the child will typically be paid by the government as your child will be eligible for legal aid.

Once the lawyer to the minor child asks the child about his or her views on the parenting plan or custody arrangement, the lawyer will share your child’s views with the judge who will then take it into account.

The judge is not bound by the views of the child nor are the parents. The child’s view will be a factor among other factors for the court to consider in rendering a custody judgment.

5- Parental authority

Parental authority is the rights and obligations of each parent in raising their child, making the best decisions possible in the upbringing of the child and important decisions related to their health, medical treatment, education, religious teachings and overall well-being.

Regardless of the nature of child custody order that you may be subject to, you will always be vested with the rights and obligations resulting from the concept of parental authority.

What this means is that even if you only have limited access rights to see your child while the other parent has sole custody, your views are important to be considered if your child is ill and needs a particular medical treatment, or your child’s education path and plans.

When you have custody over a child, you are authorized to make the day-to-day decisions concerning the child without the permission of the other. 

When we are dealing with parental authority issues, these are fundamental decisions that could profoundly impact your child and overall progress. For this reason, both parents remain responsible to make the best decisions for their child. 

6- Every child custody case is unique

Child custody orders in Quebec are regulated by either the Divorce Act or the Civil Code of Quebec depending on the nature of your case.

Considering that every family has a unique set of circumstances, different realities to deal with and different needs, there is no cookie-cutter approach in dealing with custody.

If, as parents, you are unable to reach a mutually satisfactory solution regarding your parenting time and custody arrangements, then the courts are there to step in.

The court will need to consider the unique circumstances of your case to decide what’s the best possible child custody order they can render.

They will look at the best interest of your child to guide their decision in rendering either a joint custody order, sole custody with access rights or sole custody without access rights.

There is no preferred child custody order.

We hope that this article has helped you understand high-level legal concepts behind child custody orders in Quebec.

7- About our family law firm

Our family law firm is located in the City of Montreal and well-positioned to provide you with any child custody legal services, advice and consultation regarding child custody orders in Quebec.

We are not like the other family law firms giving you a scripted message suggesting that we can do everything under the sun and more.

We are the real deal, no marketing talk track, not hidden agendas…

With our custody lawyers, you will get what we say you will get and that’s a high level quality of legal services consistent with our brand’s mission.

Our mission statement is simple: give you the best family law legal advice concerning your child custody orders in Quebec at the best and most affordable price. Period.

If you need to speak to a lawyer, our experienced child custody lawyer is sitting on the bench to help you.

Don’t hesitate to reach out, it will be our pleasure to serve.

We love what we do and we will passionately execute our mandate for you, that’s our commitment. 

We hope you enjoyed this article!

Best of luck!

FamilyLawyer.Zone

The post Child Custody Quebec appeared first on FamilyLawyer.Zone.

You may be living abroad but need legal advice for a child custody lawyer in Quebec.

Perhaps you are separating from your spouse and you are unable to reach an agreement on custody arrangements?

You are in a separation process and need legal advice from a custody lawyer to guide you on your rights and obligations?

We have good news for you!

You are at the perfect place.

Our law firm focuses on family law and particularly operates in the area of child custody and access rights, parenting orders, parenting time and anything that has to do with your children.

The best for your children

It goes without saying, we know you are looking for what’s best for your children. We make it our mission to support you in that process.

We understand that a separation can cause you a lot of heartburn requiring you to manage the breakdown of your relationship while at the same time continue taking care of your children.

It may be difficult to collaborate with the same person that you are intending to separate. You are not alone and you can succeed.

Your goal is to find a way to normalize your separation.

Reaching a mutual agreement with your ex-partner on custody arrangements or working with a child custody lawyer to find the best possible arrangement can help you to quickly move on with your life. 

Getting advice from an experienced custody lawyer

During and after your separation, we understand that your main concern is to provide your child or children a healthy and secure environment to grow and develop.

You want to have a custody arrangement that will foster your children’s well-being and minimize any adverse effects caused by your separation. 

Reducing the disruption in your children’s lives can be a good way to achieve a “clean” breakup and help your children adapt to the new realities of their lives as you adapt to yours.

The best child custody lawyer can help you identify your rights and obligations so you can make the best possible decision about your children today. 

Our law firm offers knowledgeable and competent advice by family lawyers and child custody lawyers having a deep understanding of family laws and recognizing the emotional impact of a separation and the needs of your children. These are skills essential for the best custody lawyers to have. 

Writing an agreement with a custody lawyer

Should you need the assistance of an family attorney to draft, negotiate and file a parenting plan, custody agreement, access rights arrangement or any other custody arrangement regarding your children, we are eager to get to work for you.

It is important to put together a well-drafted agreement and properly think through your custody arrangement and achieve a sound legal document to properly govern your future custody dealings. 

If your document is well-conceived, then you can prevent additional dispute. If your custody agreement is not clear or ambiguous, then you can expect further dispute if you are unable to work out a mutual agreement with your ex-partner.

By having a experienced family lawyer work on your custody agreement, your lawyer will follow best practices to help you achieve a robust written agreement that you can feel comfortable about and will give you a long-term resolution of your custody dispute.

Custody and parenting after my separation

Once you separate from your spouse, but before you are able to reach any form of agreement on your custody arrangement and parenting, it is important that you seek the advice and counsel of a custody lawyer to guide you on your rights.

The manner that you handle yourself following your separation and your actions in regards to your spouse and children may produce legal effects that you may not have intended. 

Even though you may assume that you are doing the right thing, you should strongly consult with a family lawyer in defining the proper actions to take following your separation so you can preserve your rights as much as possible. 

Custody and parenting during my legal proceedings

Similarly, in the event you are unable to reach an agreement on your parenting schedule and custody, if you end up having to go to court, you have the option of either representing yourself or seeking the representation of a competent custody lawyer.

It is up to you to assess what may be the best option for you. Having a seasoned custody lawyer by your side, either behind the scenes or formally representing you, can be powerful and help you get to your goals quickly.

In many cases, each parent may think in good faith that the court will surely see the injustice and rule in their favor. However, this may not be true all the time. 

Even while suffering an injustice, if you do not present your case properly and file the right evidence at the right time, you will potentially not be able to show injustice and make your case.

You are better off investing some of your money and time to work with a custody attorney to get the job done right.

Custody and parenting after the judgment from the court 

After a judgment is issued, your custody and parenting obligations will still continue for a long time until your children reach the age of majority.

Having said that, whether you have a custody agreement or a judgment on custody, you must continue co-parenting with your ex-spouse for many years to come.

We all know that we are not able to predict everything in our future, we can lose our jobs, fall ill, get into an accident, want to relocate, get married with another person, have another child and the list goes on.

Nonetheless, you should continue finding collaborative ways to deal with your parenting obligations without having to go back to court every time. 

Our custody lawyers can provide you guidance and advice serving as your long-term foundation to resolve your differences and enable you to deal with your custody and parenting obligations as smoothly as possible. 

We are happy to have helped many individuals move on with their lives in a peaceful and stable way. Even if there may be an obstacle on the road, we are here to support you. You can count on us!

We invite you to contact our child custody lawyer now for a consultation or your legal representation needs. 

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