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Cross Border Issues: The Hague Convention and Child Custody
In the case of Medina v. Pallett (2010) B.C.S.C. 259, the petitioner father Medina was Honduran and the respondent mother Pallett was Canadian. Together they had one child who was born in Honduras in 2005. The child was left in Honduras with the child’s grandparents while Medina and Pallett attempted to settle in Canada. By the Spring of 2008 Medina’s ability to remain in Canada remained uncertain. He therefore no longer wanted to bring the child to Canada. Pallett argued that Medina signed the child’s Canadian passport application and Medina denied doing so. Without giving notice to Medina, Pallett went to Honduras and removed the child and brought the child to Canada. Pallett then commenced divorce proceedings in Canada and sought custody of the child and child maintenance. Medina brought an application to have the child returned to Honduras.
Formal Offers to Settle in Child Custody Trials
The Rules of Court allow for the service upon the opposing party of a formal offer to settle. If the party making the formal offer to settle receives a result at trial that is equal to or more successful than the formal offer, the offering party may receive his or her costs and may even argue for double costs following the trial result.
Arrears of Child Support – Dubreuil V. Poloway
Dubreuil v. Poloway, 2010 B.C.C.A. 297. In this case following a trial in 2001, the father was found to have a Guideline income for child support of $22,000 per year. The father was ordered to pay monthly child support in the amount of $328 per month with respect to the parties’ twin children and to pay the mother 40% of the daycare expenses. The arrears of child support at trial and expenses were fixed at $6,500. The father failed to comply with payment and did not file income tax returns for 2001 through 2007 until June of 2009. The father then applied to have his child support arrears reduced based on his actual income during the past several years. The child support arrears were $16,000. The Chambers Judge found in favour of reducing the arrears to $4,000.
The Proposed Family Law Act: Changes to the Best Interests of the Child and Guardianship
Commencing in 2006 the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General has been formulating a new Family Law Act to replace the present Family Relations Act. The proposed new legislation introduces sweeping changes to issues of child custody and guardianship, property division and spousal support, among other issues.
Whether the proposed new legislation will be passed into law remains to be seen. However, at present, it appears as though there is at least a realistic possibility that sweeping changes to family law in British Columbia of the nature proposed in the new Family Law Act will come into force in the coming years.
McCaffrey V. Paleolog – Obligation to Support Your Children
Even here in the beautiful Fraser Valley, it can be challenging to find time to spend with your family. Any parent knows how fast kids can change from one day to the next. For those of us in a shared custody situation, or for those who have had to deal with a painful divorce or separation, it never seems like you can spend as much time with your children as you would like. In British Columbia, however, the Courts have decided that your obligation to support your children financially is just as important.
Semancik V. Saunders – Supporting Grown Children
We all know that the breakdown of a marriage can be hard on children. A lot of what we deal with in family law is simply trying to make the best of a hard situation by trying to make life as consistent and safe as possible for them. This is obviously the hardest to do when they are young, but it’s important to understand how family law deals with the transitional stage when they go from child to adult as well. This is the age when they buy their first car, or they head off to university. Sometimes at that age our children want to explore away from their homes in Abbotsford or Chilliwack, and they want to spread their wings and experience the world. What then are the responsibilities of a parent paying child support?