Hello Canadian Parents!

[matthew]

Hello!

I've been lurking around the forums for a short while but figured I'd introduce myself. I've been split up for about 4 years now and have a wonderful Son who I don't get to see much of. Unfortunately communication between my ex and I is non existent (and times when we do communicate is pretty non productive), and I've had to rely on family members to help with the basics of having a relationship with my Son.

We're joint Guardians but it's pretty apparent she doesn't want anything to do with me and thus my Son is negatively affected. It's pretty frustrating but I'm moving forward to keep his and my relationship connected.

Having talked to other parents, keeping organized and documenting problems with the other Party are paramount to defending ones rights and abilities to fulfill their responsibilities as a Parent and Guardian. I know various levels of Government have programs designed to help with Support but I've not seen any similar programs dealing with Guardianship or Access Enforcement, so it would seem (at least here in BC) keeping responsibilities and expectations well defined and pursuing contradictions is what it comes down to.

I've started working on a set of services for Canadian Parents to help keep track of issues related to their "Cases". My hope is other parents will benefit from having web based tools to keep track of time, incidents and scheduling so they can focus more on the important things in life than spats and alienation with the other Parent.

I know of similar services in the United States but none designed with Canadian or British Columbia Family Law in mind.

The service is still under development and I hope to have it available for pilot testing in the next month or two but I'd really like to hear other Canadian Parents on how such a service could help them. (And my apologies if this post is inappropriate, but I figure this is of interest to other Parents).

In its current development form the service supports case management with the ability to define children and members of the case (family members, friends, legal representatives etc), and to add Case Journal entries to keep track of various events. The next set of features I'm looking at adding are web based Email for communicating with other members of the case, archiving of such messages and scheduling of visitation and access times.

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this and what tools you could use for dealing with communication and problem tracking in your Separations.

Cheers

Matthew

[HatesCheaters]

Just a suggestion. Keep it free for parents to use and charge lawyers to advertise on the site. God knows we pay them enough anyways.

[matthew]

Originally Posted by HatesCheaters

Just a suggestion. Keep it free for parents to use and charge lawyers to advertise on the site. God knows we pay them enough anyways.

Ease and cost of access is pretty important and there will definitely be provisions for low income parents to make use of the service.

I don't know whether advertising would be be enough to cover the site's operational and maintenance costs but I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind.

Thanks!

Matthew

[SRivers]

Hi Matthew Great idea and very much needed unfortunately. I myself only communicate via email with my ex for the sole reason of documentation. Through using emails I was able to track, that he has only spent a total of 50 hours in 3 years with our son and his grandparents only 15.5 hours since birth.

It's imperative to keep track. For your own personal side of things I would get your ex back in court. She can be forced and charged $'s for each visit she has decided to mess up for your son and yourself. Best of luck.
Sam

[uknewme]

We've been fighting with my husband's ex for access for the last 3 years. We finally said "enough was enough" and we're taking her to court for access, help with travel etc. I got a legal notebook with numbered pages and I've been filling in information from conversations, etc. However, my husband is dsylexic and can't write very well. He doesn't mind typing and if you had a spell checker, all the better. He knows we need to keep track of everything. It is VERY important. Our lawyer finally asks us yesterday to transcribe everything in the notebook into a Word Doc so that she can use it for the first conference.
Even if you kept the cost very minimal, it would still be worth it. If you charge the lawyers, they're just going to mark it up and charge it back to the client. I can't see them doing ANYTHING for free
Thanks again for doing this and PLEASE let us know when it's finished. I'd even be willing to be a beta tester for you. I can break just about any website <lol>!

[matthew]

Originally Posted by SRivers

It's imperative to keep track. For your own personal side of things I would get your ex back in court. She can be forced and charged $'s for each visit she has decided to mess up for your son and yourself. Best of luck.
Sam

How is a penalty like that implemented? I was going to use 'grounds as change in custody' and an offense under the Family Relations Act 128(3) but I haven't seen language that implements other forms of penalties.

Thanks Sam!

Matthew

[matthew]

Originally Posted by uknewme

We've been fighting with my husband's ex for access for the last 3 years. We finally said "enough was enough" and we're taking her to court for access, help with travel etc. I got a legal notebook with numbered pages and I've been filling in information from conversations, etc. However, my husband is dsylexic and can't write very well. He doesn't mind typing and if you had a spell checker, all the better. He knows we need to keep track of everything. It is VERY important. Our lawyer finally asks us yesterday to transcribe everything in the notebook into a Word Doc so that she can use it for the first conference.
Even if you kept the cost very minimal, it would still be worth it. If you charge the lawyers, they're just going to mark it up and charge it back to the client. I can't see them doing ANYTHING for free

Hah! Yeah. I'm thankful for the accessjustice programs and the like but sometimes I wish I had gone to law school instead...

What's your thought on minimal cost? I'm thinking the service will be in the neighborhood of $60 (CAD) per year.

Originally Posted by uknewme

Thanks again for doing this and PLEASE let us know when it's finished. I'd even be willing to be a beta tester for you. I can break just about any website <lol>!

That'd be most excellent. We need volunteers to help beta test (there won't be any subscription fees for pilot testers during the pilot test). The site isn't ready for testing yet but I expect it'll be opened up within the next two months (hopefully much sooner than that). It's functional now in its development form but still to rough.

The website is Best for the Kids: Welcome.

I've setup a forum there for discussion about BFK, and a hidden pilot testers group for testers to use. There's also a pilot tester application form at Best for the Kids: Pilot Testing - if you'd like to test please fill it out so we can keep track of it.

Thanks!

Matthew

[SRivers]

Hi Matthew
Where are you located? I am in Calgary Canada and can tell you what to file if you are here or roundabouts.
Sam

[matthew]

Originally Posted by SRivers

Hi Matthew
Where are you located? I am in Calgary Canada and can tell you what to file if you are here or roundabouts.
Sam

Vancouver, British Columbia. That'd be great!

Matthew

[SRivers]

Family Law in British Columbia: Custody & access

Hi There The above is a link to BC's Family court forms. In Alberta we have a specific form we can file and serve to the respondent for the following. I do not know if BC has the same rules or not. I am sure they do. Have a look at the wording below and see if you can find on line forms that match in BC. I am not a lawyer, just a Mum trying to muddle thru this.

If you find the forms, fill them out and take them to court, you maybe asked to speak with an intake worker. That is probably best, because he/she will guide you thru next steps and best course of action for you and your boy. It may take 1/2 a day or all day, but worth it to get where you need to go.
Enforcement (Time with Child)

• J3478 Statement - Enforcement (Statement E1)
  • [Instructions]
• J3479 Statement - Reimbursement for Failure to Exercise Time (Statement E2)
  • [Instructions]
• J3480 Statement - Vary Enforcement (Time with a Child) (Statement E3)
  • [Instructions]