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| Photo used with the permission of LegalAssistance |
Effective March 18, 2013 The Family Law Act will change, possibly reducing the financial and emotional cost for divorcing couples.
One of the major changes is the push for different ways to solve disputes. Now, the courts encourage mediation, but it is left up to couple whether or not to pursue it. With the new statute, the court or one of the couple can impose mediation.
Those involved in the court system admit the current pervasiveness of litigation tends to make conflict increase. Garth Edwards, who has practised family law in Richmond for 27 years, says he sees couples come in to his office confused about what the legal system can offer them.
“Mainly people think they are going to receive ‘justice’ which is of course a movable concept,” said Edwards by written statement “In short, they expect a lot more than they get.”Mediation is potentially less conflict ridden, often far less expensive and less intimidating than going to court, but how a disgruntled spouse will react to being forced into mediation is still to be seen.
In the new Act, the words custody and access are gone. Guardianship will be the only term to describe caring for the children. Parents will have parental responsibilities. The time a child spends with a parent will be called parenting time. The idea is to put the focus on the children and not who ‘owns’ the children, as the former language seemed to imply.
Change needed
Dean DenommeSime, of Burnaby, welcomes the changes. He divorced his sons' mother in 2000 and says nothing could have prepared him for the emotional and financial toll the three-year divorce and custody battle took.
“There is inequality and no accountability to the system,” says DenommeSime.
Eventually, DenommeSime won sole custody, but it wasn’t without a heavy toll. He believes because of the lengthy battle — and the lengths he had to go to to win in court — there are scars. Everyone was impacted, says DenommeSime.
Are you a Burnaby resident with something to share about your divorce experience? I would love to hear about it. Post below or email me at thuncher@shaw.ca
That was a very interesting article. I have been doing some research on divorces since one of my friends is going through a rough one. I want to see if there is anything I can do to help. SO far her lawyer Marshall Davis Brown has been nothing but helpful to her, which I am glad to see. Thanks so much for the article.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrew. Divorce is often a difficult time for families. I wish your friend a lot of luck.
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