Archive for year: 2015

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How is paternity determined in Canada?

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Child Custody on Thursday, June 4, 2015.

As a father, you want to know that you have the same legal rights as your child’s mother. If you’re married, you automatically receive those rights, because it’s assumed that you’re the father of a newborn child. However, if you aren’t married to the mother of your child, then you will need to prove your paternity.

Establishing your paternity is an important step toward raising your child. Once you’ve done this, you can break up from the mother, if you want to, and you’d still have the legal right to see and care for your child.

If you decide to marry the mother of your child after your baby is born, you can sign a form to show that you are taking the responsibility of being the child’s father. This form guarantees you the same rights as a father who was married at the time of a baby’s birth. If you’re not interested in marriage at the moment, you can establish paternity voluntarily by signing paperwork with the mother of the child and turning it into the court. If the father won’t sign but is the legitimate father of the child, legal action can be taken to establish his responsibility as the child’s father. The most common method of establishing paternity at any time in Canada is with the use of a DNA test.

If you believe you’re the father of a child but haven’t been able to sign a form to say so, you have a few options. If the mother agrees, the form is simple to file. If not, you could ask the court to take a DNA test to approve your rights to your child. You have the right to seek help from the court if a woman is withholding your right to see if the child is yours.

Source: FindLaw, “Chronology: Establishing Paternity,” accessed June 04, 2015

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370

Focus on marriage agreements to determine affairs before marriage

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Division of Property on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

Marriage contracts can be a good idea for people who are committed to each other but are not yet married under the law. For instance, if you and your significant other have lived together for several years, you could choose to have a marriage contract or cohabitation agreement drawn up to discuss all the important parts of you living together and what would happen if you separated.

In some areas, the domestic contract, marriage contract or cohabitation agreement could also be known as a prenuptial agreement. The agreement looks at how you plan to arrange your assets and affairs while you’re together and discusses how you’ll split assets or determine your roles in a divorce in the case you get married. Of course, the paperwork only plays a part in determining your roles and can be altered post-marriage with a post-nuptial agreement, too.

To get a prenuptial agreement, both parties need to be able to discuss and decide on certain parts of the contract. A marriage contract can be a healthy part of a relationship that helps you and your soon-to-be-spouse work out your affairs before getting married. This contract doesn’t signify that you could choose to get a divorce. Instead, it is actually intended to prevent divorce by laying out all your assets and affairs now, before you marry.

Our website has information on marriage agreements and how you can use one to help you and your partner decide on how you’ll work together during your relationship and marriage. With all your assets and requests out in the open, this can be a good time to discuss your future plans and goals with your partner — before you ever get married.

Coquitlam Real Estate Lawyers

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370

What assets may be considered non-family assets in a divorce?

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Division of Property on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

Non-family assets are the items that will be split between spouses. Those may be things like a shared family home in both people’s names or savings accounts that are shared. pensions, RRSPs, business ventures and other items could also be identified as family assets.

There are some items that will not be considered family assets. Because they aren’t, the assets are very unlikely to be split between the people divorcing and will go to the original owner. Things that may fall into this category include assets you owned before you got married, assets you gained after separating from your spouse, personal injury settlements and court awards, gifts you received from your spouse, business assets, and inheritances.

To determine if an asset is a family asset or not, you need to decide if it was ordinarily used or intended to be used for the family. In court, it’s up to you to prove that an asset isn’t a family asset; if you don’t take the time to defend your right to those assets, then you will likely have to split them with your ex-spouse. This is because Canadian laws recognize all assets as shared family assets unless proven otherwise.

Things that were once considered solo assets could become family assets over time, which is something to consider. For example, if you receive an inheritance and keep it in a private account, it stays in your possession. However, if you share the account and use it for shared purposes, then it could be considered a family asset and result in you having to share it in a divorce.

Source: Law Courts Education Society of BC, “Property and Asset Division,” accessed May. 19, 2015

Real Estate Lawyer Coquitlam BC

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370
www.laughlinlaw.ca/

An interim order can help you stabilize your divorce issues

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Child Support on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.

An interim family order can do many things, but its primary function is to hold agreements made before trial in place until a trial is able to take place. Trials can take a year or longer to transpire, because the courts can be very busy and litigation takes time. If you want to separate in the meantime, it can be helpful to have the interim order.

If you have children, an interim order can help you make sure that you have solidified custody arrangements in place until your case goes to court. If you and your ex can agree on the arrangement, then it will be called a consent order. If not, then the interim order still works until you can go to trial to work out your differences.

An interim order can be put in place until you decide on a final agreement, too. Here’s a good example: If you and your ex have roughly decided how to split your assets but want to separate until trial and wait until trial to actually divide those assets, then the interim order can work as a way to make sure the assets are still available as part of the original arrangement when the time comes for them to be split. This can also help a judge see what you want, or don’t want, to share with the other person or have for yourself.

An interim order can be used for child custody, potentially support arrangements, and initial asset division agreements. Whatever you need to work out, this can be the first step toward a final decision in your case.

Source: Legal Services Society, “How to get an interim family order,” accessed May. 13, 2015

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370

A parenting coordinator can help you after a divorce

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Divorce Mediation on Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

You know that part of the reason you’ve gotten a divorce is the likelihood that you’re going to disagree with your ex-spouse. This can be particularly difficult in cases where you have children involved. Even though you are separated from your ex, you still have to work with him or her to co-parent your children.

Co-parenting is needed, because if you don’t speak to one another about activities, day-to-day issues your children are having or unanticipated events, you could end up having a difficult schedule where no one is on the same page.

Parents who struggle to work together as co-parents can participate in a type of mediation known as parenting coordination. With parenting coordination, the coordinator works as a buffer, allowing each parent to discuss issues with him or her. Then, the coordinator works with the parents to come to a solution that works for everyone involved with the least amount of conflict.

A parenting coordinator won’t be able to change your parenting arrangement or create a new one, but he or she could help you and your ex work out any problems you may have when it comes to agreeing on how to raise your children. For example, if you’re meant to have your child on a Wednesday but you and your ex can’t agree on a time that works for both of you, then a coordinator can help you find a solution that allows you to see your child at an appropriate time for everyone involved.

Our website has more information on parenting coordination and how it can help you. Whether you’re having minor disagreements or major problems, a coordinator can usually help.

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370

Kids less stressed with shared custody

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Child Custody on Thursday, April 30, 2015.

After a divorce, your child has to go through changes since your family structure is being altered. Now, your child may have to travel to see your ex-spouse or you may have sole custody and your ex may only have visitation. While every situation is different, studies have been performed to find out what kind of situation is less harmful to a child’s psychology.

What has been found goes against the idea that splitting time between parents could be stressful due to the travel and fact that the children are constantly in different environments. In fact, children who got to see both parents in a shared custody situation were less stressed than those who saw only one parent in a sole-custody relationship.

Children in typical nuclear families were the least stressed of all, but if that’s not possible, then shared custody can be one way of reducing the stress and anxiety your child has to go through. Consider the reasons behind this; your child has always grown up with two parents, two sides of the family, grandparents, aunts and uncles. If you cut off visitation with one side of the family, your child has suddenly lost half of the support system that has been built up over the years, causing anxiety and other psychosomatic problems.

Girls are most prone to these issues, and the most common problem was sadness. Overall, children who were stressed in these living situations faced sleep problems most commonly. While not all families can adjust to the shared custody situation, this research does back the fact that it can be beneficial overall.

Source: Time, “This Divorce Arrangement Stresses Kids Out Most,” Mandy Oaklander, April. 27, 2015

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370

How separating couples divide debt in British Columbia

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Division of Property on Thursday, April 23, 2015.

Whether or not you want to, the fact of any ending relationship is that if you have debt, you need to deal with it. Not taking the time to review shared debts or whose name is in debt can lead to bills not getting paid, and this can ruin your credit rating.

If you’ve been living together with your significant other in a marriage-like situation, then you are going to be held to the same standards for debts after you separate as married people would be during a divorce.

In British Columbia, the law treats those who have lived together for two years or longer exactly the same as someone who is married. Your debts are going to be shared equally, no matter whose name they’re in. The family property also is shared equally, so if you had a home together, be prepared to split up your assets.

When you’re living together, you can make an agreement that will allow you to divide your debts unequally. This agreement works similarly to a prenuptial or post-nuptial agreement, which prevents you from taking on certain debts that are created during your relationship or those brought into your relationship.

People who you owe money to, like your creditors, can normally only collect debts from the person who signed for the debt, so in cases where you have private credit cards or loans, you’ll need to pay those back. However, if you signed a lease for an apartment with both of your names, then you can be held jointly responsible and will need to sort out the debt one way or the other.

Source: Legal Services Society, “Dealing with debts after separation (for married and common-law couples),” accessed April. 23, 2015

Real Estate Lawyers Coquitlam BC

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370
www.laughlinlaw.ca

What do you do if you are denied parenting time by your ex?

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Child Custody on Thursday, April 16, 2015.

When you decide on a parenting agreement with your ex or have had one determined by a judge, you may think that everything should go well from there on out. Unfortunately, sometimes parents don’t stick to the agreement because of complaints about contact or parenting time allowances. If this has happened to you, do you know what to do to enforce your parenting time? There are a few things you can do to protect your rights as well as those of your children.

If you’ve been denied access to your children, you’re in a position where you can take the children’s mother or father to court over the denial of your parenting time. This time is allowed by law, so in most cases, denying you access to your children is illegal.

There are, of course, a few times when it’s acceptable to deny you access to your children, like if abuse is suspected or if you were intoxicated at the time of your scheduled parenting time. Other than those reasons, there are few that will stand up in court. Each case is handled individually, but unless extreme reasons are shown, simply refusing to grant parenting time due to personal issues won’t be allowed.

What can be done for you? A judge may be able to help you set up a time when you can make up the lost time with your children. If the other party is still trying to withhold your children from you, then you both may be required to attend family dispute resolution to work out your problems. The other party may have to pay you for any expenses you had due to the denial of time with your children, and he or she will need to pay a fine in many cases.

Source: JusticeBC, “What can I do if the other parent doesn’t follow the agreement or order about parenting time or contact?,” accessed April. 16, 2015

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370

Pension division and disability benefits in British Columbia

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in High-Asset Divorce on Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

When couples divorce in British Columbia, the former spouse of a person who is receiving a pension may be eligible for a share of that income. In the event that benefits are being paid to the one party because of their disability, special rules apply before a division of that portion will occur.

If an agreement is reached regarding the division of disability benefits, the court will make the agreement a part of its orders. A court may also order the division of disability benefits on its own if no agreement is reached. If the court does not rule on the disability portion of a spouse’s pension, the benefit will be allocated solely to the holder of the pension.

Division of disability benefits in a pension plan will continue until the pension holder spouse passes away or until the disability benefits are terminated according to terms of the plan. The plan member’s eligibility for disability benefits has no effect on how other portions of the pension will be divided by the court.

The division of property may be very complex as well as highly contentious in many divorce cases. When a couple’s property includes different types of holdings, such as retirement and pension accounts, it can be difficult to determine how the assets should be divided. People who have pensions, disability payments and retirement accounts may benefit by seeking the help of a family law lawyer during divorce proceedings. A lawyer may be able to determine whether a client’s benefits are divisible during dissolution of the marriage.

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370

Home ownership and divorce in British Columbia

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On behalf of Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators posted in Division of Property on Wednesday, April 1, 2015.

Couples who are preparing to divorce in British Columbia will be required to divide their marital property. In many cases, the couple will have purchased a home. There are several important considerations regarding how to handle the home in a property division.

In some cases, one of the spouses will want to keep the home. Those who are in this position will need to think about whether or not they can truly afford to do so on their own. If there is equity built up in the home, they will most likely be required to buy out the other spouse’s share. If the home is in both spouses’ names, then the person keeping the home will probably need to refinance the mortgage in their own name, meaning that they will need to have the financial ability to do so.

Some couples decide selling the home is the best option. This involves determining whether there will be enough left over after selling the home, paying the selling costs and splitting any money left after paying off the mortgage with the other spouse. People should make certain the money received would be enough for them to find another place to live.

Asset and debt division can be very complex and can involve a lot of critical thinking and planning. In some cases, people who are preparing to divorce may benefit by seeking the advice and counsel of a family law lawyer who can help the client to secure appraisals of businesses, artwork and other properties and locate assets that may have been concealed by the other spouse. A lawyer can also work on the negotiation of a comprehensive settlement agreement that covers these and other issues.

Real Estate Lawyer in Coquitlam BC

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370