Ontario couples must attend information session before divorce- The Globe and Mail

From The Globe and Mail article by Mark Brownlee:

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Starting Monday, every Ontario couple hoping to end their marriage will have to attend an information session on alternatives to going to court before getting a divorce.
The new rules will help alleviate some of the pressure on Ontario's family court system and will save those hoping to get divorced time and money, said Chris Bentley, the province's attorney general.
 “Going to court and having a court battle in family proceedings can be enormously costly, take a lot of time and probably most significantly be very emotionally damaging to children and to the two individuals,” he said.
Couples will have to attend the information session before they can file a divorce case in court.

If they still insist on going to court after that, they will then be given the option to attend a mediation session organized by the attorney general's office to try settling their differences.
Couples will now be able to attend the mediation session at any family court across the province for free. They would have needed to pay it for themselves before the changes were introduced.
Despite the two-step process, some in the legal community think the initiative isn't as effective as it could be.
Judith Huddart, a family lawyer and president of the Ontario Collaborative Law Federation, said the sessions don't advise those considering divorce about their options early enough in the process.
“I know how frustrating it can be for people to be told that they have other options after they've already hired a lawyer and started forward in a litigation route,” she said.
While Ms. Huddart supports making the program mandatory at all courts, she said providing more information for couples when they are first thinking about divorce would be an even more effective way to get the cases out of provincial courtrooms.
The new program will only reach those who have begun the process of going to court, she said.
Ms. Huddart estimated just getting to a first court hearing will often cost around $5,000 in lawyer's fees.
The province has been trying to fix that pricey problem by making more information about alternatives to divorce proceedings available online, said Mr. Bentley.
He added that he doesn't expect the new program will save his office or the courts any money.
The program is directed specifically towards saving time and legal fees for couples hoping to get divorced, he said – although he hasn't been able to quantify those savings yet.
The attorney general's office will spend an extra $5.3-million a year making the program mandatory at all courts, bringing the total cost of the initiative to $8-million a year.
Those extra costs did not come from any additional funding from the provincial government, Mr. Bentley said. His office was able to redirect money from finding efficiencies in the other areas for which his office is responsible.

The Canadian Press

Guerrero Law's Toronto office now open!

We are pleased to announce that our Toronto office is now officially open. Our team continues to expand in order to better serve our clientele.

Guerrero Law staff in the Toronto office specialise in Personal Injury cases, however, we continue to serve all of our clients' needs and are able to accommodate matters regarding Family and Real Estate as well, therefore do not hesitate to contact our office, as we are here to help you.

We welcome staff members who are able to work with the Tamil speaking community in order to better serve you.

Before opening for business, we were honoured to have a puja performed in order to bless the new location and its staff members.

Offerings of prayer.

Getting comfortable in his new digs.

 

Guerrero Law Toronto Office Address:

31 Progress Avenue, Suite 202

Toronto, ON M1P 2S6

Guerrero Law Toronto Office Phone Number: 

(416) 297-0205

Mastercard commercial

This is somewhat out of character, however this video caught our interest, because of the Spanish of course!


We sat mesmerized, not knowing what the commercial was for. We threw out a string of guesses, and were then surprised to see that it was for Mastercard!


For those who haven't seen this, check it out.

New Mortgage Rules

Changes to the rules for mortgage lending received a lot of press in the past week. However, these changes won't affect most borrowers significantly.
The March 18, 2011 changes are really phase three of a gradual return to what I would call normal mortgage lending rules. In the “old days” - like 10 years ago - home buyers needed a minimum 10% down payment, they needed to pay for CMHC mortgage insurance in order to protect their lender if they had a down payment smaller than 25%, and they had to pay off the mortgage within 25 years. Even after the most recent changes, a home can be purchased with 5% down and paid for over 30 years. No wise person would amortize over more than 30 years, but you can still do that if you have made more than 20% as a down payment. If you are refinancing an existing home, you can still borrow up to 85% of its value, although down from the previous 90%. The third change – effective April 18, 2011 - is going to make lenders more cautious, because it removes the government insurance protection on home equity-backed lines of credit. These have been a fabulous business building tool for banks and credit unions, as well as a convenience for homeowners. This change simply means that the bank or credit union will have to be more careful to make sure you can repay them, because CMHC is no longer guaranteeing it.


as reported in The Viewpoint of the Clearsight Investment Program

Have you considered mediation?

Services are provided on-site at some family courts, otherwise sessions take place at the mediator's office.


Family mediation services are available to you to help you resolve child custody and access, child and spousal support, and division of property issues. Some family mediators can also help with child protection disputes, although these mediators require additional qualifications.


Contact Guerrero Law if you would like to find out more about mediation.

This week's comic relief

¿Qué sabes de derecho familiar en Ontario?

  Lo que usted debe saber sobre derecho de familia en Ontario

Aquí encontrará mucha información para ayudarte con el tema de derecho de familia en nuestra provincia.

This week's comic relief

Don't procrastinate, making a will is very important

We've all thought about, but do we actually go out and do it?



Toronto Star article  

Happy New Year! ¡Prospero Año Nuevo!

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

Warm holiday greetings to everyone!

How can we go back to work when there are so many sweets to eat?

Just a sample of some of the goodies we have been busy making and eating.

Hard at work...

Some of our "office supplies".

C is for cookies and Christmas!

This post is brought to you by the letter

The cookie making season is upon us and Guerrero Law is not one to fall behind. The office will soon be full of plates of cookies to share with those around us. Why hog all the calories?!

Take a look at what's happening so far...

Baby Guerrero eating the apron instead of just wearing it.

Can you guess what kind of cookies we're making?

The base of each one of our creations.

We'll start with these as they are the easiest.

Second will be these, but I think we'll have to make double the amount since they are gobbled up quickly!

For now we'll only make 3 kinds so this will be the last.

Cakes will follow another day. One can only handle so much baking (and sampling) in one day!

Who said lawyers are boring?

A Canadian Law Firm First!

 Click here to view the flash mob.

Yesterday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., a group made primarily of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) articling students, and a few partners, associates and staff, performed a Flash Mob dance at the Commerce Court food court to the song "I’ve Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas!
A flash mob is defined by Wikipedia as "a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse." And that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 in downtown Toronto.
The 48 dancers have been practising for weeks! At first people didn’t know what to make of the sudden music and movement, but as more Blakes dancers put on their red baseball caps and joined in, people got into the spirit of the season and many onlookers started to dance too.
The Blakes articling students first performed their dance at the Firm’s office party in Toronto on December 2, 2010. It was such a success, they decided to spread the cheer and perform it for a second time in public.
"We just wanted to have some fun," said Kari Abrams, Director of Student Recruitment & Development at the law firm. "Everybody has been working so hard, it was really great to be part of something so creative and make people smile."


Click here to view the flash mob.

Families Will Benefit From Justice Improvements

December 9, 2010 9:30 AM

McGuinty Government Making Legal System More Affordable And Straightforward

Affordable, faster and less confrontational — that's the new direction for family law in Ontario.

By next summer, families across the province will have access to improved services through Ontario's courts.

Ontario is increasing access to justice by expanding valuable services to all court locations. Families will soon have access to:

• The Mandatory Information Program that offers more options for families experiencing breakdown and helps them learn about the effects of separation and divorce.
• The Family Mediation Service that helps families identify challenges and work out solutions outside the courtroom, which saves parents money.
• Information and Referral Coordinators who will refer families to community agencies that can help them resolve challenges earlier and at less cost.

The new approach to settling family disputes will help more Ontario families avoid the courtroom in favour of an early, affordable, out-of-court resolution.

This is part of the government's Open Ontario plan to make the family justice system more straightforward, focused and affordable, and to provide accessible and consistent family justice services for all Ontarians.

QUICK FACTS

• The Mandatory Information Program was piloted in Milton, Brampton and Toronto and will be available in 17 additional courts by April 2011 and the remainder of the courts by summer 2011.
• The Family Mediation Service and Information and Referral Coordinators are currently available in 17 Family Courts locations and will be made available in the remainder of Ontario's courts by summer 2011.
• Approximately 160,000 people use Ontario's family courts each year.

Link to Ministry of Attorney General website

Successful workshop

Thank you to Elizabeth Espinoza and the Catholic Cross Cultural Services in Mississauga for hosting an excellent workshop in support of local Hispanic women. Guerrero Law is proud to have been asked to present a session on Family Law and looks forward to working with this association again in the future to help the local community have a better understanding of their rights and what assistance is available to them.

We are very pleased with all of the questions the participants had; the workshop was interactive, informative (according to the participants!) and an overall success.

Guerrero Law visits Remax agent Vicky Chiappari at Pumpkin Day

Free pumpkins, colouring activities, face painting and munchies! What more could you want on a Saturday afternoon in October?
Thanks to Remax agent Vicky Chiappari for a wonderful afternoon.