St. Thomas Divorce & Family Law Blog

  Limitations vs. Delay in Seeking Support One thing you should always discuss with your lawyer early on - preferably at the first consultation - is whether there is a time limit to collect a certain sum of money. In law, there are limitations periods to consider and there is delay.  Photo credit: Jordan Benson What is a Limitations Period? A limitations period means that you have only a certain amount of time to bring someone to court to get something that you believe you are owed. After the time is up, you can't get any relief on that issue. Ontario law sets up certain time limits for certain types of claims. In divorce and family law situations, generally the time limit to make a court application for a property matter is up to 2 years after a divorce, or 6 years after a separation, whichever comes first. For example, if a person and their spouse separate on January 1, 2023, and they own a house and cars together and dispute how much money one of them is owed, but they stil...

Step 4:  What Is a Case Conference? After you have started a court action in family law, the first major appearance that you can expect to have is a pre-trial hearing called a case conference. The case conference has been called the most important step in family law litigation. This hearing is held in front of a judge and allows both sides, either self-represented or with their lawyers, to obtain orders on procedural matters and possibly hear a judge’s view of the case at an early stage.  While a judge may offer preliminary opinions on the issues, no binding decision will be made on a substantive issue in your case. Obtaining a judge’s feedback can be helpful because it allows the parties to see their arguments from a different point of view and possibly reassess the strength of their claims. In turn, this may help to resolve matters through negotiation or mediation. Photo credit: Diane Webb What Can I Expect at My Case Co...

Family Law Court Process: The Motion A motion is a litigation tool that helps you manage the court process by allowing you to potentially get a result before a trial. The type of order you seek from a court on a motion is generally an order that temporarily deals with a major issue. It may be the real issue that brought you to court in the first place. If you succeed in your motion, the decision will usually have temporary effect. It is possible, however, that even though the motion may be in advance of a trial, the decision that you want the judge to make could permanently decide the issue. For example, in a vaccination dispute where one parent wants to vaccinate the child(ren) and the other wants to wait, if the pro-vaccination parent is given the decision making power and uses it, this would permanently deal with the matter because they can't un-vaccinate the child afterward. Motions are a major aspect of court proceedings and require much preparation on the ...