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Fixing Canada's Divorce Act

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  • Fixing Canada's Divorce Act

    In a 2013 report, Justice Thomas Cromwell called for a “complete overhaul” of the family law system “from the ground up,” with a focus on ending a fixation on combat. The report goes on to say that estranged spouses and their children are seriously damaged by the current adversarial system. Canada’s legal community, which profits immensely from the current system, is actively opposed to this legislation. This is despite the popularity of equal shared parenting among Canadians (80-85% approval among both men and women equally), the success these types of reforms are having elsewhere in the world, and the concerns raised by the Supreme Court.
    Yes....but some will just say that is crazy talk

    Establishing shared custody as the default position is a practical way of ending bitter court battles and keeping fit parents involved in their children’s lives — both of which will greatly enhance the outcomes for children. As stated by Saskatchewan’s prior Justice Minister, the Honourable Don Morgan, taking such a step in the Divorce Act would have the same positive impact that creating a similar in the Matrimonial Property Act had. It would help end many bitter court battles, as the treatment by the courts would be consistent and predictable — property is shared unless there is some specific and compelling reason that it should not be.
    Why is nobody listening to this Justice, especially when he is substantiating his reasoning with a good example?

    Sadly, the current family law system is promoting the conflict and disenfranchisement of parents that is most harmful to children. It pits parents against each other in bitter court battles that frequently result in a “winning” and “losing” parent.
    Yes we know....and those parents that can't seem to see the trees from the forest, and get bitter to the point that they are using kids as pawn because a spouse left them, will get Karma in the end....well of course they can't see that far yet

    Ryan Glass: Fixing Canada’s Divorce Act | National Post
    Last edited by mcdreamy; 08-01-2014, 07:09 PM. Reason: moved to political discussion

  • #2
    I'm a "victim" (although I hate the term) of being punished to decide to leave a bad situation. Karma cannot come soon enough while the children suffer too much.

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    • #3
      "Canada’s legal community, which profits immensely from the current system, is actively opposed to this legislation. This is despite the popularity of equal shared parenting among Canadians (80-85% approval among both men and women equally), the success these types of reforms are having elsewhere in the world, and the concerns raised by the Supreme Court."
      The biggest problem with with our present system is the lack of predictability.
      Judges discretion ...... ??? our futures are being decided not by laws - but by jaded and overworked public servants.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Janibel View Post
        The biggest problem with with our present system is the lack of predictability.
        Judges discretion ...... ??? our futures are being decided not by laws - but by jaded and overworked public servants.
        Actually, I find our current system quite predictable - if there has not been 50/50 parenting in the household prior to separation, it would not be 50/50 immediately following separation.
        Start a discussion, not a fire. Post with kindness.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by mcdreamy View Post
          Actually, I find our current system quite predictable - if there has not been 50/50 parenting in the household prior to separation, it would not be 50/50 immediately following separation.
          From my own experience this is a very tricky and expensive thing.
          In my case, my ex didn't work (cashiers can't bring in that much money) so she asked to stay home and I agreed. I took 6mo parental leave per child. I didn't travel, had VERY generous vacation (8 weeks/year), was sports team coach, took them to their activities while mom slept and screwed around etc... I was probably more involved with my kids that any non-SAHP.

          A psych eval said custody should be 50/50 no strings attached, no concerns - judge agreed it should be 50/50 after a 39.9/60.1 transition period (1.5yrs). So now I have to go to court twice and all the other fighting in between just because I make 70k and ex makes nothing and they want to maximize legal fees and child support and I am sure if I don't get shared custody it will be more about financially supporting the mother than whats in the best interest of the kids.

          I'm sure my kids will be super happy when they're working part-time at mcdonald's to pay for their university instead of having me paid for it with the 50k I had to pay for our legal fees.

          Best Interest of the Lawyers.......

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          • #6
            Originally posted by mcdreamy View Post
            Actually, I find our current system quite predictable - if there has not been 50/50 parenting in the household prior to separation, it would not be 50/50 immediately following separation.
            actually it will not be 50/50 unless you go to trial and prove that it was 50/50 before (and are not pounded by status quo by then) or the woman says it was 50/50 before separation (most cases). rarely ever do you so it being 50/50 because the guy said and the judge believed him instead of the woman (actually i have not come across one such case yet)

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            • #7
              I've been actually looking at cases where women are unemployed or underemployed and I very rarely find one where they don't get full custody.

              It is pretty sad...

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              • #8
                It is, Links17. It is.

                I lucked out with an ex who was reasonable. Now it has been two years of 50-50 from the beginning, so I doubt she would have an easy time changing it.

                From my cold dead fingers...

                Comment

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