Ontario Court Recognizes importance of Parental Alienation in Divorce Case

A recent case heard in the Ontario Court of Appeal has placed strict punishments – the first of its kind – on a father found to be alienating his children from their mother.

In the case titled C.S. v. M.S., a 2007 decision made by the Superior Court was upheld giving the mother custody of the couple’s youngest child. The original decision also awarded the mother costs of over $320,000, a restraining order against the father for both the mother and child, as well as barring the other three children from their marriage from having access to the youngest child. These decisions were also upheld.

According to the Ontario Court of Appeal decision, there was substantial evidence that the three other children (who are now adults) were alienated from their mother and the youngest child had not yet been alienated but would eventually become a victim of Parental Alienation Syndrome (“PAS”).

PAS is essentially the “brainwashing” of a child against one parent by the other parent, and can have long-term detrimental effects on the well-being of the child and his or her relationships with the parents.

The court found that, “the father has taken aggressive and persistent steps to alienate his other children from their mother. The likelihood of this continuing with [the youngest child] if the father had access to her was virtually certain”.

Court cases are treated on a case-by-case basis and the threshold to meet the test of finding “parental alienation” is high, but this case is very different as the father has been prohibited from having access to the child from the ages of 10 to 18. According to the father’s lawyer, there is no other case in the country in which access to a child from age 10 to 18 has been terminated ever before. The lawyer also mentioned that the move of a Canadian court preventing siblings from contacting each other is very unprecedented when they are not directly involved in the application.

In this case, measures to protect the children and parents against parental alienation almost came too late, however, in the end, the court decided to enforce very strict measures due to the specific set of circumstances. In the future, with this precedent-setting case, the Ontario courts will be forced take a tougher stance against parental alienation.

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By candice - Last updated: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Filed in Toronto Divorce Lawyers, Toronto Family Lawyers • Tags: , , , ,


Ontario Family Law Reform Pilot Projects Underway

In January,we blogged about the pending changes that were announced with regards to reforms of several different family law procedures in Ontario, expected to commence in March.

The goal of the proposed reform was to reduce time spent in courts and ensure that children are better protected, typically by providing more available information to families regarding court-alternatives like mediation or collaborative family law as well as ensuring anyone applying for the custody of a child was given an appropriate background check.

“Test sites” were to be set up on two courts in the province, Milton and Brampton. Those services are now underway as of last week in an attempt to reduce the combativeness an emotional tones of some family law disagreements. The courts were to be providing families with information on their rights, responsibilities, steps to take and the overall effects the divorce may be having on children.

A press release from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General said that these courts are providing families with more access to information and the alternatives to court, like collaborative family law and mediation. Once these test projects are well underway, the information will be used to create similar initiatives across the province of Ontario.

“These improvements will help families resolve difficult issues faster and with less emotional stress when their relationships break down,” said Attorney General Chris Bentley.

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By michael - Last updated: Monday, June 14, 2010
Filed in Family Law Changes Ontario • Tags:


Toronto Divorce lawyer can help avoid long, costly court battle

A new study by the former Ontario Chief of Justice has found that one-third of Ontario residents are currently fighting legal problems in civil court.

The survey also looked at the effects of these court issues on people’s health, saying that legal difficulties are disruptive to everyday life, cause immense stress and can affect work. Family and divorce law as well as child custody issues can be the most stressful, according to the report.

Even slightly more alarming, 27 per cent of those facing legal issues like family law disputes had turned to the internet for the majority of their information, while four per cent went to the police. Three per cent of the people utilized a legal aid clinic, but even the study notes that these clinics are more apt to provide assistance for those wrongfully dismissed from work or those who are applying for disability cheques, not those headed for or going through a divorce.

The internet can be a helpful resource, but no website is as knowledgeable or most importantly, as accurate as a family lawyer.

Few divorces are amicable, but not all divorces need to go through the court system in Ontario. A family lawyer can also introduce parties to the collaborative law process, which solves divorce and family law matters. This has both parties settling their problems through their divorce lawyers in an effort to agree upon and negotiate the disputed issues, without going to court. While most people want a relatively painless divorce process, avoiding long, costly divorce proceedings in court is also something very attractive to those facing divorce and custody disagreements.

This is where collaborative law and an Ontario family lawyer come in.

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By michael - Last updated: Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Filed in Toronto Divorce Lawyers, Toronto Family Lawyers • Tags: ,