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The Importance of an Age-Appropriate Parenting Plan: Why Ontario Courts Are Looking to Evidence-Based Guidance
When parents separate, one of the most significant decisions they must make concerns the future care of their children. A parenting plan is far more than a schedule—it is the framework that supports a child’s stability, emotional security, and healthy development following separation. Too often, parenting arrangements are proposed based on convenience, conflict, or generalized […]
Parental Alienation – understanding the controversy
In family law, few terms generate as much controversy as “parental alienation.” Originally intended to describe a dynamic in which one parent influences a child to reject the other parent, the phrase has since taken on a life of its own—expanding beyond its clinical roots into legal arguments, custody disputes, and public discourse. Despite its […]
Parental Alienation and Domestic Violence: Can They Coexist?
Parental alienation and domestic violence can—and often do—coexist. In discussions about family breakdown, these two concepts are frequently treated as opposites. Many assume that if one is present, the other cannot be. This binary thinking oversimplifies complex family dynamics and can lead to serious consequences in legal, clinical, and social contexts. The reality is far […]
What happens if my ex is unreasonable?
The short answer is – large cost awards. In the recent case of Clark v Denyes, 2025 ONSC 2936 (CanLII), the Honourable Justice Mathen ordered the Respondent mother to pay $400,000.00 in litigation costs to her ex-husband, the Applicant Father. The Honourable Justice Mathen found that the Respondent Mother acted unreasonably by employing misguided views […]
Can children of a certain age make their own decisions?
The Short Answer is – Yes! Children are able to make their own decisions regarding parenting as they become older. The typical age when this begins is between twelve (12) and thirteen (13) years old. However, age is merely a proxy for a child’s stage of development or level of maturity. Children may be permitted […]
Are there penalties for “parental alienation”?
Marginalizing a parent from a child’s life is a dangerous game that destroys separating families and has potentially lasting consequences on the physical and mental health of children. For good reason, it also carries with it very serious consequences if challenged in court. One of the most extreme remedies a court has available to it, […]