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Difference between revisions of "Guardianship, Parenting Arrangements and Contact"
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Guardianship, Parenting Arrangements and Contact (view source)
Revision as of 16:50, 13 April 2013
, 16:50, 13 April 2013→Parental responsibilities and parenting time
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When formal arrangements are required, s. 44 allows two or more of a child's guardians to make an agreement about the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, as well as how disputes about those parenting arrangement will be resolved. (Agreements like these can't be made until the guardians have separated or are about to separate.) If agreement is impossible, a guardian can apply for a court order about parenting arrangements under s. 45 of the act. | When formal arrangements are required, s. 44 allows two or more of a child's guardians to make an agreement about the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, as well as how disputes about those parenting arrangement will be resolved. (Agreements like these can't be made until the guardians have separated or are about to separate.) If agreement is impossible, a guardian can apply for a court order about parenting arrangements under s. 45 of the act. | ||
When a child has more than one guardian, the guardians need to work together and co-operate in raising the children. This can sometimes be difficult, particularly when there is a lot of conflict in the guardians' relationship with one another. Before the ''Family Law Act'' came into effect, the rights and obligations involved in raising children were usually addressed through a joint guardianship order under the ''Family Relations Act'', in particular through two models of joint guardianship, the Horn model and the Joyce model. The ''Family Law Act'' doesn't talk about guardianship the way the old law did and can't be used to spell out guardians' rights and obligations in the same way. However, since guardians need to work together and co-operate in making parenting decisions, the models can still work. They just need to be changed a bit. | |||
===The Joyce Model for sharing parental responsibilities=== | ===The Joyce Model for sharing parental responsibilities=== | ||
The Joyce model, created by Mr. Justice Joyce, is fairly detailed and requires the guardians to consult with one another on all important decisions affecting the child, to make their best efforts to work together to reach a solution that is in the best interests of the child, and so forth. When guardians can't agree on a decision, the Joyce model might say that one guardian will have the last word, or it might say that the parents will try to mediate the issue, consult a child psychologist about the issue, or ask a judge for directions on the issue. | |||
Here's the standard version of the Joyce model adapted for people who are guardians under the ''Family Law Act'': | |||
The | <blockquote>The guardians will exercise all parental responsibilities with respect to the child on the following terms:</blockquote> | ||
:#in the event of the death of a guardian, the surviving guardian(s) will be the only guardian(s) of the child, | |||
:#each guardian will have the obligation to advise the other guardian(s) of any matters of a significant nature affecting the child, | |||
:#each guardian will have the obligation to discuss with the other guardians any significant decisions that have to be made concerning the child, including significant decisions about the health (except emergency decisions), education, religious instruction and general welfare, | |||
:#the guardians will have the obligation to discuss significant decisions with each other and the obligation to try to reach agreement on those decisions, | |||
:#in the event that the guardians cannot reach agreement on a significant decision despite their best efforts, the guardian with the majority of parenting time with the child will be entitled to make those decisions and the other guardian(s) will have the right to apply for directions on any decision the guardian(s) consider(s) contrary to the best interests of the child, under s. 49 of the ''Family Law Act'', and | |||
:#each guardian will have the right to obtain information concerning the child directly from third parties, including but not limited to teachers, counsellors, medical professionals, and third party care givers. | |||
===The Horn Model for sharing parental responsibilities=== | ===The Horn Model for sharing parental responsibilities=== | ||
The | The Horn model, created by Master Horn, is more about the guardians' rights to get information about the child, usually about the child's schooling, health, and extracurricular activities. The Horn model implies that the guardian with whom the child mostly lives will be entitled to make decisions about the child as he or she sees fit, with the other guardian having a right to information about the child. Under s. 49 of the ''Family Law Act'', however, the other guardian will always have the right to ask the court for directions on the subject of the other guardian's decision. | ||
Here's the standard version of the Joyce model adapted for people who are guardians under the ''Family Law Act'': | |||
<blockquote>The guardian with the majority of parenting time with the child will exercise all parental responsibilities in respect of the child and the other guardian(s) will have the right:</blockquote> | |||
:#to be informed of the child's medical and dental practitioners, | |||
:#to contact the child's medical and dental practitioners and obtain the child's medical and dental records, | |||
:#to be consulted with respect to the selection of the child's alternative caregivers, such as daycare and preschool, | |||
:#to consult with the children's alternative caregivers and teachers, | |||
:#to be informed of events at the child's schools or daycare so that the parent without primary care may attend, | |||
:#to be informed of parent/teacher nights so that the other guardian(s) may attend, | |||
:#to be consulted with respect to any significant health issues relating to the child and | |||
:#to be consulted with respect to any significant change in the child's social environment. | |||
==Contact== | ==Contact== | ||
