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Difference between revisions of "Children and Parenting after Separation"
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Children and Parenting after Separation (view source)
Revision as of 22:21, 2 July 2019
, 22:21, 2 July 2019→Reports and assessments
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Once the assessment is finished, the assessor sends the assessment to the parties, as well as to the court if the assessment was court-ordered. These assessments can be used in two ways: to encourage settlement; and, at trial, to persuade the court that the parenting proposal of one parent or guardian is to be preferred over that of the other. The person who prepared the assessment can be called to testify at the trial and will be subject to cross-examination as to how they conducted the assessment and reached their conclusions and recommendations. | Once the assessment is finished, the assessor sends the assessment to the parties, as well as to the court if the assessment was court-ordered. These assessments can be used in two ways: to encourage settlement; and, at trial, to persuade the court that the parenting proposal of one parent or guardian is to be preferred over that of the other. The person who prepared the assessment can be called to testify at the trial and will be subject to cross-examination as to how they conducted the assessment and reached their conclusions and recommendations. | ||
It is important to remember that the function of assessors in court is to present their recommendations and the evidence that they relied on, such as test scores and interview observations, in coming to those recommendations. At the end of the day, it is always up to the judge to decide the parenting arrangements for the children. A | It is important to remember that the function of assessors in court is to present their recommendations and the evidence that they relied on, such as test scores and interview observations, in coming to those recommendations. At the end of the day, it is always up to the judge to decide the parenting arrangements for the children. A needs of the child assessment is merely the assessor's recommendation to the court based on their particular expertise as an experienced psychologist, psychiatrist, or family justice counsellor. The assessment is not a final determination of the issue. | ||
The Supreme Court discussed the purposes of | The Supreme Court discussed the purposes of custody and access reports in a 2001 case called ''[http://canlii.ca/t/4xfd Gupta v. Gupta]'', 2001 BCSC 649. The court's comments in that case refer to the old term for these reports (which were called ''section 15 reports''), but the comments are just as applicable to assessments under s. 211 of the ''Family Law Act'' (which is the newer legislation that replaced the older ''Family Relations Act''): | ||
<blockquote | <blockquote>"[A court-ordered report's purpose] is to assist the Court in determining the issues before it, including the paramount issues of what is in the best interests of the children. The section itself contemplates that the person doing the investigation must be approved by the Court, and must be independent or neutral. [...] The investigation is carried out for the purposes of the Court, and in the best interests of the children, and not those of the partial parents who are embroiled in what is seen as the dispute of their lives, who generally represent the extremes of every issue, and whose evidence is often found to be coloured to say the least."</blockquote> | ||
A more recent case called ''[http://canlii.ca/t/g2nxw Smith v. Smith]'', 2014 BCSC 61 discusses why needs of the child assessments should be ordered. | A more recent case called ''[http://canlii.ca/t/g2nxw Smith v. Smith]'', 2014 BCSC 61 discusses why needs of the child assessments should be ordered. | ||
