Court Documents: What Is A Respondents, Applicants Or A Party

The Family Courts adhere to very strict rules and protocols. These rules are prescribed under the Family Law Rules.

Spousal Support

Divorce or separation will sometimes mean one partner paying spousal support to the other partner. Spousal support is applicable to married partners and sometimes common-law relationships. The one receiving spousal support can be a husband or a wife (gender neutral) and applies top all relationships including same-sex relationships. Spousal Support is usually paid by the partner with higher income to the partner with the lower income. The receiving partner is “Support Recipient”. The paying partner is called “support payor”.

Can A Court Order Be Amended?

Parents may bring a motion to Court to amend Court orders. But, the parties have to prove that there is sufficient and dramatic changes in their circumstances which necessitates the Court’s intervention.

Can I Amend A Parenting Plan?

Sometimes parents may wish to change the parenting plan or separating agreement. Trivial aspects in the parenting plans should be amicably resolved between the parents. If you need help, call a mediator or your family lawyer. Taking trivial matters to Court is time consuming and an expensive affair.

What If I’m Concerned For My Child’s Safety?

If a parent sincerely beliefs that the visitation rights with the other parent will cause serious harm to your child, then the parent will want to formally challenge their agreement and apply to deny the other parent’s access to the child. For instance, a parent perennially under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a reasonable reason to be denied accessibility rights.

What To Do When A Parent Is Denied Access?

Parents formally agree to access schedules through their formal parenting plan, separation agreement or Court orders. Still some parents may purposefully deny visitation right. This can cause tremendous mental agony and frustration to the parent as well as to your children.

Can I Move With My Child?

A parent may want to move with their children after a separation or divorce. The move may be due to the parent’s new job opportunity, better housing facility, closeness to the family support or a new partner. However, this move is not necessarily automatically allowed and may be curtailed by several external factors.

Do Grandparents Have Rights?

Grandparents have some legal right with regards to accessing grandchildren and can approach the Court of Law for accessibility rights. The Judge will always consider the “best interest of the child” when deciding this issue. In Ontario, the relationship of the child with the grandparent is also examined while deciding the best interest of the child.

Do Kids Get Any Say In Their Parenting Arrangements?

The following factors of the child’s conditions will be considered while formulating the Parenting Plan:
i. Age of the child
ii. Access to schools or daycare facilities
iii. Physical living conditions
iv. Special needs of the child.

The parents are to respect the choice and decision of their children. As children become older, they will want to spend time with their friends. The parents should allow flexibility in the schedule when considering the needs of the child.

What Are The Different Kinds of Child Access?

The right to access the child is an inherent right of the parents and the children have a right to access both parents. This right can only be denied under very limited circumstances.