Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Mental Illness - Does it Matter?

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Mental Illness - Does it Matter?

    I am involved in a tough legal battle with my ex over my two children, and I'm convinced that she has a mental illness of some sort... probably Borderline Personality Disorder. She basically hits most of the 9 criteria for the disease, but she has never been diagnosed.

    Just to put some context, here is a short list of some of the issues:
    • instability in relationships - she is in and out of relationships almost monthly and is never able to sustain any relationships for more than a few months at the most;
    • she has moved 6 times in two years - 4 times this year alone - 11 times since 2006 - sometimes, she doesn't even tell me and I have to go looking for her;
    • her last husband, she married him after knowing him for a week - it lasted three months;
    • she's made two false allegations of child sexual abuse against me, both were investigated thoroughly by both the police and the Children's Aid and where determined to be unfounded;
    • unable to take responsibility for any of her actions whatsoever;
    • an astonishing lack of empathy;
    • punishes my sons for expressing wishes to see me with long time-outs and then bed;
    • punishes my son because he likes pink things and likes to play with dolls;
    • changes my access times unilaterally; withdrew my telephone access altogether;
    • changed my son's school without consultation with me and we have joint custody;
    • school wrote to us indicating that the children are dirty and that the children were coming to school without breakfast;
    • my oldest son lost a molar at 6 because of tooth decay. She told me she was taking them to the dentist but she wasn't;
    • she believes she has paranormal powers of divination, healing, clairvoyance and she says that she is a spirit medium (talking to the dead and angels, etc);
    • pathological lying - much of the time, it's done without any reason behind it.


    ...my list of grievances is two pages, and it goes on and on just like above.

    My questions are:
    1. Does it matter to the courts whether she has been diagnosed with a mental health issue? Is a diagnosis something that I should even care about or will the court simply want to know about how behaviors are impacting the children?
    2. If a diagnosis would strengthen my case, how can I go about getting the court to order one?
    3. Any professionals out there that have seen this type of thing before?
    4. Should I express my views in court that I have concerns about her mental health?

  • #2
    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
    • she's made two false allegations of child sexual abuse against me, both were investigated thoroughly by both the police and the Children's Aid and where determined to be unfounded;
    • changes my access times unilaterally; withdrew my telephone access altogether;
    • changed my son's school without consultation with me and we have joint custody;
    • school wrote to us indicating that the children are dirty and that the children were coming to school without breakfast;
    • my oldest son lost a molar at 6 because of tooth decay. She told me she was taking them to the dentist but she wasn't;
    Many on this board have actual experience with dealing with situations like this. So really this is just my initial thought on logic the way courts see it.

    The above 5 points are really all the courts will most likely care about. The tooth decay thing is a long shot...in my opinion.

    You state you are in a tough legal battle. Are you self-representing? If not, what does your lawyer advise? Do you currently have a Separation Agreement / Divorce? Are you just trying to have the custody issues changed?

    Reading other's posts on here it is really about documenting your case...in order to determine what is best for the child...not to determine who is the "best" parent.

    So...what is does your documentation look like? Do you have concrete specific evidence each and every time she has denied or changed access unilaterally?

    Changing schools...do you have the documents to show you were not consulted or listed on the new schools enrollment paperwork? Did she change schools because of the old school was starting to red-flag the children's condition? Do you have those documents?

    ...I hope you are getting the general idea of where I am going with this.

    It is best for a child to have two involved, caring parents. How each chooses to parent on their own time is not considered by the courts unless the child is being put into mortal danger.

    If Children's Aid were involved with the "false allegation" cases...then what was the outcome of the reports in regards to her "parenting ability"? I am thinking those reports would go a long way to establish just what lengths she is prepared to go to in order to have you out of the children's lives and I'm thinking the courts will frown on this...

    If I were you I'd just stick to the what the "courts" deem important and leave all the rest out...or just address it in one or two points. The bulk of your efforts shouldn't be to prove she is mentally unstable...but rather to prove she is doing everything in her power to take away your relationship with your children...period.

    ...just my thoughts.

    Comment


    • #3
      Does it matter to the courts whether she has been diagnosed with a mental health issue? Is a diagnosis something that I should even care about or will the court simply want to know about how behaviors are impacting the children?
      Diagnosis of a disorder is significant if it will impact the children. If it has no effect on the children, introducing evidence of a disorder - like any other evidence - will require relevancy. Why is it important if it does not impact the kids?

      If a diagnosis would strengthen my case, how can I go about getting the court to order one?
      Request it from other side. If they decline to have a psychological assessment, you may bring a motion to Order it. Keep in mind, most people think their ex's are crazy; you may wish to assess the relevancy of the accusation.

      Any professionals out there that have seen this type of thing before?
      I would be reluctant to take the advice of anyone holding themselves out to be a professional on an anonymous online message board. It would be fair to expect any professional would indicate that a diagnosis can only be made by a professional in a clinical situation.

      Should I express my views in court that I have concerns about her mental health?
      If you think it is relevant. However, since - as stated above - many people believe their ex is crazy, the statement may be more indicative of the future of the co-parenting relationship than the mental state of either party.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
        I am involved in a tough legal battle with my ex over my two children, and I'm convinced that she has a mental illness of some sort... probably Borderline Personality Disorder. She basically hits most of the 9 criteria for the disease, but she has never been diagnosed.
        What you are "convinced" of and "believe" that "hits most of" in the DSM-IV-TR category is of little to no relevance as you are not a clinician.

        If you want to see a matter go high conflict and fast. Alledge a mental illness based on your "belief" and see how a judge reacts.

        Unless the children are in threat of emotional and/or physical harm the prevaling "mental illness" you are "convinced" that the other party to the litigation has is of no relevance. (For reasons stated above.)

        If you truly have a concern then CAS would be involved in investigating the matter.

        Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
        Does it matter to the courts whether she has been diagnosed with a mental health issue? Is a diagnosis something that I should even care about or will the court simply want to know about how behaviors are impacting the children?
        If you make a statement of mental illness, demand psychological testing, etc... You are not going to be in a very good position before the court. If a diagnosis exists you are going to even have a harder time on getting the disclosure unless it is established on a high probability that the children are at risk of emotional and/or physical danger from the person in question.

        Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
        If a diagnosis would strengthen my case, how can I go about getting the court to order one?
        Your only opinion is to execute Section 30 of the CLRA and get a professional clinician ordered (at a significant cost to you). But, you won't find much jurisprudence whereby a mental illness claim has been successful and in fact, you will be hard pressed to find case law whereby a mental illness was identified by a Section 30 evaluator as their only (and primary) concern is the "best interests" of the children.

        You want to piss off OCL or Section 30... Go in with allegations and no substantive evidence other than your personal "concerns" and internet readings. The evidentuary requirement to establish mental health issues and danger to children is far beyond the "balance of probabilities" but, almost "beyond reasonable doubt".

        Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
        Any professionals out there that have seen this type of thing before?
        There are probably thousands of professionals who have had to deal with two parents calling each other "mentally ill" before the courts. In fact, there is probably a long motion hearing going on in a court room right this very minute somewhere in Canada where these unsubstantiated claims are being made.

        Suffice to say, they all come with the same outcome. Are the children in danger? Is this an over anxious parent reacting to minor events? Is the pattern of behaviour going to harm the children or is the allegation and continued conflict over an issue for which no evidence going to put the parental relationship in such a position that the court will have to order sole custody or act on the Family Services Act and remove the children from BOTH parents?

        Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
        Should I express my views in court that I have concerns about her mental health?
        No. My advice would be not to. If there is real evidence you talk to the incident as evidence to the fact. Again, police reports, incident reports, CAS reports. You don't make wild unsubstantiated allegations against someone's mental illness. Let their own evidence be the factor.

        If someone is truly borderline, they will hurl all sorts of stuff in affidavit materials. They will insult your intelligence, they will put forward piles of affidavits, call you a Satanist, attack your religious beliefs, and make every inappropriate allegation that is unsubstantiated they can.

        Truly Axis II disordered individuals own words are their worst enemy. You don't need to identify it to the court. They will do it all themselves in their affidavit materials and how they litigate the matter.

        You are better off understanding the pattern of behaviour and positioning of these highly conflicted individuals, their tactics for creating distortion campaigns, emotional reasoning and how they interact with their possibly negative advocate solicitors.

        If you truly are facing a Axis II person as opposing litigant, you are better of preparing yourself for the storm of hatred, vitriol and unsubstantiated claims they will make. Don't take them personally, just address them with responding cogent and relevant facts.

        Also, the best thing you can do for yourself is to seek therapy and discuss how to manage the stress with a mental health clinician. You may not be prepared at all for what could come along with their affidavit materials.

        Always remember, judges read all the unsubstantiated junk that highly conflicted individuals throw in the court room every day. Just let them throw mud. Don't throw it back and if you have to throw something make sure it is cogent, relevant and tangible evidence.

        Good Luck!
        Tayken

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by OrleansLawyer View Post
          Request it from other side. If they decline to have a psychological assessment, you may bring a motion to Order it. Keep in mind, most people think their ex's are crazy; you may wish to assess the relevancy of the accusation.

          If you think it is relevant. However, since - as stated above - many people believe their ex is crazy, the statement may be more indicative of the future of the co-parenting relationship than the mental state of either party.
          Very wise advice that EVERYONE needs to consider (highlighted in bold) from OrleansLawyer yet again.

          A better alternative if the safety of children are concerned is to seek an order for a Section 30 assessment. (See Section 30 of the Children's Law Reform Act of Ontario.) Note that assessments are expensive, lengthy and as of late are being put under the cross hairs of the justices and are more often than not being relegated to the junk pile in many situations.

          But, if you are truly dealing with a borderline, their conduct will become evident and more than likely CAS will have to get involved and it will be a third party professional involved in the children's lives that raises the concern.

          Good Luck!
          Tayken

          Comment


          • #6
            Once again OceansLawyer and Tayken thanks for posting such an informative and relevant response.

            So the question is what is relevant and cogent evidence.

            I am assuming my ex's consumption of 10 Tylenol 3 (Children were home) and the resulting 6 week stay in a mental health ward due to an extreme manic episode would be relevant. (Diagnosed Bi-Polar 2002) How does one get this record admitted into evidence. My lawyer has asked for her medical records to be opened in our application.

            Would bringing unknown men into the marital home while children were present be relevant. (I have the police report)

            4 instances where her aggressive behavior required the police to be called to calm the situation. She did physically hit me but no charges were ever laid so I won't call it assault. (I have all 4 police reports)

            Thanks

            EDIT: I have done many searches on CANLII for Bi-Polar with mixed results.
            Last edited by FB_; 11-01-2012, 03:48 PM.

            Comment


            • #7
              This is all very good advice. I will do exactly as advised here and I won't mention it at all.

              @Tayken: I already know that she will lash out. It's her style. It's inevitable. I have no problem with sitting back and letting her do it.

              BPD does have a significant impact on children. It's not life threatening, but it does cause psychological damage. No parent wants that. The CAS has expressed concerns about her mental health, but they've said that, unless they are in danger, there isn't much they can do about it.

              @All: My oldest son displays a great deal of anxiety when going back to his mom. He cries and sometimes runs away when I tell him that it's time to go. I don't really know what is going on at her house at times, but there are red flags. The CAS has found nothing.

              I do have an existing court order. Joint custody, access at specific times, telephone access... the standard weekend dad type of thing.

              BTW, How could the instability in the home not be a factor in this? You mean to say that instability in the mother's home doesn't have any impact on custody?

              I also forgot to mention that my oldest failed grade one.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                Once again OceansLawyer and Tayken thanks for posting such an informative and relevant response.

                So the question is what is relevant and cogent evidence.

                I am assuming my ex's consumption of 10 Tylenol 3 (Children were home) and the resulting 6 week stay in a mental health ward due to an extreme manic episode would be relevant. (Diagnosed Bi-Polar 2002) How does one get this record admitted into evidence. My lawyer has asked for her medical records to be opened in our application.
                Well, you know the health care facility for which the person in the 6 week stay is at probably. You can make a request under Rule 20 for the information and leverage Form 20 for this purpose. Your lawyer should have submitted a formal request for disclosure but, only if the matter is relevant to the current matters.

                By this I mean... The relevancy is the *time* for which the incident in question occured. Were the police called? Was the person in question initially brought in under Form by the police or a medical professional? Were the children present? Were the children even born? Is the person currently under the care of a clinician? Why hasn't the clinician contacted CAS with their concerns? (KEY element of relevancy as clinicians are required under their governace rules and a slew of Acts to report danger to children by a patient to CAS.)

                Again, the relevance to the conduct of the person in question only matters in terms of the children involved's "best interests". If the person in question has a mental health worker (one would assume psychiatrist if in fact diagnosed bi-polar) then they know that children are involved and are compelled to act to protect children. If they are not acting it is generally not through negligence as no clinician would want to have to deal with a patient who harmed children and having their records opened for a criminal matter resulting from their patient's conduct. Their practice would come into question. So you have to look in the "big picture" of the situation rather than just the isolated incident at times.

                If there are 10-15 similar incidents and some are recent then the real question is... Why hasn't CAS acted?

                Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                Would bringing unknown men into the marital home while children were present be relevant. (I have the police report)
                Nope. Not really relevant unless the person in question was arrested or conducted themselves in a manner that is a danger to the children.

                Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                4 instances where her aggressive behavior required the police to be called to calm the situation. She did physically hit me but no charges were ever laid so I won't call it assault. (I have all 4 police reports)
                Bi-polar disorders are HIGHLY treatable. The only ground you would have is if the person in question is not seeking active treatment and not following their doctor's plan of care. (i.e. Not taking medication, over dosing on medication, not attending therapy, etc...)

                A third party is involved in the health care and they have a duety to protect children should their patient (client) exhibit anything that would draw attention to the safety of the children involved.

                As a "label" bi-polar, borderline and all the other mental health classifications relating to diagnosis seem 'scary' but, you really need to understand them in the context of treatment and the person in question's success with treatment.

                So, it may become a fact that the person is bi-polar disordered, has sought treatment, continues to be successful in treatment and not be any danger to the children. You are going to have to accept this fact and move on.

                Furthermore, a person's past history of mental health may not be reflective of their current and future treatment. Unless there is a current concern before the court. Past conduct can be a predictor to future conduct but, you need a pile of evidence to support this argument before the court.

                Good Luck!
                Tayken

                Comment


                • #9
                  Why isn't the stability in her home relevant? I would think that it is a significant factor in the children's poor school performance. (I forgot to mention that my oldest son failed grade 1.)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                    This is all very good advice. I will do exactly as advised here and I won't mention it at all.
                    Be advised to walk on thin ice. Just because you "feel" something doesn't mean it is true. You can find hundreds of OCL reports and Section 30 reports in court records where clinicians make far sweeping allegations against parents that are not clinically supported, irrelevant and improperly clinically cited with no supporting evidence other than a subjective statement.

                    Professionals make the mistake all the time before the court so as a possibly unrepresented litigant, you will make the mistake and it will not better the situation for the children in question at all.

                    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                    @Tayken: I already know that she will lash out. It's her style. It's inevitable. I have no problem with sitting back and letting her do it.
                    You may be a strong person but, I highly recommend you seek a proper clinician to assist you through a time like this. Being at the end of a possible distortion campaign can have a tremendous impact on one's health and well being. Even if you don't feel you need the help it doesn't hurt to seek it out and prepare yourself. In fact, therapy only can help you at this time and not hinder you. You can learn techniques and skills, better undertand yourself, et all... Therapy can (and usually is) a very positive experience in the long run!

                    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                    BPD does have a significant impact on children. It's not life threatening, but it does cause psychological damage. No parent wants that. The CAS has expressed concerns about her mental health, but they've said that, unless they are in danger, there isn't much they can do about it.
                    Again, as I always state. Is this written down? Or something off the cuff said to you by voice and not on record. If it is not on record from CAS you can throw it out the window and forget it was even said to you. In fact, it is not appropriate for any social worker from CAS to even state something like this to anyone unless they are not putting it down into record.

                    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                    @All: My oldest son displays a great deal of anxiety when going back to his mom. He cries and sometimes runs away when I tell him that it's time to go. I don't really know what is going on at her house at times, but there are red flags. The CAS has found nothing.
                    This is NORMAL childhood behaviour. Maybe don't tell the child is going to mommy's. That is what most professionals would tell you. Change the exchange to be through a third party (say daycare) whereby the exchange isn't about one parent dropping off the child to another parent. There are thousands of reasons as to why the child is reacting this way and it all could come down to age and needing to find a better way to do the transition between homes.

                    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                    I do have an existing court order. Joint custody, access at specific times, telephone access... the standard weekend dad type of thing.
                    This is also another reason why the child may be behaving this way. Children want to be cared for, loved and see both parents equally. It may be more of a signal that 50-50 access would be in the child's "best interests" than anything one parent is "doing" to the child. It may just be a child demonstrating a natural desire to be loved and cared for by both parents equally.

                    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                    BTW, How could the instability in the home not be a factor in this? You mean to say that instability in the mother's home doesn't have any impact on custody?
                    What evidence to "instability" in the home is your "evidence"? If the other parent is moving 3 times a year and school is changing 3 times a year. This is relevant. If it is because the child has xBox at your house and no xBox at the other parent's home... This is NOT relevant and a factor that would be considered.

                    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                    I also forgot to mention that my oldest failed grade one.
                    Unfortunate, but, who's problem is that? As you are a joint custodial parent, have access to the child, what efforts have you made to assist the child in their educational needs. If you are a joint custodial parent you have equal responsibility in their educational well being too. You may have not as much access but, if you use your time appropriately you can only help your child with school.

                    Have you recommended psychoeducational testing for the child? Talked to the school? Recommended additional tutoring and assistance?

                    My advice would be to not try to blame the other parent for the child in question's educational success but, look to yourself on how you can help the child. Involve the other parent, don't blame anyone for the child's challenges at school but rather look for solutions to the problem.

                    Good Luck!
                    Tayken

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Tayken View Post
                      Well, you know the health care facility for which the person in the 6 week stay is at probably. You can make a request under Rule 20 for the information and leverage Form 20 for this purpose. Your lawyer should have submitted a formal request for disclosure but, only if the matter is relevant to the current matters.

                      By this I mean... The relevancy is the *time* for which the incident in question occured. Were the police called? Was the person in question initially brought in under Form by the police or a medical professional? Were the children present? Were the children even born? Is the person currently under the care of a clinician? Why hasn't the clinician contacted CAS with their concerns? (KEY element of relevancy as clinicians are required under their governace rules and a slew of Acts to report danger to children by a patient to CAS.)

                      Again, the relevance to the conduct of the person in question only matters in terms of the children involved's "best interests". If the person in question has a mental health worker (one would assume psychiatrist if in fact diagnosed bi-polar) then they know that children are involved and are compelled to act to protect children. If they are not acting it is generally not through negligence as no clinician would want to have to deal with a patient who harmed children and having their records opened for a criminal matter resulting from their patient's conduct. Their practice would come into question. So you have to look in the "big picture" of the situation rather than just the isolated incident at times.

                      If there are 10-15 similar incidents and some are recent then the real question is... Why hasn't CAS acted?



                      Nope. Not really relevant unless the person in question was arrested or conducted themselves in a manner that is a danger to the children.



                      Bi-polar disorders are HIGHLY treatable. The only ground you would have is if the person in question is not seeking active treatment and not following their doctor's plan of care. (i.e. Not taking medication, over dosing on medication, not attending therapy, etc...)

                      A third party is involved in the health care and they have a duety to protect children should their patient (client) exhibit anything that would draw attention to the safety of the children involved.

                      As a "label" bi-polar, borderline and all the other mental health classifications relating to diagnosis seem 'scary' but, you really need to understand them in the context of treatment and the person in question's success with treatment.

                      So, it may become a fact that the person is bi-polar disordered, has sought treatment, continues to be successful in treatment and not be any danger to the children. You are going to have to accept this fact and move on.

                      Furthermore, a person's past history of mental health may not be reflective of their current and future treatment. Unless there is a current concern before the court. Past conduct can be a predictor to future conduct but, you need a pile of evidence to support this argument before the court.

                      Good Luck!
                      Tayken
                      Again thanks, that's a lot of information.

                      Just to be clear, what I want is shared custody. However she has applied for Full Custody which under the circumstances and don't think is appropriate. I believe she does need to be a big part of their lives but she is IMO incapable of being a full time single parent.


                      She has been an on and off her meds many times. She does have a medical professional who she sees regularly (info below). However the incident in question happened in Feb 2011. She was not taking her meds as directed and was not seeing the medical professional and her case was flagged as non-compliant. The police/ambulance were called during the above incident. She was declared a danger to herself and held against her will in the hospital. There is no police report as it was considered a medical assist not a police matter. The children were present and part of the incident at the house. I kept them in their rooms while the police/ambulance were present so they didn't have to see it happen. CAS was involved but the kids were in my care and she was in the hospital so they saw no danger.

                      Here is her doctors info.

                      Specialty Issued On Type
                      Psychiatry 04 Jun 1985 RCPSC Specialist

                      Following her release from the hospital she again stopped her meds and started the extreme Manic behavior again. In Aug 2011 I had had enough and decided to separate. Once that happened she apparently started to take her meds again and see her medical professional more regularly. I moved to the basement and have been their since. I tried to negotiate a settlement which was progressing for a while but then just stopped. I then filed my court papers and have my case conference in 3 weeks.

                      So she is seeking treatment and as best as I can tell taking her meds, however her emotional cycling continues although certainly not as severe as when she is off her meds. It is my belief that she can be a good mother but the stress of Primary Sole Custody would cause so much stress that it may trigger future relapses. Let alone the fact that it's in the kids best interest to have me at least 50% in their lives.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                        Again thanks, that's a lot of information.

                        Just to be clear, what I want is shared custody. However she has applied for Full Custody which under the circumstances and don't think is appropriate. I believe she does need to be a big part of their lives but she is IMO incapable of being a full time single parent.
                        Making an Application to the court for "sole custody" and "majority access" is easy to do. Putting forward the evidence to support the Application and come to a final order is not. Always remember that.

                        Judges are growing incredibly annoyed (as demonstrated in recent jurisprudence) with the whole sole custody debate. VK v. TS being a prime example of what happens (parallel parenting).

                        With the amount of challenges you keep bringing to this forum have you really considered parallel parenting as the other viable option?

                        Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                        She has been an on and off her meds many times. She does have a medical professional who she sees regularly (info below). However the incident in question happened in Feb 2011. She was not taking her meds as directed and was not seeing the medical professional and her case was flagged as non-compliant. The police/ambulance were called during the above incident. She was declared a danger to herself and held against her will in the hospital.
                        But, that would be for 72 hours and not 6 weeks. So she self admitted to treatment probably? That works in her favour and not yours. Also, it is now almost Feb 2013. The date of expiry of an incident in Febuary 2011 without another incident is really not too relevant to the court.

                        It is relevant to support concerns but, don't expect it to have significant weight and be the determining factor for any "sole custodial" decision to you as a parent.

                        Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                        There is no police report as it was considered a medical assist not a police matter. The children were present and part of the incident at the house. I kept them in their rooms while the police/ambulance were present so they didn't have to see it happen. CAS was involved but the kids were in my care and she was in the hospital so they saw no danger.
                        Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                        Here is her doctors info.

                        Specialty Type
                        Psychiatry RCPSC Specialist
                        At the case conference you can request an order for questioning possibly of the medical professional in question. Now, hard to say if it would get ordered at they are third party. Talk to your lawyer about it and if possible. The objective would be to question the doctor in question to narrow the complex issues surrounding the mental health and well being of the other party and the children involved. As the active clinician treating the condition they can provide expert opinion on the matter. You will have to more than likely pay for the doctors time for the questioning and the doctor may be able to refuse the order as they were not made a party to the case.

                        Now the thing to mention to your lawyer is that if ordered to testify under their governing body's rules the doctor is to bring all medical records to the questioning/cross examination for the patient in question. You need to make it clear on any order at a conference that the doctor is to abide by the College of Physician's requirements and policies.

                        Read the college's privacy, consent and medical records policies. When appropriate the order should explicitly name the policies for which they have to bring the medical records under.

                        Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                        Following her release from the hospital she again stopped her meds and started the extreme Manic behavior again. In Aug 2011 I had had enough and decided to separate. Once that happened she apparently started to take her meds again and see her medical professional more regularly. I moved to the basement and have been their since. I tried to negotiate a settlement which was progressing for a while but then just stopped. I then filed my court papers and have my case conference in 3 weeks.
                        Here is a really hard question:

                        Why didn't you file on an urgent basis considering what you have stated here and with regards to her mental health condition? Really think hard about why your lawyer didn't do this, even ask them. You may have no case and are chasing an ambulance sorry to say.

                        Originally posted by FB_ View Post
                        So she is seeking treatment and as best as I can tell taking her meds, however her emotional cycling continues although certainly not as severe as when she is off her meds. It is my belief that she can be a good mother but the stress of Primary Sole Custody would cause so much stress that it may trigger future relapses. Let alone the fact that it's in the kids best interest to have me at least 50% in their lives.
                        A better argument is that there is no need for "sole custody" in a matter where there are two equal and loving parents in the matter. Also, I believe your children are over the age of 12 no?

                        Good Luck!
                        Tayken

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Tayken View Post


                          But, that would be for 72 hours and not 6 weeks. So she self admitted to treatment probably? That works in her favour and not yours. Also, it is now almost Feb 2013. The date of expiry of an incident in Febuary 2011 without another incident is really not too relevant to the court.
                          Perhaps a form 3 was issued after the form 1 was completed..
                          Home - HOME

                          I agree though a one time occurrence would not be enough for the court to determine a history of noncompliance.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by OhMy View Post
                            Perhaps a form 3 was issued after the form 1 was completed..
                            Home - HOME

                            I agree though a one time occurrence would not be enough for the court to determine a history of noncompliance.
                            Form 3 is very complex and a significant change in legal rights. As well a Form 3 application under Form 30 to the best of my knowledge only allows for two weeks. On a six week stay there would have to be 3 Form 4 renewals which is quite rare to see.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              All of that is an excellent reality check. On a side note, I had to laugh re: most ppl think their ex's are mentally ill. Lol. How true. Not saying yours is/isn't. I know I truly believe my ex is But that's my unprofessional opinion.

                              I happen to know he's told a handful of people that I'm a stark raving lunatic. I disagree As they say on the Soprano's "whut are ya gonna do?"

                              Comment

                              Our Divorce Forums
                              Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
                              Working...
                              X