What are the principles the court should consider in determining joint custody of a child?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from N.P. v. D.B., 2019 ONCJ 291 (CanLII):

The decision in the well-known case of Kaplanis v. Kaplanis [26] sets out the principles the court should consider in determining whether an order for joint custody is appropriate as follows: 1. There must be evidence of historical communication between the parents and appropriate communication between them. 2. It cannot be ordered in the hope that it will improve their communication. 3. Just because both parents are fit does not mean that joint custody should be ordered. 4. The fact that one parent professes an inability to communicate does not preclude an order for joint custody. 5. No matter how detailed the custody order, there will always be gaps and unexpected situations and, when they arise, they must be able to be addressed on an ongoing basis. 6. The younger the child, the more important communication is.

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