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Joint Custody in Divorce

There had been a growing trend, in Ontario and wichita, in loved ones and divorce lawyer wichita, more than the last handful of years, for family members courts to order joint custody of kids. The hope, by some, was that the parenting abilities of the parties could be improved with awards of joint custody. The recent Ontario Court of Appeal choice of Kaplanis v. Kaplanis, has tried to put this trend into perspective.

In this choice, the parties were married in 1998 and separated in January 2002. The parties had a daughter who was born in October 2001. At trial, the father requested joint custody and the mother opposed the application, stating that the parties could not communicate without having screaming at each other. The trial judge granted the parties joint custody and the mother appealed the order. The appeal court set aside the order of joint custody and the mother was granted sole custody.

The Appeal Court held that, for an award of joint custody to be granted, there should be some evidence that demonstrates, that despite the parents personal powerful conflict with every other, the parties can and have cooperated and communicated appropriately with a single yet another. In this case there was evidence to the contrary, there was no professional evidence to assist the trial judge establish how a joint custody order would advance the childs emotional and psychological requirements and the youngster was too young to communicate her personal wishes.

Around the very same time this case was decided, the Ontario Court of Appeal also ruled on the case of Ladisa v. Ladisa, exactly where the appeal court upheld the trial judges order of joint custody. In this case the trial judge had the benefit of hearing the evidence of the Childrens Lawyer who presented the childrens wishes and who suggested joint custody. It was held that the trial judge had heard evidence from third parties with respect to cooperation and suitable communication between the parties. The trial judge also looked at the history of co-parenting for the duration of the marriage and that despite their intense conflict, the parties could and had efficiently communicated with each other and placed the interests of their youngsters ahead their personal, when necessary.

To summarize, in Ontario joint custody circumstances, it would appear that the courts will now be looking a lot more closely for evidence from third party and professional witnesses, which can demonstrate that the parties can and have cooperated and communicated appropriately and have been in a position to put aside their personal differences and conflict, for the benefit of the youngsters. The lack of historical cooperation and suitable communication in between the parties will greatly limit the success of a joint custody application. The assumption by some, that the granting of joint custody will enhance the parenting abilities of the parties, will not be a adequate reason on its own to grant joint custody, in the absence of existing excellent cooperation and communication amongst the parties. reference:divorce lawyer wichita