On behalf of Gary Kirk of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Family Law on Tuesday, February 5, 2019.
The definition of family has changed over the past few decades. But whatever that means for people, Canada still has family law rules in place that govern the family dynamic. In recent years, the polyamorous lifestyle has been gaining in popularity, but what does that actually mean for people — especially children. What does it mean for family law in general?
Polyamory is when people have intimate relationships with more than one partner with the consent of all partners involved. A recent decision coming out of one Canadian province gave three adults in a polyamorous relationship legal status to all to parent their child together. That ruling was a first in the country and may very well have set a family law precedent for new types of families. In making his decision, the judge recognized that the child had more than two parents, which is a point legislation has failed to take into consideration.
The judge actually indicated that in this case, it may be good for the child to have more than two parents as long as the relationship between the individuals is loving and caring. In this case, too, the child’s home life was found to be stable. The judge decided that it was in the best interest of the child to grant parental status to the two men in the family and the child’s mother — who already had legal parent status.
Issues regarding family law are forever changing. It can be difficult to keep up with the laws and cases that affect families. A lawyer in Canada is a first go-to to get clarification regarding family law issues than may be confounding or complex.
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