The presence of family violence is an important consideration in determining the best interests of children in parenting applications. Commonly, where one party alleges family violence, the other party denies it occurred. Even when it is accepted that it has occurred, the nature and severity of the family violence will affect the specific outcome (i.e. the terms of the parenting order). Ideally, a court would make a determination about family violence following a trial where both parties present their best evidence, including expert evidence pursuant to a Family Law Practice Note 7 or 8.  

However, most family law application are dealt with in Regular or Special Family Chambers, because an interim order is required and/or because the parties cannot afford a full trial or expert evidence. How then, can a family lawyer best make their client’s case regarding the presence of family violence in Chambers? What procedural steps must a lawyer be aware of in Alberta? What legal principles apply? What is the most recent caselaw on this issue? These presentations answer those questions and engage in thoughtful discussions about how to address family violence in chambers. 

These on-demand programs were originally presented as an in-person program on November 25, 2022.

The total running time for each presentation ranges between 37 minutes to 1 hour, 20 minutes.

Chair

Sarah Dargatz, Latitude Family Law LLP

Presenters

Ryan D Anderson KC, Huckvale LLP 

Jessica Chapman, Legal Aid Alberta 

Michael W Jones, Stringam LLP 

Crystal Lawrence, Lawrence & Tkachuk (Materials only)

Sonja Lusignan, Calgary Family Law Associates