Conference Materials, International Invitational Conference on Matrimonial and Child Support, 27-30 May 1981, Research Paper 14

This report is a summary of a conference held to discuss the results of Research Paper #13, Matrimonial Support Failures: Reasons, Profiles and Perceptions of Individuals Involved. The report includes four speeches given at that conference, viz.: "Paying of Maintenance in Sweden," by Anders Agell; "Matrimonial Support Failures: Reasons, Profiles, and Perceptions of Individuals Involved, a Commentary," by Judith Cassetty; "Maintenance in Britain," by Colin Gibson; and "The Economics of Divorce: Social and Economic Consequences [...]

By |2021-02-08T13:50:18-07:00October 3rd, 1982|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Survey of Adult Living Arrangements: A Technical Report, Research Paper 15

This paper is a survey of issues related to couples living together outside of marriage. It addresses the attitudes of non-maritally cohabitants toward relevant legal issues, the reasons that the couples chose to nonmaritally cohabitate, and the reasons that they chose to continue living that way. The survey also addresses the socio-economic characteristics of non-married and married cohabitants, as well as the characteristics of their family life.

By |2021-02-08T13:42:39-07:00November 3rd, 1984|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Court-Connected Family Mediation Programs in Canada, Research Paper 20

This paper addresses the use of (non-litigated) mediation as an adjunct to litigation within the court system. The paper surveys: the mediation process (as it was at the time of publication), with a discussion of its advantages and disadvantages compared to litigation; the different mediation programs available (at the time of publication); descriptions of child-protection mediation programs released immediately prior to publication in British Columbia and Nova Scotia; and the empirical effectiveness of mediation programs [...]

By |2021-02-08T13:55:14-07:00May 3rd, 1994|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Recognition of Rights and Obligations in Same Sex Relationships, Research Paper 21

In 1999, in M. v. H. (1999), 171 DLR (4th) 577 (SCC), the Supreme Court of Canada determined that any legislation which provided access to court-enforced spousal support rights to opposite-sex unmarried couples, while denying that access to equivalent same-sex couples, was unconstitutional (in that it violated s 15(1) of the Charter and was not saved by s 1) This paper surveys Alberta legislation current to the time of publication, and determines there are several points on inconsistency between [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:13-06:00January 3rd, 2002|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Matrimonial Property Act: Valuation Date, Report for Discussion 25

The Matrimonial Property Act was enacted in 1978 and provides a method of sharing matrimonial property between spouses on marriage breakdown. What property is available for sharing and how is it valued? Since 2005, the law applied by the courts is that the property must be valued at trial. In reviewing Alberta cases since 2009, this date is problematic. It is an uncertain future date, assumes spouses will litigate to trial, and discourages earlier party driven settlements. [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:27-06:00November 2nd, 2014|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Succession and Posthumously Conceived Children, Report for Discussion 23

This report discusses the position of posthumously conceived children under the law of succession in Alberta and outlines some possible options for reform. It is unlikely that parentage can be established for posthumously conceived children under Alberta`s Family Law Act, and therefore the link for inheritance purposes is missing. Even if parentage could be established, the fact that reproduction occurs sometime after the death of one of the parents brings in other factors affecting whether and [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:41-06:00February 2nd, 2012|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Family Law v. 18.4–Child Guardianship, Custody and Access, Report for Discussion 18.4

As addressed in the other reports in this series, Alberta law relating to the care of children (at the time of this report's publication) included a variety of statutory provisions that were out-dated, inconsistent, and/or had uncertain scope. For this reason, this report begins from a "clean slate" in trying to define (i) child guardianship, (ii) custody, and (iii) access, and to determine how these issues can be decided in order to protect the best [...]

By |2022-09-26T13:36:38-06:00October 2nd, 1998|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Family Law v. 18.3–Child Support, Report for Discussion 18.3

This report was written to address five concerns about child support law at the time of its publication, viz.: the inadequacy of child support awarded; inconsistency of award between similar families; inefficiency in assessment; inequality based on "legitimacy" of birth; and unaddressed complexities based on the inter-relation between spousal support, custody of children, and child support. This report expounds recommendations for a new approach to child support, which is meant to foster equality for all [...]

By |2022-09-26T13:35:17-06:00October 2nd, 1998|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Family Law v. 18.2–Spousal Support, Report for Discussion 18.2

At the time of publication, Alberta's law relating to spousal support after a divorce was unique in Canada, in that it incorporated the "fault doctrine." This doctrine holds that in order to obtain support, a spouse must prove that he or she is the "innocent party" in the divorce (i.e., not responsible for the marriage breakdown), and that the other spouse is culpable (i.e., responsible for the marriage breakdown). This report suggests the elimination of [...]

By |2022-09-26T13:34:06-06:00October 2nd, 1998|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Family Law v. 18.1–Overview, Report for Discussion 18.1

This report presents the criticisms of Family Law (as it stood at the time of publication) that led to the initiation of the Family Law project by the ALRI. Chief among these criticisms: much of Alberta family law is outdated; family Law is split up among several different pieces of legislation; different parts of Alberta family law are not consistent with each other; family law is controlled by numerous different bodies, with no central authority. [...]

By |2022-09-26T13:31:56-06:00October 2nd, 1998|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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