PARENTING ASSESSMENT: A ROUTE TO RESOLVING CUSTODY AND ACCESS DISPUTES

There are few situations in family law that are more serious than when two parents who are in a high-conflict separation proceeding disagree about parenting issues: where their children should live, how much access the kids should have with each parent, and who should make major decisions for the children. Parenting disagreements unfortunately can inflame an entire family law proceeding that might otherwise resolve cooperatively into a giant fight: many parents can become defensive if they believe their parenting styles or methods are under attack.

Family law lawyers in Ontario know that trials are expensive for the parents and stressful for everybody – parents and children alike. However, when parents disagree about how to raise the children, it can be hard to see any way to resolve the matter other than a trial, and parents will often understandably decide that they have to “fight” for their relationship for their children. This can make otherwise easy decisions, like the choice between sole custody and joint custody, or determining a parenting time schedule for each parent’s access with the children, nearly impossible.

However, there are ways to resolve parenting disagreements that can hopefully avoid a fight. In Ontario, one such route is for the parents to agree to engage in a parenting assessment as stated in section 30 of the Children’s Law Reform Act. A parenting assessment involves the parties hiring a skilled professional – such as a therapist, social worker, psychologist, or sometimes someone who is wears more than one of these hats.

This “parental assessor” then meets with the parents and children (usually both together and separately), studies them carefully, and then presents their findings to the parties and their respective lawyers. If necessary, the parenting assessor can then draft a report to present to the court; the court typically gives such reports great weight when deciding parenting issues such as access schedules or custody rights.

Parenting assessments offer a means to resolve parental conflict over the children’s future. Together, with their lawyers, parties can engage the assistance of a skilled mental health professional and parenting advisor to determine what custody arrangement is advisable for them, or what access schedule is in the children’s best interests. However, a parenting assessment is not necessarily always the way to proceed in each case: If you have questions about whether a parenting assessment is right for your separation proceeding, and about the potential legal impact of such an assessment, the best thing to do is to have a consultation with a family lawyer.