Vancouver and Edmonton Family Law Blog

The laws of Alberta and other provinces recognize the duty of parents to support and provide for their children. Whether you and the other parent were married or never even lived together, you are both responsible to provide the child with the financial support that allows the child to maintain a standard of living comparable to that he or she would enjoy if both parents were in the home.

It is possible that you and your ex-partner worked out an agreement for support payments. However, unless the agreement is in writing, you may have little legal ground to stand on if a dispute arises. On the other hand, if you have a court approved support agreement, you may be wondering if you would ever have the right to change the amount of support.

There are certain instances when two separate entities under the law converge. Such might be the case when it comes to family law and estate planning law in British Columbia. In some cases, business owners may put an estate freeze on their estates and depending upon how this is set up, this could affect family law in the province. Estate freezes usually make it possible to exchange shares in a business that could appreciate in value with those that are fixed.

An estate freeze can be helpful for a business owner to defer taxes if he or she has a number of shares in a business. Family law comes into play should an estate freeze be in effect if a couple's marriage breaks down. It may make things complicated when it comes to the sharing of assets upon the dissolution of a marriage or relationship. If some of those shares were gifted to an estranged partner, many complexities can kick in and legal advice is crucial for both sides.