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  • Childs Lawyer

    I've been hearing members mention a "childrens lawyer" and I'm wondering how this works? Is this something that I can request so that my sons best interests are protected? Or is this something only appointed by the courts?

    Thanks
    GDGM

  • #2
    I was wondering the same thing - I mentioned it to my lawyer in an email and it was pretty much not discussed any further - was just dismissed really.

    Comment


    • #3
      Office of the children's lawyer home page can be found here at this link

      http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...sh/family/ocl/

      What they do

      Child Custody and Access Cases

      Court proceedings about child custody and access are usually between the child's mother and father. In most cases, the parents have lawyers who represent them in the case. Where there is a dispute before the court about the child's custody or access, a court may request the appointment of the Children's Lawyer under the Courts of Justice Act. This happens when the court requires independent information and representation about the interests, needs and wishes of the child who is the subject of the proceedings.

      The Children's Lawyer's involvement in custody/access cases is to provide a legal representative (a lawyer) for the child or to prepare a report, or a combination of both.

      The Children's Lawyer does not represent children in child support matters in custody/access cases. Visit the Family Responsibility Office Web site for information on child support matters.

      Requesting the involvement of the Children's Lawyer in Custody and Access cases
      After a court action about custody and access has begun, one or more of the parties (the applicant and respondent in the case) may request the appointment of the Children's Lawyer.

      It is not necessary for parties to serve the Office of the Children's Lawyer (OCL) with a Notice of Motion and Pleadings for an order to appoint the Children's Lawyer in Ontario Court of Justice, Superior Court of Justice or Superior Court of Justice, Family Court cases.


      Judges will consider the Intake Criteria before requesting, by order, the involvement of the Children's Lawyer in a case.


      A printed form of the Order is available to every family law Judge. When the order is signed it will be forwarded immediately by one of the parties set out in the order (or by the court), by facsimile (416-314-8050) or mail to the Office of the Children's Lawyer.

      As required in the order, within ten days, each party will complete a separate Intake Form and send it to the Office of the Children's Lawyer. The Intake Form itself is available in all Court Houses.

      Within three weeks of the date of the order, the Children's Lawyer will review the order and Intake Forms and notify the parties and the court (by facsimile or mail) whether the Children's Lawyer consents to become involved in the case and, if so, the type of professional service that will be provided.

      The types of professional services that may be delivered are:

      Legal Representation - A Lawyer will be assigned.


      Children's Lawyer Report - A clinical investigator will be assigned.


      Legal Representation with a Clinical Investigator Assist

      a) Both a lawyer and clinical investigator will be assigned at the beginning if there are serious clinical and legal issues requiring an expeditious response, e.g. murder/suicide, mobility, etc., or,


      b) After the case has been assigned to the lawyer, a clinical investigator will be assigned if there are specific serious clinical concerns that need to be addressed in order to assist the lawyer in representing the interests of the child client at any settlement meeting or in court.


      "Summary" Legal Representation or Children's Lawyer Report

      The lawyer or clinical investigator will be instructed to deliver, in a summary way, a time limited service and to report to the parties and the court either by way of submissions (lawyer) or by a short Report (social worker) about what, if anything, has been accomplished to advance the interests of the child client towards a resolution or court order.


      Lawyer Assisting Clinical Investigator

      A lawyer will be assigned to assist a clinical investigator who is preparing an OCL Report when the social worker needs legal advice and guidance in special circumstances, e.g. evidence, interpretation of documentation, legal procedures, etc. Please note that the lawyer will not be the legal representative of the child under s.89(3.1) of the Courts of Justice Act.


      NOTE: Except in special circumstances, legal representation and a Children's Lawyer report of the OCL will NOT be provided simultaneously.


      Copies of the OCL's Intake Criteria, Intake Form and Court Order Form are available upon request.

      http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o.../ocl/about.asp


      A copy of the intake criteria can be found here

      http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...ocl/intake.asp

      Intake Criteria for Provision of Custody/Access Cases

      The Office of the Children's Lawyer reviews each court ordered request for appointment of the Children's Lawyer in custody/access cases.

      The Office of the Children's Lawyer may not provide services in the following circumstances:
      • The child resides outside of Ontario;
      • The child and/or either parent/party does not reside where the action is being conducted;
      • There is an outstanding or anticipated order for assessment or mediation, or an assessment or mediation is pending;
      • An assessment has been completed about custody and access in the year preceding the request;
      • A review of the case history indicates that there have been multiple assessments or protracted litigation with little possibility of resolution;
      • There are serious mental health concerns with respect to either parent and/or child, and a mental health assessment has not been undertaken or completed;
      • Support and/or property issues are the primary concerns and the custody and access arrangements have been relatively stable for an appreciable period of time;
      • The primary purpose is to obtain evidence to further the litigation;
      • Other resolution efforts should have occurred and have not been attempted;
      • The child's situation would not be improved, e.g. where the issue is "joint" v. "sole" custody, or where an unrealistic time-sharing plan is being sought, or an applicant seeks to change custody to resolve an access problem, or both parties reside in the matrimonial home etc.;

      (a). One or both parties allege abuse and/or neglect and the local Children's Aid Society (CAS) is investigating or should be asked under the Child and Family Services Act to investigate the allegations; or

      (b). The CAS is or has been involved and has taken a position as to the custody/access arrangements;

      Updating the Children's Lawyer's Report that has been served and filed in court under section 112 of the Courts of Justice Act.

      The intake criteria form can be found here at this link

      http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...l/intakeng.pdf

      Comment


      • #4
        Does anyone in the group have any experience with the Office of the Childrens Lawyer?

        I am deeply concerned about the effects of my ex's behavior on my child. She is doing everything she can to keep him from me and I'm certain she is doing damage to him.

        I would love to hear from some of you about this if you've got anything to offer with your own experience.

        I wrote a lot of information in my affadavit regarding all of the difficulty I've had accessing my son. There have been court ordered times set in place by the judge that she HAS to allow me to talk to my son. This is an interim order. In the future, I anticipate that she will say that I cannot have my son during over night visits when I go home for the summer. I anticipate that she will say that this will be emotionally difficult for him given that he hasn't seen me in such a long time. ( will be 10 months by then ) However, as I wrote in my affidavit, she took two vacations this past year and left my son with her family and friends to care for him.

        I am very worried about my son and would like for him to talk to someone about the divorce. I am too afraid to talk to my son about it because I don't want to confuse him if the ex is telling him something completely different. I feel that when he is talked to, it should be consistent with everyone telling him the same thing so that he is not confused. Problem is, the ex is not willinging to talk to me about anything so we cannot work together on how to approach this.

        Any suggestions? Thanks L/v for the links. They are very helpful. I appreciate it!

        GDGM

        Comment


        • #5
          some links

          Since neither you or your spouse or your child are in ontario- the office of the children's lawyer wouldn't be able to help you.

          Voice and Support: Programs for Children Experiencing Parental Separation and Divorce
          That link might help. Also check out this page in the same document - It will tell you what programs Nfld has in this area

          Comment


          • #6
            I believe every jurisdiction in Canada has an equivalent office of the children's lawyer.

            Comment


            • #7
              GDGM,

              I think you should pursue this, it would be an excellent idea to have your child assessed. By going through an agency like the Children's Lawyer, it would be of no expense to you. They could recommend counseling for the child although I do not believe it is in there mandate to provide it. The assessment of your child that they would provide would be of great use to a counseling in later providing your son support.

              I highly recommend councelling for childing of separation/divorce especially in high conflict situations. I had myself & children in counseling for over 2 years so I'm speaking from experience.

              Good Luck, and summers is just around the corner, bet you can't wait to see your son. Are you planning to return for the next school year?

              Comment


              • #8
                I'm not sure what it would be called in other places. Do you know LV? I know the office of the children's lawyer is an ontario thing, Do you know what it would be called in other provinces if they have the same thing?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Jenny,

                  In quebec, office of the children lawyer falls within youth protection act.

                  Most of the sites in quebec are french and very difficult to translate however I did come across this document that clarifies the role of the children's lawyer in quebec etc.

                  http://www.ibcr.org/PAGE_EN/2004%20C...uthier_ENG.pdf

                  and I did search for the respective act which can be found here
                  It does speak about parential assessments etc

                  http://www.canlii.org/qc/laws/sta/p-...213/whole.html

                  I will continue to search and post what I come up with.
                  Last edited by logicalvelocity; 03-18-2006, 02:43 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I did come across this site and pamphlet that deals with a child's right to an advocate in the yukon territory.

                    http://www.yukonchildrensact.ca/down...-Qual-Mntr.pdf

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      childrens lawyer

                      In most cases they will appoint a counselor.She will disect all involved and make a determination on her undertakings.If she believes the children are in good care with you then most judges will honour her findings.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re office of the childrens lawyer

                        Originally posted by gooddadgoingmad
                        Does anyone in the group have any experience with the Office of the Childrens Lawyer?

                        I am deeply concerned about the effects of my ex's behavior on my child. She is doing everything she can to keep him from me and I'm certain she is doing damage to him.

                        I would love to hear from some of you about this if you've got anything to offer with your own experience.

                        I wrote a lot of information in my affadavit regarding all of the difficulty I've had accessing my son. There have been court ordered times set in place by the judge that she HAS to allow me to talk to my son. This is an interim order. In the future, I anticipate that she will say that I cannot have my son during over night visits when I go home for the summer. I anticipate that she will say that this will be emotionally difficult for him given that he hasn't seen me in such a long time. ( will be 10 months by then ) However, as I wrote in my affidavit, she took two vacations this past year and left my son with her family and friends to care for him.

                        I am very worried about my son and would like for him to talk to someone about the divorce. I am too afraid to talk to my son about it because I don't want to confuse him if the ex is telling him something completely different. I feel that when he is talked to, it should be consistent with everyone telling him the same thing so that he is not confused. Problem is, the ex is not willinging to talk to me about anything so we cannot work together on how to approach this.

                        Any suggestions? Thanks L/v for the links. They are very helpful. I appreciate it!

                        GDGM
                        Re Office of the childrens Lawyer

                        My experience with the childrens lawyer was very positive. I found them to be extremely thorough and sometimes this can be exhausting -- one meeting lasted 5 hours--- If you are fortunate enough to draw Paula Devitto you have drawn an ace, in that she will be extremely fair to your children.There most likely will be a 100% disclosure meeting and no stone will be left unturned. The outcome was bittersweet in my case. The OCL position favored the father (me ) having custody , Unfortuneately they cannot order this to take place. I'm sure there hope is that the two parents will have seen enough that an amicable settlement with the children in mind will take place. Again this is not always so. The OCL went as far as to vindicate me from false accusations that had been tabled against me and even went as far as to indicate who brought forward the accusations -- a great way to find out who your friends were.But if you are having trouble with a very polarized ex insist that your lawyer help you apply for this service.
                        They are not there to mediate or reunite anyone but they are there for the best interest of the children . Fair , honest and direct pretty much sums them up. One caveat... as Paula Devitto started her disclosure she said "your children are gorgeous but I'm not here to make friends.... so you can gather that the knife cuts both ways.

                        brokendad

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Brokendad,

                          I'm glad to hear that you had a positive experience with the OCL. A Judge had order them in my case, but they declined to get involved.

                          If they recommended custody to you, then what happened? I have always understood that their recommendations hold a lot of weight in custody issues with the courts and the Judges usually take third party opinions over the bickering parents.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Hi grace

                            We went to pre-trial conference , the judge said if this was a trial in his court room today the children would be going home with there father. Then he admonished my spouse for some of her antics. But at this time in fairness the judge also was willing to support at the request of her lawyer for a review of the OCL work. I;m hedging my bets that this will not happen as the OCL had offered a review after One year. I doubt they will wate time and money for a review after three months when there are other children in the province who need there help.
                            So as soon as we get there reply I;m pressuring my lawyer to procede with a motion for the suggestions of the OCL report to be put into place asap or at worst a negotiated joint custody/access arrangement eliminating the mistakes of our current court order.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Ocl

                              Grace - why did the OCL decline your case?

                              I'm just curious as to what their criteria are. I just received notification that they have accepted our case. My ex requested their involvement but my lawyer assures me it will only help my case.

                              I'll admit I'm a little nervous about the investigation. Ever since we split I feel like I'm under this big "parenting" microscope. The ex who was never all that involved in the decision making process is all of a sudden questioning all my decisions. I have to justify EVERYTHING - to the point of sending research on how much sleep is appropriate for a 12 year old. Sometimes I think he just disagrees to cause conflict. It's tiring. So the thought of yet another party coming in to scrutinize my life as a parent....sigh

                              But in the end if it means that my kids get what they need - whatever that is - it's worth it, right?

                              Comment

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