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FDR Updates, News & Updates

Divorcing on a Budget – Is it Possible?

Devorah Jonas
Posted on January 2, 2020 at 9:34 pm / 0

Divorce is expensive. If you were asked to summarize the costs that your next client would pay for total services rendered, you would be able to come up with an estimate (or at the very least a general range) without too much trouble. However, if you were asked you to do the same for another FDR professional not within your area of expertise this estimate would be more difficult for you to complete.  Think about costs for a moment – about all the plethora of fees for services that any one client  is paying over the course of their divorce:…

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FDR Updates, News & Updates

CLIFF’S NOTES: An Idea to Think About: Judge Focused Mediation and Decision Making

Clifford Nelson
Posted on January 2, 2020 at 9:28 pm / 0

I have been thinking about having those judges who preside over family matters in Ontario’s courts expand their duties to include mediation, followed by the ability to render a decision, should the parties be unable to reach agreement. Let me back up for a moment. Those of us familiar with the court system understand that it has been, for many years, far too expensive for middle-class people. With recent cuts to Legal Aid duty counsel, the family court system has put up another “stop sign” for those who are not middle-class earners. Even for the wealthy, legal fees have increased…

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FDR Updates, News & Updates

Family Law Rules: Changes on Expert Witnesses

Shmuel Stern
Posted on January 2, 2020 at 9:24 pm / 0

In September 2019, the Family Law Rules were updated to provide expanded direction on the use of expert evidence. Four months later, we can reflect on some impact as reflected in case law.  (a) First, how we got here It may be recalled that prior to these amendments, the last large amendment to Rule 20.1 was in September 2011 and included some of the same terms that are now expanded upon in the September 2019 amendments. What happened? Without delving too much into history, 2015 was the “year of the expert” as the Court of Appeal weighed in on the…

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FDR Updates

Case Law Review: Giddings v. Giddings

Brahm Siegel
Posted on January 2, 2020 at 9:15 pm / 0

Last month an important decision was released on the issue of whether an arbitration award made in the absence of a signed arbitration agreement is valid. In Giddings v. Giddings, 2019 ONSC 7203 (CanLII), the parties agreed in Minutes of Settlement that any unresolved equalization issues would be “summarily arbitrated” by Stephen Grant.  They further agreed in said Minutes they would proceed with domestic violence screening and sign an arbitration agreement confirming Mr. Grant’s appointment.  Due to an oversight, they never did. Problems began when counsel begin working with Mr. Grant before the arbitration agreement was signed.  He conducted a…

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FDR Updates, FDRIO in the News

When Should I Ask For a Formal Business Valuation?

Matthew Krofchick
Posted on January 2, 2020 at 6:06 pm / 0

For ADR professionals, there is always a need to balance cost against value.  However, when a family owes and operates a business, and some of all of the income and property are tied up in that business, there is real value in determining its scope. FDRIO asked Matthew Krofchick when we should ask for a formal business valuation and here’s his response. When you faced with a need for a business valuation in a matrimonial separation, the answer to your question, from my perspective is always and early.  Here are the seven main reasons why: There is a common misconception…

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FDR Updates, News & Updates

The Meaning and Importance of Arbitration Act Reg. 134/07: For Counsel, Arbitrators and Parenting Coordinators

Hilary Linton
Posted on January 2, 2020 at 5:58 pm / 0

In this issue, we address the continuing confusion among the bar and bench about the formal pre-requisites for binding family arbitration agreements. As someone with considerable knowledge of the meaning, purpose and utility of the pre-arbitration requirement for screening for power imbalances and domestic violence. I am having difficulty with the recent decision of the Honourable Justice Gray in Giddings v Giddings, 2019 ONSC 7203 (CanLII). As case law commentary team member Brahm Siegel notes below, the court in Giddings post-validated an arbitral process, even though it failed to comply with the clear and strict requirements of the Regulation under…

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FDR Updates, News & Updates

The Ryerson Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ) Family Law Portal

Posted on January 2, 2020 at 5:44 pm / 0

A Conversation The Family Law Portal Team at Ryerson is very aware of recent efforts to improve the experience of family law clients, particularly those considering a court process. Both the enhanced CLEO Guided Pathways and the Family Law Limited Scope Services Project are welcome initiatives. Some History Several years ago, Chris Bentley, the Director of Ryerson’s LIZ embarked on a creative project. Several members of FDRIO, Collaborative Family Law Toronto, ADRIO and OAFM were invited to participate. We reached out to a wide range of multi-disciplinary family professionals and clients, as well as Ryerson faculty and students, inviting ideas…

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FDR Updates, FDRIO in the News

Downey committed to expansion of Unified Family Court, unveils changes to LAO duty counsel

Amanda Jerome for The Lawyer's Daily
Posted on December 3, 2019 at 12:58 pm / 0

This article was originally published by The Lawyer’s Daily, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc. November 26, 2019 Expansion of the United Family Court (UFC), a smooth transition during amendments to the Divorce Act, and changes to Legal Aid Ontario’s (LAO) duty counsel, were priorities outlined by Ontario’s Attorney General, Doug Downey, at the fifth annual Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO) Conference. Downey, the keynote speaker at the conference held in Toronto on Nov. 18, said the Ministry of the Attorney General is reviewing the federal amendments to the Divorce Act to “determine how changes will impact our family…

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FDR Updates

Cliff’s Notes

Cliff Nelson
Posted on October 3, 2019 at 10:08 am / 0

November 2019 Newsletter Hello again! I hope you have enjoyed a good summer; the weather certainly helped. While my summer was relaxing, the Ontario Courts continued, as always, to work very hard. Numerous reserved decisions have been released over the past few months that will be helpful to family arbitrators and mediators. Neither time nor space will allow me to canvass more than a sampling. In Khan v. Ahmed [2019 ONCA 614] the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal over an access issue brought by the father of two young children .Their mother had died; the mother’s brother (maternal…

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FDR Updates

To Impute, Perchance to Deem (Act 1)

Shmuel Stern
Posted on October 3, 2019 at 10:01 am / 0

Case Law Review – October FDRIO Newsletter A separated couple comes to you for mediation. They had a rocky relationship. The mother conceived their daughter when she was just 19, while yet still in high school. The father was 25, sharing an apartment with his cousin and working sporadically as a reluctant tool and die maker, a job he fell into. They separated a bit later and the father even started a court case to determine paternity, but then they reconciled and married (!) then, sadly, separated on a final basis within a year of marriage.  The father never earned…

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FDR Updates

Do Changes to the Divorce Act Create a Cultural Shift in Family Dispute Resolution?

Thomas Dart
Posted on October 3, 2019 at 9:54 am / 0

For at least the past 10 years, experts have selflessly conducted several studies concerning the manner in which family law disputes are presently being resolved. Each of these efforts have resulted in recommendations for significant change. Change is never easily obtained and never happens as soon as it should. In its report of April 2013, the Action Committee on Access to Justice recommended changes to substantive family law arguing that: Statutes should not presume that disputes will end up in court in front of judges to be decided in hearings and trials. Our family law statutes should emphasize agreements and…

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FDR Updates

Update on Parenting Coordination in Saskatchewan

By Kayla C. DeMars-Krentz
Posted on August 26, 2019 at 10:43 am / 0

On July 15, 2019 The Miscellaneous Statues (Family dispute Resolution) Amendment Act, 2018 Regulation, as they relate to parent coordinators and family arbitrators, came in to force. For Saskatchewan families this means that an application may be made to a Judge presiding in Chambers for an order that the parties to a family law dispute be directed to parent coordination or family arbitration. The Regulations with respect to collaborative services and family mediation will roll out in the next few months. Soon, it will mandatory that parties certify they have completed one of the four dispute resolution processes before the…

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FDR Updates

Managing Compassionate Fatigue for Family Mediators: Summary of Webinar Presentation By Professor Desmond Ellis, August 13, 2019:

By Sina Hariri
Posted on August 23, 2019 at 12:10 pm / 0

The following (Katz and Haldar (2016)) definition of trauma was presented: “Family violence is traumatic when it “renders a person’s internal and external resources inadequate, making coping ineffective Listening to graphic accounts of traumatic experiences disclosed by their clients can result in Compassionate Fatigue (CF) among practitioners. Indicators of CF include:   “harmful changes in practitioners’ views  of themselves or their profession because of exposure to graphic traumatic experiences of their clients  (that)  result in a state of tension or preoccupation with client traumatic stories…avoidance of such stories  or a persistent state of tension”. Minimally, trauma informed practice involves screening…

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FDR Updates

Starting Out as a Parenting Coordinator: Advice from a Rookie

By Lindsay Kertland
Posted on August 21, 2019 at 5:47 pm / 0

A few years ago, shortly on the heels of completing my mediation training, I attended a session at a conference on – what was to me – a new and rather elusive concept: Parenting Coordination.  Brimming with curiosity, I took my seat and subsequently took on a deluge of information from learned and energetic presenters; they were intelligent, empathetic, kind and inspirational.  But when the session came to a close I staggered out in disbelief that anyone could pursue such a career of conflict.  Over 25% of the presentation had been devoted to “the importance of self care”, with dire…

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FDR Updates

Zooming through the Parenting Coordination Process

By Elizabeth Hyde
Posted on August 21, 2019 at 5:45 pm / 0

The Parenting coordination process can be done in many ways, depending on your professional background, client goals, practice preferences and proximity to your clients. Recently, at the AFCC Pre Conference on Parenting Coordination, there were a number of PCs who stated they never meet with clients personally and only by phone or email. Following a face to face intake wherever possible, my preference is to have a face to face first meeting with parents together so that we can establish the PC process, goals, boundaries, billing etc. together.  I have found that many, if not most, parents are resistant to…

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