Parenting After Separation Program

The Parenting After Separation Program is a free program or course that all separated parents in Alberta with children under the age of 16 must take. It is offered in person in Calgary at the Calgary Courts Centre for a six hour block of time on a Saturday or two 3...

Parenting Coordination

Parenting coordination is a fairly recent idea in Alberta which has become more and more used for the last 10 to 15 years. A Parenting Coordinator is generally a trained social worker, psychologist or lawyer. However, in Alberta there are no regulatory bodies for...

Preparing for Mediation

 When you go to mediation, you have to accept that you are going in with the mindset of not winning everything at all costs. If you genuinely want to come up with an agreement that will, first of all, be in the best interests of the children, and second of all,...

The Cost of Going to Court

When attempts at mediation and negotiation fail, sometimes one of the only options is to make a court application. This is also sometimes the only option for some things that are not easily negotiable, such as mobility applications. It is hard to negotiate whether or...

What is a Retainer?

When you hire a lawyer, the vast majority will ask you for a retainer. A retainer is a pre-payment of legal services. For example, when you give a retainer to a lawyer it is placed into a special bank account with strict accounting rules prescribed by the Law Society...

Child Support

Child support in Canada has been simplified since 1997, when the Federal Child Support Guidelines were introduced. Child support generally is calculated by looking at the Child Support Tables. For example, you look at what the payer’s income is (for example,...