“ There is no place for the State in the bedrooms of the nation” – Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, 1967
LGBT Family Law is an evolving area of family law involving the LGBT community, including the challenges they face at the family court. LGBT refers to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender.
Many same sex couples face unique challenges and struggle on a daily basis to live a normal life and care for their loved ones.
Canadian Constitution guarantees equal protection of everyone under the law. We believe there cannot be any compromise or negotiations on the issue of equal protection under the law. The State must recognize and protect all its citizens equally. We are passionate about protecting the rights of a minority group against the prejudices or the discrimination of the majority. The law should apply equally to everyone.
We believe that LGBT persons should be treated no differently than their heterosexual counterparts. When same sex couples and transgender persons are denied equal protection under the law, that is fundamentally unfair and offends the principle of equal protection under the law. We cannot live in a world that treats you differently simply because of who you are, who you love or who you are attracted to. The composition of a family varies from household to household. The law must recognize the changing nature of the Canadian family. What matters is the quality of the family relationship not its structure or form.
In all the fights undertaken by the LGBT community for equality, the Supreme Court of Canada has been their greatest ally and has been instrumental in protecting and advancing their rights. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code, have been powerful ammunition in the arsenal of the LGBT community.
Today, same-sex couples are free to marry under the principle of equality under the law.
However, the law has not been able to keep up with societal changes. Change has been very slow to come but significant progress has been made over the years.
For those seeking to start a family using the non-traditional means, the Canadian Law dealing with assisted reproduction or surrogacy is a minefield to navigate. Gay couples generally tend towards adoption of a child or having a surrogate carry their child to term. Lesbian couples may share their eggs or embryos. They may opt for surrogacy or adoption. For those who opt for in vitro fertilization using shared eggs or embryos, the use of sperm from a known donor could pose unique challenges, especially with respect to parental rights or the legal paternity of the known sperm donor.
LGBT Family Law is an exciting and emerging area of law that requires a lot of creativity on the part of the lawyer. There are significant challenges in representing people in these new emerging areas of the law but we enjoy the satisfaction of assisting people who face tremendous obstacles in their lives. We enjoy the opportunity to be creative, make new law or expand the application of existing laws to novel situations. The legal issues could create a case of first impression for the court. We believe the court should be able to carve out new interpretations of the existing law to novel issues dealing with non-traditional families.
Our LGBT Family Law practice include the following:
a) Parenting/ Parenthood Issues involving step parents, fathers, co-mothers
b) Application to the Family Court for Declaration of Parentage or Guardianship
c) Adoption Applications ( eg for same sex couples, fathers through sperm donation, step parents and adoption of unrelated child(ren)
d) Domestic Violence Issues
e) Separation
f) Divorce / Relationship Dissolution
g) Child custody, Support and Access Disputes
h) Spousal Support
i) Division of Property / Trust Claims
j) Legal Proceedings involving the Children’s Aid Society and same sex couples
k) Living Together Agreements
i) Cohabitation Agreements
ii) Marriage Agreements
iii) Separation Agreements
iv) Parenting Agreements
Manafa Law Office is LGBT friendly and non-judgmental. We are committed to advancing the rights of the LGBT people through advocacy and litigation. We offer full service that meets the unique needs of the LGBT community. We have extensive experience fighting for fairness and justice and we are committed to working towards equal rights for the LGBT community.
If you are from the LGBT community and have Family Law issues, please contact a Toronto LGBT Family Lawyer at (416) 972-0404 to determine your rights, interests and the best methods for protecting them.
