William Abbott  has been named one of Doyle's Leading Toronto Family & Divorce Lawyers of 2025.

Some years ago, I was engaged in a case where the family had a severely disabled eight-year-old daughter. The daughter was born with multiple health issues and required both home and community support. The matrimonial home had been retrofitted to meet the needs of her wheelchair and other devices necessary to meet her health issues.

This week I had the pleasure of attending a Toronto Lawyers Association event. It was a lovely evening. I had to leave early for another social event but while there I certainly noticed that I was clearly the oldest attendee. That fact must have been noticed by others as, a number of times that evening, I was approached and asked to comment on what qualities I believed are necessary to make one a good family lawyer. Happily, this is an issue that consumed a fair bit of my tim

This article was written by Michael Stangarone, alongside Nicole Clyde and Lisa Chung.

Spoiler alert: My daughter is a 2021 call practising with an estate boutique.

Some of the best family lawyers I have dealt with over my years at the bar were extremely tactical (most of whom are now retired or have passed away). They approached a file from a strategic point of view plotting the steps that would achieve the stated goals of their client. Most often these lawyers did not approach parenting matters in the same manner, recognizing the vast differences between pursuing financial matters and the best interests of children. These lawyers achie

How do you get off the record when there is no record??? With court proceedings, when the solicitor client relationship breaks down or conflict arises, a motion is brought to the Court with a request to get off the record. There is much case law that addresses when counsel can and cannot get off the record.

Family lawyers have all experienced the frustration of advising a spouse that our courts do not have jurisdiction, either under the Divorce Act or the Family Law Act, togrant spousal support if a valid divorce has been granted in a foreign jurisdiction. Every family lawyer must be familiar with the Court of Appeal decisions in Rothgiesser v. Rothgiesser, 2000 128 O.A.C. 302, and Okmyansky v. Okmyansky, 2007 ONCA 427. Both cases support the view that no jurisdiction to grant s

In the recent Ontario Court of Justice decision, Skiffington v. Parsons, 2025 ONCJ 66, para. 9, Justice Jennifer Daudlin addressed multiple parenting issues, including summer parenting schedules, structured travel provisions and transportation responsibilities. The decision underscores the necessity of co-operation between parents and facilitating parenting time to safeguard the children’s best interests, consistent with s. 24 of the Children’s Law Reform Act.

Some of you (or maybe more of you than I think) must be tiring of my writings on the issue of civility. I understand, but the longer I practise, the more I see the importance of civility in our family law practice. Today I wish to reach alittle further into this aspect of practice, go somewhat granular, and link civility with the issue of mental health.

I have previously written about the complexities of family law appeals. I would certainly agree with those who  argue that such appeals should be discouraged but let’s all agree that there are times when lower court results are not entirely in accord with accepted jurisprudence and family law litigants should have access to the appeal process to address legitimate concerns.

Am I the only one who is bothered by recent events at the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) leading this week to the announcement that CEO Diana Miles is “no longer employed."

I can’t tell you how important the law library at Osgoode Hall (known as the Great Library) was to me for so many years of my career. First may I say that I am smitten with what I consider to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Toronto. If you have never attended, do so. It is home to the Court of Appeal, judges’ chambers and a law library among other facilities.

I had the pleasure this week of attending by Zoom an event to recognize the accomplishments of Justice Carole Curtis of the Ontario Court of Justice. The event featured her being interviewed by Justice Stanley Sherr (one of my favorite judges) also of the OCJ.

Wang v. Li, 2024 ONCA 819, a recent and interesting decision of our Ontario Court of Appeal, highlighted important principles with respect to several issues including contributions to property, an equalization payment of net family property, and tort damages for domestic violence.

I have often referred to the importance of mentoring and the benefits I have reaped and continue to reap from the mentoring I enjoyed from the late James C. MacDonald, QC. However, I also was the beneficiary of some most helpful mentoring from, surprisingly, (but perhaps not so), family lawyers who were at times aggressive opponents during my career. I am now going to share some of this transmitted wisdom in the form of suggested New Year’s resolutions for family lawyers. Her

Justice Mohane Sharma’s recent decision in Bah v. Diallo, 2024 ONSC 6500, calls out a practice that I have railed against for years. On a motion for relocation and in response to a request to adjourn, the court had the opportunity to comment on the now somewhat ingrained practice of arguing your motion by affidavit (most often of the client). Many family lawyers now go so far as to include case references and statutory citations in affidavits “argued” by clients. Perhaps I wa

This week I had the opportunity to attend in person a family law dinner honouring this year’s Ontario Bar Association (OBA) award winner for excellence in family law. It was a lovely event and a great opportunity to connect with the many family law colleagues I have grown to like and admire over the years. There was genuine pleasure on all sides to be connecting again in person and trading stories and laughs as we did all those years hanging around court.

I write again about a family law phenomenon: The nasty accusatory letter.

In my non-deliberate efforts to almost constantly be on the wrong side of many family law issues over my years of practice, I have often railed against overly broad disclosure requests in high-conflict cases. With respect and cautiously, I have not been a cheerleader for the “non-disclosure is the cancer of family law” team. Don’t get me wrong, proper disclosure is essential to fair family law dispositions, but when the issue of disclosure takes over the litigation, as it oft