What Does Residential Custody Mean?

While in common parlance terms custody and residency are often used interchangeably, this is not true under Canadian and American family law. Custody refers to the person who has the decision-making authority over a minor. Often the parent who has custody also has the decision-making authority regarding the child’s education, medical care, extracurricular activities, living conditions, etc. In contrast, residency or residential custody differs from just ‘custody’ as it refers to the physical custody/placement of the child with a parent. 

To that end, emergency custody orders are often granted without a hearing, given their nature of urgency. They are often conducted ex parte and a full custody determination of the child is made before an official hearing can take place. 

Can paralegals help in child custody matters?

In the United States, paralegals assist lawyers in litigating custody court orders, custody and visitation, or anything else within. They do not have the authority to act independently in family law matters. No matter what state the paralegal practices in, they cannot assist in child custody matters without a lawyer’s supervision. This also means that they are not in a position to provide legal advice or answer any family law custody questions.

In Canada, however, things are a little different. While most provinces mandate family law custody cases to be litigated by lawyers, with paralegals working on such cases under their supervision, some other provinces such as Ontario are implementing a “Family Law Action Plan” to expand paralegals’ scope of giving independent legal advice on family law matters. 

Some paralegals might find fulfilment in working under a lawyer’s supervision on family law custody cases. However, many others might not feel the same way and might want to branch out on their own. The reason might not be job fulfilment. A paralegal who has had several years of experience might want more autonomy and control over their time and income. This is especially worth considering in the post-COVID inflation economy. In such cases, larger legislation on paralegals’ scope of practice and the training associated with it demands a second look. And this is where provincial initiatives such as the “Family Law Action Plan” gain importance. There has been a significant push for paralegals to be allowed to practice family law in Ontario. At present, there is a limit of up to $35,000 on cases where paralegals can represent their clients independent of a lawyer. This initiative is still under consideration by the Law Society of Ontario and remains to be finalized. 

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