After the Separation Agreement has been signed, sometimes there are issues in following the parenting plan. The prior blog looked at this generally and this blog has a few more ideas specific to parenting.
If this is an urgent situation, where the safety of the children is at risk or removal from the jurisdiction without consent: police assistance or an urgent court order may be appropriate.
For non-emergency situations:
Do check to see if you have an Agreement or also a Court Order or Divorce that covers the parenting plan.
Do check your agreement to see if there are enforcement or dispute resolution clauses: such as make-up time, mandatory mediation, or arbitration, or how the cost of enforcement is paid.
If the matter is not an emergency, some of the out of court options to resolve the dispute may include:
-mediation,
-arbitration,
-parent coordination,
-parenting education, coaching, or courses (for example, Circle of Security: there are public and private providers) https://familiesmatter.ca/events/circle-of-security-evening-online-sessions-3/
-family court counsellor meetings,
-online tools such as OurFamilyWizard to help with communication, schedules, and organisation,
-negotiation (such as with the help of a lawyer),
-family counselling.
Sometimes, a court application is necessary. This may be seeking a Court Order to confirm the parenting plan from the agreement, added clauses to enforce the agreement (with consequences to the person in breach), or to change the parenting plan depending on the circumstances and the child’s best interests.
Some options for enforcement whether negotiated out of court or in a Court Order include:
-make up parenting time;
-changing the parenting plan;
-financial consequences to the parent in breach;
-police enforcement clause;
-counselling for a parent, child, or both;
-using an app such as OurFamilyWizard to help with communication and scheduling;
-including a system and consequences if breaches happen again.
Parenting issues can be complex, and it is important to obtain legal advice on your specific situation.
– Written by Ceri Chwieros
