On March 1, 2021, ammendments were made to the Divorce Act whereby parties are encouraged to resolve matters through a family dispute resolution process. Furthermore, legal advisers now also have a duty to encourage parties to resolve matters through a family dispute resolution process:
Subsection 7.3 of the Divorce Act now states;
To the extent that it is appropriate to do so, the parties to a proceeding shall try to resolve the matters that may be the subject of an order under this Act through a family dispute resolution process.
Furthermore, subsection 7.7 (2)(a) of the Divorce Act now states; It is also the duty of every legal advisor who undertakes to act on a person’s behalf in any proceeding under this Act (a) to encourage the person to attempt to resolve the matters that may be the subject of an order under this Act through a family dispute resolution process, unless the circumstances of the case are of such a nature that it would clearly not be appropriate to do so;
For more information on how changes to the Divorce Act might affect you contact Amanda Silver