Individuals who are unrepresented by a lawyer, either by choice or due to financial constraints, face special challenges navigating the legal system.  These litigants also present challenges to lawyers, judges, and other court officials who engage with them.  This is particularly true in family law litigation, where an increasing number of parties appear without a lawyer.

What child support obligations do step-parents have to their step-children? Can a person, not the biological parent of a child, who assumes a parental role to a partner’s child, abandon that role after the breakdown of the relationship?

Statutory law

In Ontario, child support can be requested either through an application brought under the Divorce Act, which applies to divorces, or an application brought under the Family law Ac...

...in most cases, it would not be appropriate to bring a variation application before the payor has experienced the change in their "condition, means, needs or other circumstances." This holding is in line with other cases, which have generally held that the proper time to decide the appropriate amount of spousal support is after the income had changed and all the relevant factors can be put before the decision maker...

A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal emphasizes the grave consequences of failing to comply with court orders in the course of family litigation.

Under Rule 1(8) of the Family Law Rules,[1] if a party fails to obey an order, the court may deal with the failure by making any order that it considers necessary for the just determination of the matter, including, in certain circumstances, striking the pleadings, includi...

Complex or contentious family law litigation can result in substantial legal costs. When can a successful party expect compensation from the unsuccessful party for the costs it incurred?

At the conclusion of a trial or a motion, the presiding judge will determine costs based on principles and rules laid out in the Family Law Rules and in previous decisions of other judges. The effect of the Family Law Rules is to circ...