Litigation Guardians and Child Support

Does the Family Law regime in Ontario require a children to appoint litigation guardians prior to their request for child support?

The case of M. (C.M.) v. C. (D.G.) overturned a decision by Justice Darla Wilson and ruled that a child does not necessarily need a litigation guardian to ask for child support.

Justice Sachs ruled that the Family Law regime is completely different from that of Civil Law in terms of children participating in litigation. The difference is that that in a Family Law case, the central focus is on whether the child is in need of representation. The Court is not faced with an obligatory task of finding the child a parent to receive and give instructions if the child is independent and does not require a litigation guardian.

Essentially, Justice Sachs highlighted the fact that nowhere in the Family Law Rules does it make mention of any sort of obligation on the child to appoint a litigation guardian prior to his/her request for child support. This was in contrast to the Rules of Civil Procedure, whereby Rule 7.01(1) clearly requires the appointment of a litigation guardian.

However, although the Family Law Rules do not specifically allude to an obligation to appoint a litigation guardian, earlier cases witnessed judges taking note of Rule 1(7) of the Family Law Rules which allow the trier of fact to resort to the Rules of Civil Procedure.

To learn more about litigation guardians as well as the services provided by Krol & Krol, call 905.707.3370 today.