Legal Question in Family Law in Canada

Re: Joint Custody

This question is far too broad to answer; each case is unique and will be decided by the British Columbia Courts on the facts peculiar to the particular case; some but not all of the factors are (1) has the custodial parent carried out her duty to ensure the children have contact with theother parent to the best of her ability,or has she turned the children against him (2) what is the reason for the move - i.e. is it a somple desire to be with family in older familiar surroundings, what is the custodial parent's employment situation presently and what will it be in the home town ( and many more reasons); (3)do the children have friends in the parent's hometown (4)the ages and health of the children (5)how will the childrensest interests be served by moving (6) is the interest in moving primarily for the parent's own desire or primarily to benefit the children and how - i.e. better educational opportunities (7) is the custodial parent prepared to pay for the children to travel back for visits to the other parent or for theparent to visit in the new location (air, hotel, meals, etc); and is the custodial parent prepared to accept less child support so as to enable the other parent to afford to travel to see the children (8) has there been a material change int he circumstances of the children or of either parent that makes the original agreement not such a good idea any more in light of the changed circumstances.

These are only some of the numerous factors that can come into play. The questioner should consult a lawyer. The B.C. Branch of the Canadian bar Assoc. will provide a low-cost referral to a lawyer in B.C. for an initial consultation. Their number can be found in the Telus Phone book under "lawyers".