Educational Resources

Top 5 Family Law Blog Posts in 2021

family law blog site
Written by Russell Alexander ria@russellalexander.com / (905) 655-6335

FamilyLLB.com – Ontario Divorce Education Centre is a hub full of free educational resources for all things family law. Stay up to date on Ontario divorce by reading about court cases, browsing the FAQs, watching Wednesday’s video clip, listening to Family Law Now podcast, and more. Sign up for the newsletter to receive a monthly highlight of all this and more. The following is a list of the top five most viewed blogs in 2021 on FamilyLLB.

Deadbeat Dad Jailed for 4.5 Years for Failing to Pay Nearly $250K in Child Support

Published: January 4th

A father was sentenced to 4.5 years’ incarceration for contempt of court after he failed to abide by a court order requiring him to pay nearly $247,000 in unpaid child support.

Learn more about how the court came to this decision.

Child “Terrified” of COVID-19 – Court Reflects on Whether to Order His Return to Ontario Hotspot

Published: February 1st

Should the court allow an Ontario-based mother to remain with her three teenaged children in another province – in breach of her custody agreement with the father – mainly to give them a respite from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Learn more about Justice Pazaratz’s comments on this case.

Divorce Act Changes in Force – At Last!

Published: March 18th

It’s been in abeyance for almost a year – and more than 20 years in the making before that – but the long-awaited changes to the Divorce Act are finally in force. These changes are more than cosmetic:  Courts will be able to impose tailored directions as to the care of a child while avoiding the former “winner/loser” approach that had been the subject of longstanding criticism for its combative and unproductive tenor.  This means that the level of parental conflict should be reduced, which of course is better for the child as well.

Learn more about the changes to the Divorce Act.

10 Things You Should Know About Child Support in Ontario 2021

Published: March 23rd

The pandemic has wiped out many industries and parents have lost their jobs.  A loss of employment could cause a change to the quantum of child support that the support payor is required to pay. Child support is ordinarily paid on a parent’s current income, but if you worked for part of the year and recently lost your job, your estimated annual income for the entire year will be taken into account when adjusting child support.

Learn more about how the Covid-19 pandemic affects child support.

Selling the Matrimonial Home in 2021: What if one spouse will not co-operate?

Published: April 8th

When the husband and wife separated in 2010, they signed a Separation Agreement to the effect that the husband could say in the matrimonial home until it was sold, but that it had to be sold within one year, with the selling costs to be split between the parties. Subsequently however the husband – despite numerous requests by the wife – had refused to list the house for sale and demonstrated a “militant resistance” to doing so.

Learn more about the motion brought to the court for an order dispensing with the husband’s consent to take the necessary steps to list and sell.

Ontario Family Law in 2021

2021 was a significant year for Ontario Family Law in terms of official changes to the legislation, modernizing court procedure, and navigating new territories for professionals and families. Thank you to our dedicated readers who have been with us for better or worse, til death do us part. To those of you reading who are new, welcome. We hope you find our blogs and other content informative and helpful. Please subscribe as we have many more blogs and cases to cover in 2022.

Stay in Touch

Keep learning about the latest issues in Ontario family law! Subscribe to our newsletter, have our latest articles delivered to your inbox, or listen to our Podcast Family Law Now.

Be sure to find out more about the "new normal", by visiting our Covid-19 and Divorce Information Centre.

About the author

Russell Alexander

Russell Alexander is the Founder & Senior Partner of Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers.