Legal Question in Family Law in Canada
Mother moving out of province with children
My ex wife is considering taking my son from Ontario to Vancouver and leaving my daughter with me in Ontario. My Daughter is 13 and wants to stay my son is 8. My ex is moving because of a job opportunity. Do I have any rights as a father to keep my son here in Ontario?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Mother moving out of province with children
We can only answer this question from a B.C. perspective as that is the Province in which our firm practices and is licenced. You have not stated if there is an order for custody in existence, and assume that if there was one, you would have so stated, as this is a very important factor. Therefore, we are assuming that there is no Order for custody now in existence or if there is one, you ahve custody. If this assumption is not correct, then this answer is not correct. We assume that you and your ex-wife are sharing custody of the children at the present. It would be unusual for a court to order a 13 year old to move if she did not want to, assuming she is of normal maturity for her age. It would be unusual for the court to split up the siblings, although your son's wioshes at 8 years old will not carry as much weight as they would if he were a few years older. The bottom line is that you can insist on the children staying with you, assuming they both wish to when move time comes, unless your ex wife goes to court to obtain an order that they move.