The Status Quo on Issues Involving the Children
One of the first things client ought to be aware of is the fact that either the client or the opposing party may be creating a “status quo.” The reason why lawyers emphasize this point, is because many parties involved in a family law proceeding are unaware of the fact that, despite all the efforts they have made to prove their case and disengage from any unbecoming behavior, courts rule in favour of the best interests of the child. Once a party has created a status quo on issues involving the children – something the child has now become accustomed to - the court is often reluctant to take the child out of that environment.
In the recent case of White v. Noel, the power of the status quo was conveyed clearly in a somewhat controversial ruling by Justice Penny Jones of the Ontario Court of Justice.
The case involved a father with a cocaine addiction, and a neglected wife desperately wishing to return home to her parents in New Brunswick. The couple had a young child together, and were constantly in court fighting for custody and access.
Despite there being a consent order that contained a clause prohibiting the wife from relocating with the child outside of Ontario, the mother unilaterally decided to take her child and move back to New Brunswick. There, she proceeded to move for a change in the consent order, when her husband served her with a contempt motion.
Due to the fact that the father was self-represented, he opted to wait for his day in court and not take any interim action. This resulted in an oral hearing scheduled two years after he served his wife with the contempt motion.
At the hearing, Justice Jones ruled that because the child had settled into New Brunswick and made a stable home there for the past two years, accompanied by the fact that the mother had found stable employment, a status quo had been created and the court would not prejudice the child by moving the child back to Toronto at this stage.
To learn more about the status quo in Ontario as well as the services provided by Krol & Krol, call 905.707.3370 today.
