For many years, custody of the children was the big prize in any divorce or separation. Especially with the introduction of "no-fault divorce", custody of the children was important because it showed who WON the divorce. For separating parents, getting custody, and controlling the other parent's "access" has been the ultimate goal, which superseded other considerations, like maintaining an amicable relationship with other parents, or being able to co-parent, or addressing the children's needs. With the introduction of the Child Support Guidelines, custody became even more important because it also meant entitlement to child support, and even sharing parenting meant getting less child support. The huge importance separated parents have placed on getting custody is indisputable.
Then, in 2019, the Federal Government, followed by the provincial governments, made big changes to the Divorce Act and other family laws to abolish the terms "custody" and "access" and change the focus of "parenting orders" on to the children and their needs. Those changes went into effect on March 1, 2021.
Judges now make parenting orders, not custody orders, and those parenting orders have two components – parenting responsibilities and parenting time.
In this edition of the Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, explains how if you go to court to get custody of the children, you are certain NOT to get it.
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