Ottawa is aiming to put children first in an overhaul of the Divorce Act.
This will be the biggest change to the Divorce Act in 30 years.
The proposed changes fall into six main areas:
- 1) Replace terms such as “custody” and “access” with words like “parenting orders” and “parenting time,” to make the language less adversarial.
- 2) Set out criteria that help define the best interests of the child.
- 3) Compel lawyers and paralegals to encourage clients to use family-dispute resolution services such as mediation instead of courts.
- 4) Give courts measures to address family violence.
- 5) Establish guidelines for when one parent wants to relocate with a child.
- 6) Make it easier for people to collect support payments.
You can read about the most significant changes to the Divorce Act HERE.