FAMILY MATTERS HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED One of the more significant changes involves the replacement of the highly contentious terms, “Custody” and “Access.” These are now referred to as “Decision Making” and “Parenting Time.”
JASON TODOROFF Barrister & Solicitor 519.986.4494 www.jtlawyer.ca
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a lot of challenges for families, whether related to school, work, vacations, or simple everyday routines. It has also created a host of challenges for those involved with family law matters. Courts had to adapt to social distancing and lockdown mandates. A lot of the in-person court dates migrated to virtual platforms online or over the phone. It was during this time that there were significant changes made to the Federal Divorce Act.
The elimination of these terms is a positive development as “Custody and Access” were always emotionally charged terms that often impeded parties from resolving their matters. There are additional changes meant to emphasize family dispute resolution (FDR) mechanisms. Lawyers and clients are now required to consider different ways of resolving contentious family law issues before resorting to the court system, such as negotiations, mediations, and collaborative family law. This serves many goals, such as reducing the strain on our court system, reducing legal costs for participants, and resolving matters in a less confrontational manner. JASON TODOROFF BARRISTER & SOLICITOR 7A Main Street East, Markdale jasontodoroff@gmail.com www.jtlawyer.ca 519-986-4494
FARM LIFE KEEPING BUSY They say August is Grumpy Farmer’s month. I haven’t been grumpy the last month I wouldn’t say, but it does kinda feel like things have been wildly busy the last while! Almost as though I have one foot on a slippery banana peel and the other on a skateboard careening downhill. We run around like skinned chickens carrying a loaded box on their back and every so often peering out cautiously, hoping things haven’t shifted too wildly on the back, before tucking heads down and running again. Thankfully, this is a season that will end and so for now, we ride it out as best we can! LOUELLA MARTIN Azure Highlands Family Homestead Markdale, ON azurehighlandshomestead@gmail.com
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HELLO COUNTRY MAGAZINE
