Professional Supervisors: do they all suck?
Professional parenting supervisors in BC are unregulated, without training, screening or standards. A Surrey family lawyer explains why, and offers a model court order term that fixes it.
Should Your Kids Get Their Own Lawyer? A BC Judge Just Said No
Two judges, one section of the Family Law Act, opposite results. A new BC Supreme Court decision explains when children get their own lawyer in a parenting dispute, and why the judge in this case decided that a lawyer would only have made things worse.
Killing it at Cross-Examination: The order of question decides whether you win
Cross-examination isn’t just a list of questions, it’s a sequence. Surrey family lawyer, Darnell Smith, explains how to build a cross-examination to be the greatest legal engine for discovering the truth. Establishing 4 steps of harvest, lock, erode and ask to good cross.
The "We'll Just Write It Ourselves" Separation Agreement (and Why It Can Cost You Later)
Nidhi Chauhan: "A separation agreement isn't about today's relationship. It's about protecting tomorrow's peace."
Courts pushing back on Weaponizing the Process
Two recent BC cases — one involving parental gatekeeping and a rigged sobriety agreement, the other involving financial control as family violence demonstrate how courts respond when a parent weaponizes process against the other. Here's what judges are actually looking for.
Spousal Support: Not Automatic, Not a Punishment, Not (Usually) Forever
No family law topic causes more panic than spousal support, so let me defuse two things right away: it is not automatic, and it is not a fine for the breakup. It exists to address the real economic fallout of a relationship ending.
New Family, New Debt, Same Support Bill? Not Quite.
A BC father with a new family and heavy debt tried to cancel support for his university-age child. See why undue hardship failed but support still dropped.
He Hid his Raises; this is What it Cost Him
A BC parent hid years of pay increases to avoid higher child support. See how and why our BC Supreme Court ordered $41,457 in retroactive support in Ketterer v. Altena.
The Mindset to Dominate your Discovery
Being in the right mindset is key to performing well at discovery. In this article, Darnell Smith helps examine what a discovery is and how to approach it.
Leveling the Playing Field in a High Net Worth case
BC Supreme Court ordered a multi-millionaire husband to fund $140,000 of his wife’s legal fees. How section 89 of the Family Law Act levels the playing field.
No disclosure for 5 years? How does $41,000 in retroactive arrears sound!
BC father paid the 2012child support amount for over a decade and never disclosed his rising income. The court just ordered $41,457 in retroactive child support and did so after the child reached 19 years of age.
When a Doctor Flees the Country to Dodge Support and the Court Hits Back… Hard
Lady Justice packs a punch forcing a BC doctor trying to avoid spousal and child support to pay $650,000 to his ex-wife in 4 months time before the court is prepared to hear an appeal.
Why Intimate Partner Violence excites me!
Darnell Smith, family lawyer, shares why he is excited about Intimate Partner Violence, or more specifically the SCC newly created tort of Intimate Partner Violence, and how it can help survivors in negotiation and litigation.
Canada's New Tort of Intimate Partner Violence: A Family Lawyer's Guide to Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia
The Supreme Court of Canada has now recognized a specific pathway for survivors of intimate partner violence to recovery financially from their abusers.
Your Role Working with a Lawyer
You are the expert on what you want and what has happened. Being empowered to and knowing this will help your lawyer.