Volume 18, Number 1, 2001
Article
- The Child Support Obligation of Step-Parents - Carol Rogerson
The child support obligation of step-parents has recently emerged as a significant issue in child support law in Canada, both for legal practitioners and government policy makers. The promises of predictability and consistency which heralded the introduction of child support guidelines have not been realized in this area. Since the introduction of the guidelines in May of 1997, there have been a significant number of litigated cases dealing with issues relating to step-parent liability for support. Practitioners dealing with such cases are faced with an uncertain and unpredictable body of case law, but one which raises the possibility, depending upon the discretion of the court and the circumstances of the case, of the imposition of fairly extensive financial obligations upon step-parents. For policy makers in government, the uncertainty and inconsistency in this area of law reflects, in part, the pull of conflicting value judgments and policy choices about the nature and social role of step-families and indicates the need for further policy clarification.
Case Comments
- Recognizing a Fundamental Change: A Comment on Walsh, the Charter, and the Definition of Spouse - Onofrio Ferlisi
- Simon v. Simon and Penner v. Penner - Sarah Buhler
Book Review
- Connie J.A. Beck and Bruce D. Sales, Family Mediation: Facts, Myths and Future Prospects. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001). - Sharon Sutherland