Preface

• Author: Julien D. Payne/Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 15-16

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Preface

This book seeks to inform the reader of their basic rights and obligations

under Canadian family law. Much of the analysis, albeit in much abbreviated

form, owes its origin to Payne and Payne, Canadian Family Law, the ninth

edition of which was published by Irwin Law in 2022. With the generous

co-operation of Glen Cheriton, this current Basic Guide to Canadian Family

Law reproduces extracts from the Divorce Guide for Canadians, which was

published by Commoners’ Publishing in 2015. Since that time, substantial

amendments to the Divorce Act have been implemented, which are mir-

rored in provincial and territorial legislation. The most important of these

amendments relate specically to parenting arrangements, a subject that is

examined in some detail in Chapter 8 of this guide. There are signicant

dierences, however, between this guide and the aforementioned books.

First, compared to the 900-page edition of Canadian Family Law, the cur-

rent basic guide avoids a detailed discussion of court judgments. Instead, it

focuses on referring the reader to online resources on the internet. Second,

compared to the Divorce Guide for Canadians, the current guide is much

broader in scope in that it covers many aspects of Canadian family law that

are unrelated to divorce.

It is appropriate in this preface to indicate the readership that the auth-

ors have in mind. The Basic Guide to Canadian Family Law has been written

for the average Canadian as distinct from judges, lawyers, mediators, and

others who engage in family dispute resolution. It will be of special interest

to Canadians who are contemplating separation or divorce but wish to obtain