The Collaborative Family Law process is a great alternative to traditional court-based divorce. It focuses on working together, respecting each other, and finding long-term solutions. The Collaborative Association of the Lower Mainland is a group of lawyers, financial professionals, and coaches who offer collaborative family law services to families experiencing separation and divorce. Here’s a simple overview of the key … Read More

We’ve all heard the saying, “Children do not come with a manual.” This rings especially true during a family crisis, such as a divorce, when clarity about handling children’s needs becomes crucial. Decisions made during this time can affect children for the rest of their lives, making it essential to focus on their best interests rather than the preferences of … Read More

How Changing Your Thinking and Feeling Improves Outcomes What Is Cognitive Restructuring? Cognitive restructuring is a component of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) that helps people identify and change negative and unhealthy thinking patterns. Everyone experiences difficulties and challenging patterns of thinking and feeling during a collaborative process. These difficulties affect the way family members think, feel, behave, and how they interact with … Read More

How a Collaborative Divorce Process Supports Families Separation and divorce negatively impact children. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) children going through family change will typically feel confusion and concern at best. When separation and divorce is not resolved using carefully planned steps, and caring strategies, family change significantly the lives of children, especially regarding parental relationships. In many … Read More

The Collaborative process is an efficient, cost-effective approach for resolving conflicts that often arises from divorce/separation. It is supportive, and non-judgemental, allowing for family members to voice their individual perspectives and needs, promote amicable communication, and support the children. Parents choosing to resolve matters through the Collaborative Divorce process have a significantly better opportunity to reduce the negative impact of … Read More

Child support is the right of the child and ought not to be bargained away by parents.  However, there are some unique rules for stepparents.  Under Part 7 of the Family Law Act, a stepparent (defined in section 146) is liable for support of a stepchild if: the person is a spouse of the child’s parent, the person has lived … Read More

In Part One, we summarized the broad definition of family violence in the context of separation and divorce.  It is critical to understand that during the tumultuous time of separation, family violence can escalate, or even begin for the first time. The Duluth Model (www.theduluthmodel.org) is a program developed to reduce domestic violence against women.  Its Power and Control Wheel … Read More

Family Violence. Domestic Abuse. Intimate Partner Violence.  Despite the many terms used, the effect is the same: harm caused by someone who ought to have been a safe place. The three most common types of this abuse are: (1)          psychological violence, which is abuse targeted at a person’s emotional, mental or financial well-being or intended to impede their personal freedom … Read More

When couples separate, determining a “date of separation” is required to establish a year of separation as grounds for divorce, or an entitlement date for pension division, among other things. The Divorce Act, section 8, sets out the conditions for a separation where the grounds for divorce are one year of separation. One of the spouses must have an intention … Read More

You have probably heard the expression, “Children do not come with a manual.” Clarity about what to do with the children during a family crisis, such as a divorce, becomes especially critical as the decisions made today will affect the children for the rest of their lives. When the separation process involves children, decisions are guided by the best interests … Read More