Over my nearly 30 years of practicing law, I have seen tens of thousands of clients, and I have heard all of their stories, their sorrows, their hopes/dreams, and their lived experiences. It can be exceedingly difficult to hear, but my role is to listen, to advise and to represent them. As challenging as it [...]
One of the services I provide to clients is to assist them in estate administration duties. It is a natural complement to my POA and wills preparation services. When a person dies, the estate administration process ensures that the will is validated and the will is followed by the person (or persons) named to look [...]
Introduction As the summer of 2022 comes to an end, the courts are slowly but surely returning to some sense of normalcy that existed pre-pandemic. One of the indicators of this return to normalcy is the return of, and the recent expansion of, the Dispute Resolution Officer (DRO) Program. Although it is not yet available [...]
It is often said that “family is everything,” and that no one will love you and care for you like your family. This is very true when you are facing the possibility of having your child/children be apprehended by a child protection agency, but instead will allow your child/children to be cared for by one [...]
There is a famous quote from Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher, which says “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” How profound. But I would bet that he did not have to deal with former/ex-partners or spouses who were reticent or conflictual in allowing him to go on a journey [...]
IntroductionAs May turns to June in the year 2022, the “wedding season” is upon us, and with this year being the first year where Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted to allow for general attendance as in pre-Covid years, the invitations are starting to trickle in. In the past, when I would go to weddings, people [...]
As we shed the winter blanket and invite spring back into our lives, people tend to go out, socialize more, relax and have fun. With the better weather upon us, sadly, in family law, we generally see an uptick in work at this time of the year. Conflicts in relationships arise at all times of [...]
After more than three years of writing blogs, you will note that I am not a big fan of taking matters to trial in family law or child protection cases. So are most lawyers practicing in these areas of law. Only about 3 to 5 % of cases ever reach the trial stage. [...]
Introduction As the world watches the terror unfold in the Ukraine, our hearts ache for those brave citizens who remain in the homeland to fight against the tyranny of evil of the Russian invasion. It is a sad but realistic expectation that some of them will not survive the conflict. This is all too [...]
As the clock struck midnight on a new year, I reflected on that year that was and the hope that a new year always seems to bring. It sparked an idea for a blog, but given the moment, I waited until now to expand on that sparkling thought – I’m sure my wife would [...]
