CLE Online

Thursday, July 4
Welcome and Introduction

James A.W. Schuman, QC — Schuman Basran Robin & Bell, Vancouver
Jeffrey A. Rose, QC — Jeffrey A. Rose, QC, Vancouver
Nikki L. Charlton — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver

Opening Comments

The Honourable Marshall Rothstein, CC, QC — Osler, Vancouver

Estate and Trust Law Update for Family Practitioners

• definition of “spouse” for purposes of WESA
• treatment of discretionary trust interests on separation
• interplay of spousal rights under the FLA and WESA (Gibbons v. Livingston)
• gifts, inheritances and trust interests in the context of ss. 83 84 and 85 of the FLA
• contracting out of will variation legislation — s. 60 of WESA
  
  Lauren Blake — Legacy Tax + Trusts Lawyers, Vancouver
  Carmen S. Thériault, QC — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver

Break

Pension Division: Recent Case Law and Best Practices

• discussion of recent BC pension division decisions
• pension traps and how to avoid them
• best practices in client/file management
  
  Colin Galinski — Galinski Pension and Benefits Law Corporation, Vancouver

Family Maintenance Enforcement Program ("FMEP") and Enforcement of Support

• overview of the FMEP
• enforcement topics and how to address with FMEP
• tips for enforcement friendly orders
  
  Angela M. Accettura — Director of Legal Services, Family Maintenance Enforcement Program, Burnaby
  Joanne Platt — Family Maintenance Enforcement Program, Victoria

Networking Lunch (provided)

Excluded Property—Arguments For and Against

• does the FLA’s excluded property regime result in greater consistency and predictability?
• does the current standard for the evidence required to prove excluded property strike a reasonable balance between the parties?
• should any presumption apply to transfers from one spouse to joint names?
• when will a court divide excluded property?
  
  Scott L. Booth — Jenkins Marzban Logan LLP, Vancouver
  Beatrice C. McCutcheon — Cook Roberts LLP, Victoria

Break

Arbitration on Speed

• history
• benefits and challenges of arbitration
• forms of arbitration
  
  Karen F. Nordlinger, QC — Aaron Gordon Daykin Nordlinger LLP, Vancouver

Ethics Panel: Effective Negotiation Without Selling Your Soul

• disclosure
• puffery
• mistake
  
  Diane M. Bell, QC — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
  Eli C. Walker — Aaron Gordon Daykin Nordlinger LLP, Vancouver

Friday, July 5
Welcome and Introduction

James A.W. Schuman, QC — Schuman Basran Robin & Bell, Vancouver
Jeffrey A. Rose, QC — Jeffrey A. Rose, QC, Vancouver
Nikki L. Charlton — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver

Tips and Traps in Spousal/Partner Support

• entitlement
• application (or not) of SSAG
• retroactive claims
• review vs. variation
• deductibility

Wendy E. Best, QC — Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP, Calgary

Break

Reapportionment is Live and Well, or is it?—Short Term Marriages and the Division of Family Property

• chart review of all notable reapportionment cases since 2013 with review of developing trends in the law
• contributions before and after Jaszczewska, where are we now, and did Khan change anything?
• duration: how short is short before it matters
  
  Todd R. Bell — Schuman Basran Robin & Bell, Vancouver

Parenting Coordination Practice 10 Years in

• what do we really do
• what do we not do
• does it make a difference
• should we do it
• what do the courts think
  
  Morag M.J. MacLeod, QC — Barrister & Solicitor, Vancouver
  R. Craig Neville — Watson Goepel LLP, Vancouver

Networking Lunch (provided)

Advanced Tips & Tricks in Divorce Mate

• special expenses and related tax deductions and credits
• shared custody and eligible dependent credit
• life insurance security
• lump sum calculations
• spousal support restructuring
• tipsand tricks to save time and maximize efficiency

Christine Montgomery — Consultant, Special Projects, DivorceMate, Toronto

Parenting Issues in Provincial Court and Child Protection

• what you need to know about the CFCSA as a family law practitioner
• getting access to Ministry files
• working with the Ministry
• jurisdiction of the Provincial Court & out of province litigants
• relocation applications in Provincial Court
• s. 211 reports: private and by family justice counsellors
  
  Corinne P. Feenie — Feenie MacDonald, Vancouver
  The Honourable Judge Kathryn J. Ferriss — Provincial Court of BC, Surrey
  Jasmeet Wahid — Kahn Zack Ehrlich Lithwick LLP, Richmond

Break

Do the Rules of Evidence Even Apply in Family Cases?: A View From the Bench

• the need for expert evidence in alienation cases (pros and cons)
• use of social science in determining the best interests of the child
• Brown v. Dunn revisited (the “confrontation principle”)
• common problems with affidavit evidence
• s. 211 “rebuttal” reports
  
  The Honourable Mr. Justice Nigel Kent — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver