Child Custody

The final terms of the divorce, including child custody and visitation arrangements, significantly affect the lives of all parties involved, including the children. In a divorce in Alberta, all the child-related matters shall be solved under both the federal Divorce Act and the Alberta Family Law Act.

There are two main types of child custody: joint custody and sole custody.

Joint custody means that both parents would like to and are capable of taking care of the child and acting in the child's best interest. It's worth noting that joint custody does not imply equally divided parenting time. For example, one parent may provide a home for the child, while the other has alternate weekends or visitation hours, but they have equal decision-making authority. This type of arrangement is the most common in Alberta.

On the contrary, sole custody means that one of the parents makes all of the decisions about the child. Nevertheless, in most cases, the second parent can still have access to and spend some time with the child, according to the agreed visitation schedule. A sole custody arrangement may be either ordered by the court or chosen by the spouses themselves.

Before the final judgment in the court, the parties shall sign a Settlement of Child Custody, which contains the schedule for visitation, the amount of financial support of a child, etc.

The judge will review the spouses' agreement or if the parties fail to agree, make a decision based on the following factors:

• the child's physical, psychological and emotional needs;
• the child's age;
• the child's heritage (language, culture, and religion);
• the relationship between the child and each parent;
• the parents' preferences;
• each parent's ability to care for the child;
• each parent's ability to cooperate with the other and encourage the communication of the child with the other parent;
• any history of family violence;
• and other factors that may deem fair.