CUSTODY AND ACCESS

Parents who are separating will have to arrange where their children  will live and how much time they will spend with each parent (access), and who will making major decisions about the children's upbringing (custody). All together, these arrangement are called parenting plans. 

When  parents cannot agree about these things, a judge may have to decide  what arrangement would be in the child's best interests. At Rogers Law  Firm, we encourage parents to think about the best interest of their  child and how separation is affecting them. 

Custody  and access is an often confusing and emotionally stressful aspect of  divorce or separation. As a starting point, the terminology requires  definition. Custody does not refer to where a child resides; rather, it  describes who has decision-making authority with regard to the child.

As  a result, the term "joint custody" does not refer to equal time spent  at each parent's house. It refers to joint decision-making. It is also  possible for one parent to have sole custody — which means sole  decision-making authority — while the child splits his or her time  between each parent's house. Custody and access arrangements, therefore,  are flexible and can vary widely from family to family.

In  recent years, many professionals in the field, including lawyers and  judges, are moving away from the traditional labels of custody and  access and using terms such as "decision making" and "children's  residency schedule."

Ontario Child Custody    Family Law Act