Peace bonds can be seen differently depending on the judge. For example, a peace bond can be determined that since the person did not go to trial the actual criminal issue was not determined or decided. A peace bond should not be determined an admission of guilt, unfortunately the optics of a peace bond do not sometimes play out that way.

Parental alienation continues to be an ongoing challenge we see in family law matters. SMP Law has created several blogs on the topic of parental alienation so as a reminder, the term parental alienation references “a child is expressing extreme negative feelings about a parent that are not supported by their experiences”. 

Recently, CBC News posted an article about a Facebook group warning women about specific men in online dating profiles. These private Facebook groups have been created as a way to share negative details about men they may have dated to help protect other women from these men.

As the term “parental alienation” is gaining popularity in the court system, it is becoming more and more important to ensure that the term does not mask intimate partner violence (IPV). Unfortunately, the defense to a parental alienation allegation can sometimes be misused to draw attention away from IPV, with detrimental results for families and children experiencing IPV.

When in the middle of a separation or divorce, if you are working with a lawyer, you will likely be asked “what do you envision your parenting plan moving forward?” This can be a very overwhelming question and difficult to even begin to imagine what you would like to see in your parenting plan. The following posts in this series will break down specific parts of a parenting plan with the goal of providing insight into creating an effective parenting plan.