Child custody is a well understood legal term. It refers to the rights and responsibilities assigned to parents for taking care of their children following divorce or separation. Following recent changes to The Children’s Law Act for Saskatchewan and to the federal Divorce Act, “custody” and “access” have disappeared as legal terms in parenting arrangements post-separation.
Decision making responsibility replaces “custody.” Parenting decisions about the health and education of their child, spiritual or religious instructions, language and more, now fall under decision making responsibility. This responsibility can be shared, or held by one parent, or different areas of decision making can be assigned to each parent.
Parenting time simply means the time a parent spends with their child, replacing “access” with its tendency for negative connotations. There are a wide variety of parenting schedules in separation agreements and divorce judgements, with equal shared parenting becoming more common since changes to the Divorce Act now promote maximizing the child’s time with each parent. A spouse with parenting time typically has charge of all day-to-day decisions for the child, even during emergencies. They are entitled to get information from teachers and health care providers directly, and to have discussions with them about their child.
WRITTEN SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Most of the time separated parents will agree on parenting time and decision-making responsibility and include their arrangement in a separation or parenting agreement. Child support will in large part be determined by the allocation of parenting time between the parents.
However, if parents cannot reach an agreement, the issues will go before a judge in family court. The judge will hear arguments from both parents and make decisions based on the child’s best interests. Usually but not always, the parents will be represented by lawyers during these hearings.
In difficult cases determining the final parenting orders takes time. Therefore, temporary orders may be issued until all aspects of parenting arrangements can be resolved. The temporary orders are only in place until the final order is made.
In Saskatchewan, The Children’s Law Act applies to all parents while The Divorce Act applies to parents who are (or were) married to each other. Both Acts govern the resolution of all parenting issues post-separation, and help define the best interests of the child. A court deciding on parenting issues may have a professionally prepared report concerning the parenting capacities of the parties (A Custody and Access Assessment) or the wishes of older children (A Voices of the Child Report) for consideration. These can cost from $3,500 to $20,000 with the parents often sharing the cost.
According to the Divorce Act and Saskatchewan’s The Family Maintenance Act, 1997, the final order remains in place until:
- The child turns 18
- The child is legally independent from both parents (illness or disability may extend eligibility for child support beyond age 18)
- Following the conclusion of a reasonable post-secondary education program
- The court order or parenting plan is varied by written agreement or through a court application for changes to the order.
A parent can request a modification if circumstances have significantly changed since the original order was finalized. A modification may be made when:
- A parent with primary care or most of the parenting time plans to move with the child
- One parent doesn’t follow the order
- The child’s or a parent’s situation has significantly changed, e.g. the child is 12 years or older and consistently expressing their desire for input to their living arrangements, or refusing to enter the other parent’s care.
Parenting Coordinator
If you already have an agreement or order for parenting, but experience ongoing problems and disagreement, you can involve a parenting coordinator, or neutral party who can help resolve these. They can make decisions in certain circumstances to break deadlock and move the parents forward.
Note: The information in this blog is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer for advice for your situation.