What are the rights of grandparents who want access to their grandchildren?

Grandparents in Ontario have some legal rights to go to family court if they want to spend time with their grandchildren.

Case summary: Attention to the best interests of the child test

Stoughton v O’Ney 2019 ONSC 1531: This case is interesting primarily because, in his use of the best interests of the child test in the Children’s Law Reform Act, Justice Edwards meticulously examines and comments on each of the criteria.

Sarah Stoughton and Jessica O’Ney were married and have a son who,

Recent case: Decision-making about children’s religious upbringing

A.J.H. v J.K.H. 2020 BCPC 74: This case looked at the issue of decision making about the religious and spiritual upbringing of the parties’ three very young children (ages 2, 4 and 5 years).

The father holds extreme fundamentalist Christian views, which he wishes to pass on to his children,

Case summary: Mother seeking access to child in CAS care

Children’s Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin v. C.H., 2018 ONCJ 453

In this matter, the mother did not have the care of her children and was seeking access to one of the children. The mother had several mental health issues, a drug dependency problem, and a succession of relationships that resulted in domestic violence,

Dividing family property: Cultural considerations – Part 2

Canadian law and the Jewish Ketebuah and gifts of money and gold made in contemplation of and at the time of marriage in the Hindi and Muslim traditions and the tradition of engagement rings

Dividing family property: Cultural considerations – Part 1

How do cultural traditions and norms, such as dowry and the Muslim Mahr, interact with Canadian law when property is divided?

First Nation vs family law case: Part three

This case challenges the constitutionality of Ontario’s family law legislation with respect to whether the OCJ and SCJ can make custody and access orders when the child belongs to a First Nation.

Recent case: Job loss during the pandemic and child support

Moreton v Inthavixay 2020 ONSC 4881: This decision relates to the father’s request to reduce the amount of child support he was to pay because he lost his job due to the pandemic. However, it is also the most recent episode in a family law dispute that has been in litigation for three years,

First nation vs family law case: Part two

The First Nation brought a motion to have the case transferred to the Superior Court of Justice on the basis that the Ontario Court of Justice had no authority to grant the relief it sought.