Are you looking for Regina family law lawyers? Need to book a consultation? This article will explain what you need to know in the province of SK.

If you are a stepparent going through a separation or divorce you may think that because you are not the child’s biological parent you are not responsible for paying child support. However, this may not be the case. You should reach out to a Regina lawyer right away.

Child support is payments made from one parent to another to contribute to the costs of raising children following the end of a relationship. The Family Law Act’s definition of a parent includes a stepparent if certain conditions are met.

The Family Law Act defines a stepparent as a person who is a spouse of the child’s parent and who lived with the child’s parent and the child during the child’s life.

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Section 147(4) of the Family Law Act states that stepparents have a duty to support their stepchildren if:

(a) the stepparent contributed to the child’s support for at least one year, and
(b) the application for child support is made within one year of the stepparent’s last contribution to the child’s support.

Section 149(3)(b) of the Family Law Act includes an additional requirement that the stepparent and the child’s parent are separated.

This means that if you are a stepparent who has previously contributed towards the child’s care, your ex may bring an action in court requiring you to pay child support. Unlike biological parents, the amount of child support will not necessarily be the table amount under the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

Section 5 of the Guidelines states that a stepparent’s obligation to pay can be calculated by taking into account any other parent’s legal duty to support the child.

Section 147(5)(a) of the Family Law Act states that a stepparent’s duty to provide child support is secondary to that of the child’s parents.

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In H.(U.V.) v. H.(M.W.) (2008 BCCA 177) the Court of Appeal held that a parent can’t skip pursuing child support from the biological parent in favour of seeking payments from the stepparent.

There have been various approaches adopted by the courts to determine what the appropriate amount of child support from a stepparent is. In H.(U.V.) v. H.(M.W.) the Court of Appeal stated that the focus should be on what the child’s standard of living was during the stepparent’s relationship with their ex.

If a stepparent provided a standard of living that was significantly higher than what the biological parent could provide, it is likely that the stepparent will have to top up the child support paid by the biological parent.

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If you are a stepparent currently going through a separation or divorce, it is strongly recommended that you speak to a lawyer in order to determine what your child support responsibilities might be and to check that you are not paying too much child support.

A fairly common situation separated or divorced parents will have to face at some point in any shared parenting plan is consenting to have their child(ren) travel to a foreign jurisdiction.

It is easy to imagine the following; your ex-partner and/or joint guardian of your child(ren) tells you he/she is wanting to take the child(ren) on a vacation for a few weeks to an exotic destination overseas.

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He/she has already purchased the plane tickets and paid for the hotel and resort.

They come to you and provide a full itinerary including such things as; travel dates, airlines, stop-overs, rental agreements for any vehicles, and hotel/resort info. including room number(s), has purchased extended health coverage, and lets you know of all appropriate contact persons in case of emergency.

All they ask is that you agree to sign the child’s passport renewal documents and provide them with a short signed letter stating that you, the joint-guardian, agree they may take the child(ren) on vacation as planned.

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Fast forward two weeks; you’re waiting at the airport to meet the child(ren) as their arrival coincides with the start of your week of Parenting Time. They never arrive. Instant panic.

Apart from the obvious; contact the airline, follow up on the information provided in the itinerary that was given to you, call the police and wait to file a report ~ what else should you be looking at?

Regina family law lawyers can deal with international mobility cases, one of the factors I advise clients to consider is whether or not the country being travelled to is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, or ‘The Hague Abduction Convention.

This document is a multilateral treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) that provides an expeditious method to return a child internationally abducted by a parent from one member country to another.

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Another consideration is the type of law practiced in the foreign jurisdiction at play. For example, countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations tend to practice a similar law to what we have in Canada and typically any high court(s) decisions here can be argued as part of any submissions or applications there as well.

We can do that because this is most often a jurisdiction that follows what is known as the ‘common law’ standard.

However, there are plenty of foreign jurisdictions where the ‘common law’ does not apply.

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One example I dealt with recently was where Sharia law was the prevailing standard. In such cases, vastly different considerations come into play such as cultural and gender norms and standards.

In other cases, the pervasiveness of corruption and its influence on the function of administrative bodies is something that can’t be ignored.

So the next time you’re asked by the ex-partner or joint guardian of your child to consent to a passport application and/or to provide a consent letter for travel abroad, make sure you contact a lawyer to know exactly what you are agreeing to first.

How to talk to a lawyer for the first time

Going through a divorce, or any legal proceeding is very stressful and can be emotional. By retaining an attorney, you have agreed to have a third party handle all day-to-day workings of your case.

What most people do not understand is that in order for an attorney to do his/her job well, we must know all relevant information, and sometimes the information you may not think is relevant, but we know will influence your case.

That is why communicating with your attorney is imperative.

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Most bar complaints against attorneys are because they do not keep the client updated regarding the case or do not return phone calls or emails promptly, or sometimes at all. That is why we try to respond the day a client calls or emails, or at worst within 24 business hours of receiving communication from our client.

When you sign a retainer agreement we expect the same courtesy when responding to our communications. As the attorney, we can only proceed with work when you have authorized us to do so, and especially in family law, a client is an essential part of responding to motions.

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We will need a declaration from our client to support the facts stated in our motion, we will also need documents signed if we are requesting money from the other party.

Build trust.

Besides needing signatures, we also need to establish a trusting relationship with our clients. A relationship where the client feels comfortable calling to ask ANY question or telling us anything. Your communication with your attorney is confidential, therefore, it does not help your case to hide anything.

That is why you need a Regina family lawyer you can trust us from the very first consultation. They should want to know the details of your ex’s behaviour, how he/she reacts to bad news and to get an understanding of what you really want.

If you need Regina family law lawyers, then reach out.

Author: S.K. Lawyers

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