Ask the ExpertsCustody

Once your kids are 16 years old, they may apply for their passport without requiring their parents’ signatures.  Until that age, though, both parents’ consent are usually required – this consent comes in the form of a signature on the application form.

If you have a Separation Agreement or a Court Order for “joint custody”, this automatically requires both parents’ signatures on the application.  If one parent has “sole custody” and the other parent has “reasonable access”, then the non-custodial parent’s signature may not be required.  If the non-custodial parent has specified access, then their signature will be required.

Passport Canada will …

Yes. When you travel with your children, and the other parent is not traveling with you, it is important to prove to the officials that you are traveling with the consent of the other parent. A “consent to travel” form is often requested by airlines and customs & immigration officials. If you do not have this form, you may be prohibited from traveling until this form is completed by the non-traveling parent.

There is no official form which must be used. However, the key is to have the Consent signed in front of a Commissioner for Oaths, which may be found …

I recently read a book called “Mom’s House Dad’s House” by Isolina Ricci.  I have recommended it to many clients because it is valuable in helping to change your mindset as it relates to your divorce.  It had many “a-ha” moments throughout the book, but the one that really struck me was the “Family Bill of Rights” that I encourage my clients to implement in their binuclear households:

1. Each child has the right to have two homes where he or she is cherished and given the opportunity to develop normally.
2. Each child has the right to a meaningful, nurturing relationship with each

…

It is going to be difficult to tell your kids that their parents are divorcing. How you tell them, and how you help them deal with their emotions in the aftermath of breaking the news is very important to consider.

Here are some tips on breaking the news:

Show that you are unified – if you can keep the conflict at bay, sit down together with your kids to tell them about the news as a family. Your kids should know that you are both there for them, and will continue to both be involved as their parents.

Have …

I am asked this question at least a couple times per week. There seems to be a common belief that children can decide where they want to live after they turn 12. That is false.

In Alberta and Saskatchewan, the legal age of majority is 18 – that remains the age at which parents officially cease to have control over their children as “children”. Therefore, that’s the official age at which your children have the legal right to choose where they live.

However, the courts in both Alberta and Saskatchewan may be inclined to hear the views of …

I thought I would use this opportunity to share with you a gem of a website that I found: www.ourfamilywizard.com. This site is a tool to assist separated or divorced families communicate over the Internet.

This can be called a form of “parallel parenting”, which is a way for parents to communicate without the need to interact face-to-face.

This site helps parents maintain and coordinate schedules, share health records, immunization histories, expense information, and other important family information. There is also an online storage tool to keep family documents safe and accessible to both parents.

How it works: Each parent is …

First, I want to congratulate you for recognizing that you need to focus energy on helping your kids get through your separation and/or divorce. The other day I heard a statistic from a U.S. based study which astonished me: 45% of families going through a divorce only say a couple of remarks to their kids to explain the fact that mom and dad are getting a divorce. 15% of families say nothing at all. Only 5% of families actually sit down with their children to explain what is happening to their family unit.

So often, kids think that their parents divorce …