18. Hearing the Voice of the Child in Custody/Access Cases

Hearing the Voice of the Child in Custody/Access Cases

One of the hottest topics in Family Law and Divorce Law is how to hear what the children want.  Ontario Family Law says that children must be heard in proceedings that affect them. This episode of the Family Law Podcast was recorded live at lecture that John Schuman gave to a group of legal professionals on how to give children a voice in child custody and access proceedings.  John goes over the latest research on whether children should be heard in those cases, and if, so what role they should play.  He then, discusses in detail, the various ways that a judge, family arbitrator or mediator can hear from the child.  This podcast also gives the legal authority for each of those methods for hearing the child’s views and preferences and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each.  It explains when putting a child’s voice before a court is a good idea, and when it may get a parent into trouble.