Christie/Cummings Barristers & Solicitors

03/02/2023

“Gap years” between high school and post-secondary and the general transition from dependent child to independent adult pose a number of challenges for parents trying to understand child support obligations for kids over the age of 18. In the case of Edwards v. Edwards https://canlii.ca/t/jdj0 , Justice Charney writes a helpful decision on the factors considered by the court when deciding whether child support should end for two children over the age of 18 who have each taken gap years, re-enrolled in post-secondary, but not settled into consistent, full-time attendance.

12/04/2020

We are currently seeking a full-time Real Estate Clerk to join our practice. The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated and energetic professional who is eager to expand his or her skills and work with a dedicated group of lawyers.

Applicants are required to have a minimum of 3 years of experience as a real estate clerk.

This is an excellent opportunity to join an expanding firm in our four seasons resort community.

Please forward your resume and cover letter by e-mail to [email protected]

03/26/2020

Legal services continue to be needed and offered during this difficult time. Christie/Cummings lawyer Jason Murphy discusses how the firm is adapting services during the Covid 19 crisis.

Jason Murphy-Cummings Barristers and Solicitors -Legal activity during COVID 19

03/25/2020

Please note the following information from Legal Aid Ontario

Changes to summary legal advice services at Legal Aid Ontario due to COVID-19 pandemic

Published: March 24, 2020

As part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is working to offer more resources to clients through the telephone and online.

Effective March 24, LAO is making the following changes to our summary legal advice services across the province:

Clients who would have received in-person legal aid services through the Family Law Information Centres will be able to get help from LAO over the phone by calling 1‑800‑668‑8258.

Clients can also receive over-the-phone summary legal advice services for criminal matters by calling 1‑800‑668‑8258.

More family staff lawyers are being added to increase capacity.

During this time, LAO will waive financial eligibility requirements for summary legal advice. Legal eligibility requirements remain in place.

LAO will ensure service level of having a family or criminal staff lawyer respond to an inquiry within 48 hours or less.

These changes will start to take effect until further notice, and will be fully implemented by Friday, March 27, 2020. For more information contact:

Graeme Burk
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Legal Aid Ontario
[email protected]

03/18/2020

Simcoe Muskoka Child Youth and Family Services will be closing its offices as of Thursday, March 19 (review on April 6). Their message on ongoing service provision is attached below:

We have made the decision to close all of our offices to the public as of Thursday, March 19. This date was chosen to provide time for staff to collect any necessary items and make changes to access or other meetings while responding to recommendations from the government to reduce the spread of infection. This will be in effect until April 6, with a review of this date as further information becomes available.

Changes to Access:
As of Thursday, March 19, we will be stopping all face to face access visits while promoting on-going contact with families and children via other means. Workers are asked to coordinate with families to continue to provide access in alternative formats.

03/16/2020

For the safety of our valued clients and staff, we are implementing the following short term measures to reduce the risk posed by the Covid 19 virus.

Our office is open and we continue to serve our clients. We are closely monitoring the situation and are following best practices recommended by local and international authorities. We have the ability to work remotely should we need to.

Until further notice, we are limiting client meetings at our office to those that are urgent or absolutely necessary. All other meetings are being converted to telephone and video-conference.

If you have a meeting scheduled with us already, and you have not yet been contacted, we will be in touch with you to advise how your meeting will proceed.

If you wish to have a meeting with one of our lawyers or staff, you may telephone us and book one. We will determine the format (in-person, phone or video-conference) when we speak with you.

If you do attend at our office, please follow the health and safety protocols posted on our front door.

We thank you for your patience during this difficult time. We will work through it together.

02/18/2020

Another great day on the slopes! Thanks to all who came out to support our great hospital and staff!

Collingwood General and Marine Hospital Foundation

Read the full story and comment on CollingwoodToday.

09/03/2019

An interesting decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal in the fields of family law and reproductive rights.

S.H. v. D.H. is the first such case to be decided in which neither party - a divorced couple - had a genetic connection to the embryo

06/21/2019

By some estimates, 60% to 70% of litigants in family court proceedings are self-represented. While some "self-reps" have no choice but to represent themselves, those who chose to do so for strategic reasons, such as delaying the process, can face a heavy costs penalty if their behaviour is found to be unreasonable. This article provides a good overview of some of the challenges and controversies pertaining to self-represented litigants in our judicial system.

Self-represented litigants are typically able to expect some flexibility from the judicial process, but there are risks when they try to manage a case without a lawyer, illustrated by a significant costs award in a recent family law case, some lawyers say.