Toronto Custody Lawyer/
Toronto Access Lawyer
Toronto Child Custody and Access Lawyer
Ontario Child Custody Lawyer

The guiding principle of family law is the best interests of the child. At Gilbertson Davis, we put your family first. Our child-focused approach aims to minimize long-term conflict and disruption. We ensure the best interests of your children are protected. At Gilbertson Davis, we help you determine which custody and access arrangement works best for your family.

Our counsel is a skilled family law litigator, and regularly appears in the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice and the Family Court branch of the Superior Court of Justice.

Custody

Custody refers to the ability of parents to make major decisions concerning health, education, welfare, and religion in their children’s lives.

Types of Custody Arrangements

• Sole custody means that one parent makes most of the major decisions in the children’s lives. The non-custodial parent usually has the right to be given information and make inquires about the welfare, health and education of the children.
• Joint custody means both parents share the ability to make major decisions in the children’s lives. For joint custody to be successful, parents need to be able to cooperate and communicate with each other. With joint custody, the children may primarily reside with one parent or the children may live an equal amount of time with both parents.
• Shared custody is a form of joint custody where the children spend at least 40% of their time with each parent. The children have a legal home in each parent’s home. Share custody arrangements can impact child support as the Child Support Guidelines treat this form of custody differently.
• Split custody is when one parent has sole custody of one of more of the children and one parent has sole custody of the other children. Split custody is not very prevalent and is most common when dealing with older children and teenagers.

Access

Custody is often confused with access. Access is also called to as “parenting-time” and refers to the physical time parents spend with their children. Access can be a fixed schedule or a flexible schedule. A typical access schedule is where the children primarily reside with one parent and the other parent has access to the children on alternate weekends or during the week. Often, holidays and other special events are shared between the parents.

Access can be supervised or unsupervised. Commonly access is unsupervised, meaning there is no third-party present during the time the access parent and the child are together. While many factors are considered when determining an access schedule, the best interests of the child is always the most predominant consideration.

Contact us for an initial consultation.

If you require legal advice, please request an initial consultation with Gilbertson Davis LLP using the Request Consultation Form on this webpage or by contacting our Intake Coordinator on (416) 979-2020, ext. 223 (both subject to the Terms of Use described on our Contact page).

Please contact Gilbertson Davis LLP to arrange an initial consultation.

This page contains general legal information only and should not be construed or relied upon as legal advice for your unique situation. If you require legal advice, please request an initial consultation with Gilbertson Davis LLP using the Request Consultation Form on this webpage or by contacting our Intake Coordinator on (416) 979-2020, ext. 223 (both subject to the Terms of Use described on our Contact page).