A British Columbia family court judge has ruled that one divorced couple needs to move on with a new judge. It seems the parents ended up back in court in 2013 to address the father’s wish to have the parenting time order modified. The order originally granted the mother the bulk of the time, and the father was asking for a more equal time split. However, this quickly went downhill with the parties criticizing the other’s parenting style and using manipulative and bullying tactics to try to get their way.

In the ruling, the judge indicated that he was a “known quantity” and that the progress of the proceedings had largely stalled because of this. In effect, the judge was saying that the situation was so high conflict and the two parties were locked against each other that it may take an entirely new judge to get the parties to pause and reevaluate their positions.

So what you can we learn from this example? The first takeaway is to do your best to make the divorce — and any proceedings that take place after the final decree — as low conflict as possible. Doing so will save both you, your ex and your children a great deal of stress and emotional upheaval.

The second is that sometimes those going through a divorce are too involved in the situation to recognize when things are getting out of control. Having a lawyer help you through the process can be a good way to have an objective third-party ensure you are focusing on resolving issues.

Source: CBC News, “Judge breaks up with couple in high conflict divorce,” Jason Proctor, July 17, 2016

Coquitlam Family Lawyer

Laughlin & Company Lawyers Mediators
2755 Lougheed Hwy #710, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y9
(604) 945-4370
www.laughlinlaw.ca