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Donald v. Leyton - Responsible Lifestyles and Ontario Child Custody Law

David Donald of Hamilton, Ontario, and Paola Leyton of Santiago, Chile, were married in Chile in 2002 and moved to Ontario with her mother in 2005. The couple subsequently birthed a child. In 2006, Leyton and her mother took the child out of the Donald-Leyton household and didn't leave an address of where they were staying. Leyton claimed Donald had become an alcoholic and had sexually assaulted them.

The Court in Donald v. Leyton determined that the allegations by Leyton were exaggerated and that she herself had shown violent behavior toward Donald. Donald was granted sole custody of the child with maternal access on alternating weekends and one evening per week. The Court determined that Donald's family was tightly-knit and that he was employed with the same corporation for more than two decades. Therefore, the Court ruled that the child would have a more stable life living with Donald and felt that it was in the best interests of the child to reside with Donald.

Ontario Child Custody Law

Parties involved with Ontario child custody claims should contact qualified Ontario child custody law lawyers to assist with their cases. Child custody rules are complex and are determined based on the courts interpretation of what is in the best interests of the child.

In order to determine the best interests of the child, the Court considers a non-exhaustive list of elements that examine the family's life to help determine what actions will be in the best interest of the children. A few main areas that are examined are below:

  • Current parenting conditions
  • Parental employment, health and quality of life
  • Parental maturity and responsibility
  • The path of least disruption
  • Willingness of parents to cooperate with one another

The Divorce Act

The Divorce Act allows the Court to grant parents joint custody, in which both parents are granted custody of the children by the court. Joint custody is a popular parenting method by courts. The court may also grant parents shared time (which means that each parent has the child for at least 40% of the time), which includes the sharing of the number of weeks, weekends and holidays. If a court grants parents joint custody, they may still not be granted shared time.

However, custody can be granted to one parent, and access can be granted to the other parent. Sole Custody empowers the custodial parent to make decisions regarding the children without the consent of the other parent. The other parent can be awarded parental access. This access can mean a set number of nights and weekends each month in addition to scheduled holidays.