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FDR Updates, News & Updates

Supporting a Wills and Estates Practice During COVID-19 and Beyond

Ian M. Hull and Nick Esterbauer

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 2:33 pm / 0

As a result of COVID-19, lawyers across the country have had to temporarily alter their practices. In a profession where in-person meetings are expected by clients and necessary to see to the proper execution of legal documents, social distancing has forced the legal system to rapidly adapt. Social distancing has posed a challenge for members of the Estates Bar in particular, as client meetings, will signings, hearings, and mediations have all been affected. During this time, however, it remains crucial that estate lawyers continue to help clients in creating or amending estate plans and in moving estate litigation matters forward….

unConference 2020 – Culture Shift: FDRIO’s 1st Online unConference a Success!

Trish Blake

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 12:40 pm / 0

Attendees raved about our 3rd Annual unConference: “I loved it. Seamlessly presented.” “Great quality content, organized, breaks, non-DR related content (yoga, cooking)!” With the rapid COVID-19 shutdown in March FDRIO planned to postpone the bi-annual unConference event planned for May 5th until September 2020. But feeling the emptiness left by this postponement, FDRIO quickly decided to embrace the new virtual world of conferences. And keeping with the spirit of the unconventional format of the unConference, we moved to a fully virtual full-day format. And so on June 2nd, 2020, FDRIO hosted 85 participants and over 20 presenters from across Canada…

The Disclosure Clinic ─ A New Service Offered by Shmuel Stern: A FDRIO Conversation with Matilda Kissi

Matilda Kissi

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 12:26 pm / 0

Shmuel Stern is a family law lawyer currently on sabbatical obtaining his LLM in Family Law and running a limited scope practice at Disclosure Clinic – Ontario Family Law Financial Disclosure. Done Right. Follow his family law caselaw twitter feed @corrollaryrelief Shmuel, what is the Disclosure Clinic? The Disclosure Clinic is a limited scope service that fills a specific, and I’d say vital, gap in available family law services. It assists individuals to take a proactive approach to their financial disclosure, helping them fully disclose relevant information, including information not asked for directly on a Form 13 or 13.1 Financial…

Passion for Conflict Resolution: A FDRIO Conversation with Maysa Maleki

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 12:18 pm / 0

Meysa Maleki is a FDRIO Member who practices as a family law lawyer and mediator at Maleki Barristers, in Toronto. Her strong interest in the complexities of interpersonal relationships and human dynamics led to a career of fighting for justice in the area of family law. But she discovered that litigation perpetuates the conflict and is not the right solution in every case. This led Meysa to pursue formal training in mediation, including Harvard Law School’s Negotiation and Leadership Program. Her first book, The Conflict Resolution Grail: Awareness, Compassion, and a Negotiator’s Toolbox, was released on June 23, 2020. Why…

Note from the Editor

Anne Marie Predko

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 12:12 pm / 0

Welcome to our June/July Newsletter celebrating all things FDRIO, and featuring FDRIO members on the move. After discussion and consultation, we’ve decided to evolve this Newsletter into a bi-monthly format. You can see the new groups of topics below for the editions to the end of 2020. Look for richer content and deeper analysis as we develop our new approach. FDRIO started with a vision of bringing together family dispute resolution professionals from across disciplines and who had different training and perspectives. We sought to change the dynamic of professional organizations. We knew that we could learn from each other…

Case Law Review: Good News for Family Arbitrators: Zoom Hearings are Just Fine!

Hilary Linton

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 12:08 pm / 0

Many of us have moved our practices to 100% remote work given the safety risks presented by Covid-19. A recent decision of Justice Lafreniere of the Federal Court reassures those of us conducting private adjudication by Zoom that we are meeting the requisite standard of due process care to our clients. The trial in the patent infringement case of Rovi Guides v Videotron (2020 FC 596) had started before Covid-19, and several of the Plaintiff’s witnesses had testified in person. When it came time to schedule a resumption of trial, the Defendant argued that it would be unfair to require…

Cliff’s Notes: The Tort of Conspiracy and Family Litigation

Retired Justice, Clifford Nelson

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 12:02 pm / 0

When spouses or domestic partners separate, it is not uncommon for friends, relatives, and business associates to align themselves with one side. In most instances, the support can be emotionally helpful for either party. However, we have all experienced situations in which this support has a darker side. It crosses the line between being a helpful “friend” to being an active participant in the litigation. That is the point at which our Courts take notice of certain actions that may be inappropriate – or worse. In the recent case of Leitch v. Novac et al, 2020 ONCA 257, the wife, in…

Case Law Review: Lawyer Found Negligent Following Mediated Settlement Raichura v. Jones, 2020 CarswellAlta 356 (QB)

Lorne Wolfson

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 11:55 am / 0

This case is a warning for lawyers and dispute resolution professionals as to the risks of allowing a party to enter a settlement through mediation without full disclosure, advice as to the party’s legal rights, and proper preparation for the mediation. The parties agreed to mediation/arbitration. The case settled in mediation. Subsequently the wife sued her lawyer for failing to properly prepare her for the mediation, failing to explain her legal entitlements, and allowing her to settle in mediation rather than proceeding to arbitration. The court found the lawyer negligent and ordered damages based on what the wife would have…

A Streamlined Way to Change Ontario Child Support Orders

Darlene Rites

Posted on July 3, 2020 at 11:38 am / 0

Divorced or separated parents who are receiving child support are supposed to receive income information from their former spouse each year. That is according to the Section 24.1 of the Child Support Guidelines. The policy reason behind this law is that parent’s need to assess whether an increase or a decrease in child support is warranted. Children need the financial support of both parents and are legally entitled to this support after a separation or a divorce. Because some custodial parents run into obstacles with either receiving the yearly income information itself or getting a new separation agreement in place,…

Best Practices for Addressing Power Imbalances and Safety in Family Dispute Resolution Processes: Research, Protocols and the Law

Hilary Linton (This article was first published in the Ontario Family Law Reporter, Volume 33, Issue 10, April 2020)

Posted on May 14, 2020 at 1:42 pm / 0

Introduction With courts, for now, restricting services to all but emergency matters due to COVID-19, the demand for alternative dispute resolution services is growing exponentially. The need is greater than ever to ensure that those processes put issues of power imbalance and safety of clients and children first. Private mediation or adjudication is not appropriate in all cases. Professionals should assess suitability for diversion away from court through the practice of ‘screening’ for power imbalances, including those arising from family violence. The purposes of screening — to determine if a case is appropriate for diversion out of court, and, if…

Access to Justice and ADR in Rural Communities

Pamela Cross

Posted on May 13, 2020 at 5:05 pm / 0

Approximately 10% of Ontario’s population lives rurally. It goes without saying that there are clear differences for people who live in the country and small towns compared to those who live in urban areas. These differences extend to those who are dealing with family violence and in fact, can have an impact on how the abuse is experienced and the options available to those who are in abusive relationships. Key issues for those living rurally who are also dealing with family violence include: i. Distance/lack of public transportation: it can be difficult for women to access supports and services, or…

View of the Child Reports: Case Comment

By Rachel Birnbaum, Ph.D. RSW, LL.M.

Posted on May 13, 2020 at 4:58 pm / 0

Context There has been increasing use of the Views of the Child Reports as a means to involving children in the resolution of parenting disputes across Canada.[2]It is now widely recognized that children’s inclusion in the post-separation decision-making process is important to the promotion of their well-being. The recognition of the ‘rights’ of children has been supported by the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that guarantees children the right to express views on matters that affect them. Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Can. T.S. 1992 No. 3 states:…

Settling Family Law Cases: Lawyer Beware

Lorne Wolfson (Originally Published in the Lawyer’s Daily)

Posted on May 13, 2020 at 4:41 pm / 0

While court operations are suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, many separated or separating spouses will rely more than ever on the advice of family lawyers. Whether an agreement is arrived at through mediation or through negotiation, with or without lawyers, ultimately a family lawyer is usually engaged to draft an agreement. In doing so, family lawyers should consider the following in order to protect their clients and themselves: 1. In the absence of formal screening by a qualified third party screener, a family lawyer cannot know if his or her client is entering an agreement under duress or undue influence, the…

Note from the Editors

Anne Marie Predko and Pamela Cross

Posted on May 13, 2020 at 4:24 pm / 0

For some, it has taken a pandemic to bring to light the fact that many people are not “safe at home”. FDRIO has always been a leading advocate for the need to take gender-based violence and risk seriously in the FDR context, and in that context, welcome to this month’s newsletter. It has been almost 40 years since the members of the House of Commons laughed at MP Margaret Mitchell’s assertion that one in 10 Canadian men beat their wives regularly. While MPs might not laugh at the same comment today, effective responses still elude us. In many ways, our tolerance…

Non-Disclosure: Looking Beyond the Cancer Metaphor

Shmuel Stern

Posted on May 13, 2020 at 4:19 pm / 0

As the Supreme Court suggested in Leskun v. Leskun, at para. 34, nondisclosure is the cancer of family law. This is an apt metaphor. Nondisclosure metastasizes and impacts all participants in the family law process. Lawyers for recipients cannot adequately advise their clients, while lawyers for payors become unwitting participants in a fraud on the court. Judges cannot correctly guide the parties to a fair resolution at family law conferences and cannot make a proper decision at trial. Payees are forced to accept an arbitrary amount of support unilaterally determined by the payor. Children must make do with less. All…

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FDR Updates, News & Updates

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