Parents who pay child support, and some parents who receive child support, are can be very surprised, when a judge, arbitrator, or lawyer acting as a family law mediator, say that a parent’s income for child support is NOT the same as the total income on their tax return on which they pay taxes.  This is particularly true when the parent is self-employed, or earns their income by means other than a salary such as through dividends or capital gains.  The different way for calculating income for child support can have a significant impact on the amount of child support that is paid.  It also affects spousal support, although that can be in even more complicated.

Since income for support can be income for taxes, and since a listener asked, in this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, (video version here) Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman,  explains how Family Law adjusts income when dealing with support.  Everyone is paying or receiving support where one parent or spouse earns income that is not reported on a T4, should pay attention to this episode to make sure the amount of support is right!

If you found this episode helpful, check out these other episodes on similar topics:

66 - How to Change Child Support

57 - Could I Have to Pay Child Support to My Spouse’s Ex?

54 - Child Support Does Not End at Age 18

53 - How to Pay Less Child Support

47 - How COVID-19 Affects Child Support and Spousal Support

44 -  Can you Be Better Off Financial If You Divorce?

40 - How to Keep Your Money in Separation and Divorce

34 - Disclosure in Family Law Cases

30 - Spousal Support Entitlement 

13 - Spousal Support in Ontario and Canada

11 - Child Support’s Special and Extraordinary Expenses

10 - Child Support in Ontario/Canada - Who Pays and How Much?

When parents do not separate on good terms, they often have concerns about the other parent’s priorities – particularly when very young children or infants are involved. When a separation is going to be high conflict, Family Lawyers  frequently hear from a parent who needs to start court right away, without trying any of the better ways to work things out, because the kids have been completely cut off from him or her.  The reasons why this happen vary, from domestic violence, to concerns about child abuse, to disagreements over parenting strategies, to questions about the other parent’s competences, to issues over child support and the children’s wishes.  But, there are only certain reason that judges believe justify cutting off a parent from the children.  Any other excuse is going to get a parent in serious Family Court trouble and that parent may even be cut off from the kids by Court Order!

In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast,  Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, goes over what Ontario Family Law says justifies cutting out the other parent - and what does not. He also goes over the potentially serious consequences for parents - and the kids - when a parent gets that wrong.   This episode contains the legal information that every parent should know before stopping a parenting schedule.  This episode is also available in video format on YouTube. 

If you found this episode helpful, check out these other episodes on similar topics:

70 - Do You Have a Dirty to Report to the Children’s Aid Society?

61 - Can You Move With the Kids After Separation?

60 - Should You Take Your Ex to Family Court?

59 - Why You Won’t Get Custody of the Kids

37 - Sharing the Holidays After Separation

36 - Is Family Court Biased?

35 - Keeping Custody/Access Issues Out of Court

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the #1 best selling book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available as $9.99 ebook from the iBookstore, Amazon Kindle, or Kobo.  You can also order the paperback version from Amazon. 

One of, if not the most, frequent calls that family lawyers get from a panicked parent comes when a vacation is days away and the other parent won’t sign the required consents or travel documents.  That can mean that some pretty exciting trips to Disney World, or the Caribbean, or elsewhere are in jeopardy for the kids and travel insurance probably won’t cover the trip.   Sometimes the other parent has legitimate concerns.  But, more often that parent is bitter or jealous of the trip, or worried that it will give the travelling parent and “advantage” with the children.  That often means that at least one of the parents is not making decisions based on what is best for the children, and, as a result, the children are losing out.  That, “the children’s needs are secondary” approach in conflicts between parents is how children get harmed after separation or in divorce.

To avoid these difficult situations, in this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains the law around kids travelling after separation, how to avoid problems around travel, what consents, permissions or court orders are required, what to do when planning a trip for children after separation and, what steps a parent has to take when the other parent is being unreasonable about a proposed trip.  A video version is available on YouTube.

If you found this episode helpful, check out these other episodes on similar topics:

60 - Should You Take Your Ex to Family Court?

59 - Why You Won’t Get Custody of the Kids

36 - Is Family Court Biased?

32 - How to Change a Support Order or Agreement

15 - Ontario Family Court, Step by Step  - Part 2: From First Appearance to the Last Appearance Before Trial

14 - Ontario Family Court, Step by Step  - Part 2: Starting and Responding to Family Court Proceedings

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available  as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores. 

With the prices of everything going up, especially the costs of first time homes, but also care, furniture and even diapers, may parents of adult children may find it necessary to help out their kids as they “get started” and are having trouble making ends meet, making financial plans for the future, or getting that first home to get into the real estate market.  While many older parents want to help out their kids financially, for a variety of reasons, they may not want to help out the spouses of their kids.

To help out parents, who want to help their adult kids, in this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explores some ways that parents can help out their adult children without also giving it to their children’s spouses or partners.  All parents who want to make gifts to their children should check out this episode BEFORE making their gift to make sure that gift goes where they expect.

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube. 

If you found this episode helpful, check out these other episodes on similar topics:

71 - How the Crazy Real Estate Market affects Divorce and Separation

68 - Will Your Ex Get Everything If You Die?

63 - What Can You Do With a Marriage Contract?

56 - Will My Ext Get My House If I Divorce?

44 - Can You Be Better Off Financially If You Divorce?

40 - How to Keep Your Money in Separation/Divorce

29 - Common Law Separation and Property Division

9 - How is Property Divided After a Divorce in Ontario?

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available  as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores.

Getting an uncontested or simple divorce is thought by many to be a straightforward process.  As a result many people who try to do their divorce on their own are surprised when a judge refuses to grant the divorce. There is no absolute right to a divorce. Ontario Family Law sets out several reasons that a judge must refuse to grand a divorce, even when the couple needs it quickly to get remarried to new partners. They range from child support problems, to service issues, to attempts at fraud, to problems with a religions divorce, to the spouses not being entitled to get divorced in Ontario, to several more reasons.  It is important that separated spouses who want a divorce, know all the reasons that compel a judge to refuse that divorce, so they are not stuck rescheduling a wedding or having other problems

In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains reasons that a judge can refuse a divorce to help separated couples succeed in becoming divorced.  This episode is critical for all separated couples who want to get a divorce, particularly those that are trying to get an uncontested divorce on their own, so that they can avoid the problems that can keep them from getting divorced.  There is a video version of this episodes available on YouTube. 

If you found this episode helpful, check out these other episodes on similar topics:

67 - How Long Does It Take To Get Divorced in Ontario?

56 - Will my Ex Get My House If I Divorce?

55 - Can You Get Divorced in Canada?

51 - Who Pays the Cost of an Ontario Divorce?

44 - Can You Be Better Off Financially If You Divorce?

40 - How to Keep Your Money in Separation and Divorce

11 - Child Support’s Special and Extraordinary Expenses

10 - Child Support in Ontario/Canada: Who Pays and How Much?

3 - Divorce - What Does It Mean? How Do I Get One?

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available  as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores.

The housing market, with its rapidly rising real estate prices, has been a topic of conversation across Canada.  It has also been a subject of interest in Family Courts, mediations and arbitrations.   Separated and divorcing spouses either want to make sure they continue to share in the rapidly increasing value of the home, or to make sure their former spouses do not.   When spouses are married, they have matrimonial homes – sometimes more than one per couple – and those can create a lot of opportunities to gain great wealth, at the expense of the other spouse, in this real estate market.  Common law couples do not equalize their property, so how they have arranged their finances may mean they share in every increase in real estate values or do not share them at all.

In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains how the increase in value of matrimonial and family homes is shared, or is not, before and after separation, in the current crazy real estate market.  How couples organize their finances can make differences of hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions of dollars when they separate.  A video version of this podcast is available on Youtube. 

To get more information about the topics covered in this episode, check out these other episodes:

44 - Can You Be Better Off Financially If You Divorce?

40 - How to Keep Your Money in Separation and Divorce

29 - Common Law Separation and Property Division

9 - How Property Is Divided After a Marriage in Ontario

8 - How Your Heart Can Get You Into Financial Trouble - Step Children and Matrimonial Homes

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available  as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores.

There is no question that child abuse and neglect is a terrible thing that can have long lasting impacts, even ruin the entire lives of child victims. While everyone should want to protect children from child abuse and neglect, Ontario Law has made it mandatory for everyone in a job that relates to children to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect to a children’s aid society. But, many have people have questions about what legal obligations they might have to report child abuse, what constitutes child abuse or neglect that must be reported and whether they can get into trouble for making such a report. This episode answers all those questions about requirements to report to a children’s aid society.  It is critical watching or listening for all professionals who work with children in Ontario.

This episode is also available in video format on Youtube.

If the children's aid society has called to do an investigation on your family, listen to this episode, watch this video and read this page.

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available  as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores.

Expulsion is the most serious punishment available within the school system and it can have long lasting consequences for expelled students both for their education and for their lives more generally. Although Board’s deny it, most expelled students have some identifiable characteristics.  They are more often racialized, have special education needs, are socially awkward – nerds, geeks and such, have been in the care of a children’s aid society or a combination of those.  In short, they are the most vulnerable students. But, none of these are good reasons to expel a student. Alternatively, principals want kids out of their school if there is even a hint of sexual impropriety, which raises lots of questions about injecting school discipline into student social-dynamics, especially amongst teenagers.

While it may be possible to expel private school students for anything, things are very different for public school students.  The student must have misbehaved at school, at a school related activity or in a way that has impact many students at the school.  In addition, there are only eleven types of misbehaviour for which a school board can expel a student.  If the student did not commit one of those types of acts at one of the required places, the student cannot be expelled.  And, there are some special circumstances where even if a student did one of those types of behaviour, they still cannot be expelled.  If school is trying to expel a student improperly, the student and parents should fight that expulsion.  There are procedures for doing that and for appealing expulsions.

In this Episode, Education Lawyer, John Schuman explains what students can be expelled for - and what they can’t. Many Ontario students are expelled improperly.  When that happens, they should not let the expulsions stand.  A child’s education is far too important.

If you found this episode helpful or informative,  check out these:

65 - How to Get Help For Your Child’s Special Needs in Ontario Schools

58 - Student Rights During COVID-19

39 - What Ontario Private Schools Must Do About Bullying

38 - Ontario Private Schools, Standards and Education Law

22 - Children’s Rights in Ontario Schools

After they separate from a spouse or partner, most people expend considerable effort protecting their financial situation.  People want to protect what they have, either for themselves or for their children.   They also do not their exes to get more than necessary.  Everyone wants their own money that they can use, or give away, free from interference.   After separation, nearly everyone is very careful in organizing finances.  But, often they are NOT careful in planning for their finances if they die.  Unfortunately,  that can mean that, even after a long fight, a former spouse can get take much more from the estate than he or she would have gotten through family court - just because the other spouse dies without doing the proper things.  En ex-spouse can even take money from the estate at the expense of the children.

In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains what you have to do keep your ex from getting everything if you die after separation and to ensure your inheritance goes where you want it to go.   With concrete examples he sets out the precise steps that every separated spouse should take to preserve his or her estate for loved ones.

This episode is also available in video format on YouTube.

To get more information about the topics covered in this episode, check out these other episodes:

9 - How is Property Divided After a Marriage in Ontario?

10 - Child Support in Ontario/Canada: Who Pays and How Much?

23 - Why You Need a Will

29 - Common Law Separation and Property Division

30 - Spousal Support Entitlement

40 - How to Keep Your Money in Separation and Divorce

42 - How to Get a "Legal Separation" in Ontario

44 - Can You Be Better Office Financially If You Divorce?

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available  as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores.

The big questions asked by people who are struggling in their marriage are "how easy it will be to get a divorce in Ontario?" and “How long will it take?"   People looking for a “new me” don’t want to have their ex hanging around like an anchor.  Especially, as getting a divorce is a prerequisite to getting remarried.  In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains  how easy and quick (or not) it will be to get an Ontario Divorce.  He explains what is required to qualify for a divorce in Ontario.  John also explains what separated spouses should do to get their divorce faster, some out-of-court options to move things along more quickly, and what will slow down the process and make it drag on.   This is all critical information that anyone considering separating from a spouse must know.

To get more information about the topics covered in this episode, check out these other episodes:

3 - Divorce - What Does It Mean?  How Do I Get One?

9 - How is Property Divided After a Marriage in Ontario?

10 - Child Support in Ontario/Canada: Who Pays and How Much?

14-16 Ontario Family Court Step-by-Step

29 - Common Law Separation and Property Division

40 - How to Keep Your Money in Separation and Divorce

42 - How to Get a "Legal Separation" in Ontario

44 - Can You Be Better Office Financially If You Divorce?

51 - Who Pays the Cost of an Ontario Divorce?

53 - How to Pay Less Child Support

54 - Child Support Does Not End at 18

60 - Should You Take Your Ex to Family Court?

62 - Is Family Mediation Binding?

The Ontario Family Law Podcast is a companion to the book, Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law, which is available  as a $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone and as a paperback from Amazon and better bookstores.