March 22, 2021
With the amendments to the Divorce Act, we have made some changes to the legal issues that will be listed on your certificate for divorce matters:
Instead of “Custody and/or Access” it will be Divorce re: parenting
“Divorce re: contact” will be added in the near future as a legal issue, for third party applications under the Divorce Act, such as grandparents. Your certificate in these situations will initially still be a Claim for Contact under the FLA, however if you determine that the application should be made under the divorce proceedings instead, as long as you submit an authorization request within 30 days of accepting the certificate, we will amend your certificate to Divorce Re: contact. The client will not be required to apply again to LAA.
ISO’s as applicant
Given the amendments to the Divorce Act, applications can now be made for a variation of the divorce judgment, even if it was granted in another province. We will be re-naming the ISO legal issue for applicants to “Vary Out of Province Support Order”. You will be free to choose whether to proceed under the Divorce Act or the ISO process.
ISO’s as respondent
If the opposing party files an application to vary the divorce judgment from Alberta in another province, and the client is opposed, the client will need to file a Request to Convert on their own, or apply to legal aid in the other province to respond to the application in the other province. Please note that we do not provide coverage for clients if the ISO proceeding is in Alberta, as Alberta Justice lawyers handle these matters and therefore can assist the client as a “friend of the court”.
