Family
-
December 23, 2025
When a judge’s effort to appear neutral leads to injustice
Nobody likes conflict. Not lawyers, not mediators and not judges. But day in and day out, we see high-conflict cases in family court. In fact, it has become a fairly regular occurrence for judges’ endorsements to begin with a description of the case as “a high-conflict case” before rendering their analysis and decision.
-
December 23, 2025
CUSTODY, PARENTING, AND ACCESS - Decision-making authority
Appeal by J.A. from trial orders concerning parenting responsibilities, spousal support, child support for his stepson T.J., and reimbursement for missing Euros. Cross-appeal by K.A. from the trial judge’s costs order.
-
December 19, 2025
Self-rep fails to convince Appeal Court to cancel $270,000 of support arrears
A case involving more than $270,000 in accumulated child and spousal support arrears, Garousi v. Garousi, 2025 BCCA 392, highlights several recurring issues in applications for retroactive variation of support, including chronic non-compliance, evidentiary shortcomings and the impact of significant arrears on both variation and appellate relief.
-
December 19, 2025
A season for sharing: The legal and moral case for ensuring everyone has enough food at Christmas
Every Christmas, families across Canada gather around warm meals that symbolize dignity, community and care. Yet for many households in Alberta and across the country, rising costs and winter pressures make it difficult to afford even the most basic groceries. Food insecurity turns what should be a season of comfort into a time of anxiety.
-
December 18, 2025
Is criminalization the way to go to address coercive control?
Gender-based violence is very much on the mind of Parliament this fall.
-
December 17, 2025
Bill C-16 must go further for older Canadians
Elder abuse does not always announce itself with bruises or broken bones. Often, it arrives through isolation, intimidation, financial control and fear. For many older victims, coercive control is the harm that shapes daily life long before anyone calls it violence or criminal neglect. It is gradual, cumulative and profoundly destabilizing, yet frequently invisible to outsiders.
-
December 16, 2025
Atlantic premiers release report, recommendations on domestic homicide
Atlantic Canada’s premiers have collectively released a decades-long report on domestic homicides in the region — and hope that it will increase prevention. According to a Dec. 11 news release, the Council of Atlantic Premiers (CAP) — made up of leaders from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and P.E.I. — has released Preventing Domestic Homicides in Atlantic Canada: Looking Back to See Our Way Forward.
-
December 16, 2025
A plea for more respect from family law practitioners
It has been a very busy fall and, perhaps like you, I have been hanging on for the Christmas break. For me, it is the best time of the year. In my experience, it is the only time when most if not all family law clients and their lawyers try to step back, take a breath and treat each other with the respect and courtesy that should be a year-round norm.
-
December 15, 2025
Dependent support claims: The overlooked obligation
In Ontario, estate disputes often erupt where families least expect them. At first glance, wills can appear all in order, assets may be simple, and relationships may seem calm … until someone who depended on the deceased person realizes they have not been adequately provided for. At that point, even the simplest will can be challenged through something called a “dependent support claim,” a process under Part V of the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) that is quite important to understand in Ontario.
-
December 15, 2025
How holiday stress contributes to domestic-related calls and charges
The holiday season is often celebrated as a time of warmth, tradition and togetherness. Yet for many households in Canada, it also brings a unique mix of pressures that can contribute to increased conflict in the home.