Lesson 1: Family Law-An Introduction
Imagine the following scenarios:
- A couple is getting a divorce after 30 years of marriage. Their marriage has been a traditional one in which the husband earned an income while the wife looked after the home and children. Now that they are divorcing, the husband wants to keep everything they own because their possessions have been bought with his money and are registered in his name. Would this be fair?
Property acquired during marriage (and separation), must be divided equally between spouses.
- A man dies after living with a woman in a "common-law" relationship for ten years. He never bothered to make a will, and friends are telling her that, as a result, all his money will automatically go to his nearest blood relative, a son from a previous marriage. Is this true? Can this woman get a fair share of her partner's estate?
Common-law spouses do not have an automatic right to equalize their net family property acquired during their relationship. There are other rights that common-law spouses share with married spouses, depending on the province or territory they live in, including child support, spousal support, property-sharing rights, and rights to CPP pension credits.
- An elderly couple love their only grandchild and take a close personal interest in her upbringing. When the child's parents divorce, custody of the little girl is awarded to the couple's daughter-in-law, who refuses to allow them to see or speak with their granddaughter. Is there anything they can do about this situation?
Grandparents have the right to file in court for custody and/or visitation of their Grandchildren.
Issues like these fall into the area of family law. Family law, as its name implies, deals with the legal aspects of relationships among family members. For example; spouses and partners, children, parents, and grandparents. In this course you will be investigating the rights and responsibilities family members have toward each other.
