Client Profile: Parties, Children & Relationships

The Parties and Children sections of a matter capture the essential personal information about the people involved in a family law file. Accurate information in these sections is critical, as it flows directly into support calculations, court forms, and financial statements.

Parties Overview

Click Parties in the matter's sidebar to see everyone in the matter and how they appear on documents. Every matter includes two primary parties: your client (marked Our client) and the other party, typically a former spouse or partner. The page shows:

• Style of cause — the title of the proceeding, built from the parties' names and roles (for example, "Between Cynthia Myers, Applicant and Anthony Campbell, Respondent").
• Applicants and Respondents — each party with their role and representation. Drag a party to reorder them or change their role, or use the … menu to open their record, switch them between applicant and respondent, or hide them from documents.
• Children on file who are not parties — with a link to represent a child as a party if needed.

Entering Client Information

To enter or update the client's personal information:

1. Open the matter and click Parties in the sidebar.
2. Click the client's name to open their record. You can also select a party directly from the list under Parties in the sidebar.
3. Complete the fields in each section of the record. Use the buttons at the top of the record to jump to a section:
   • Basics — first name, middle name, last name, gender, date of birth, birthplace, and birth name.
   • Contact — email address and phone number.
   • History — previous names, occupation, medical issues, and whether the person has a disability.
   • Tax & home — whether the person is a northern resident or has a new partner, which can affect tax calculations.
   • Party — whether the person is your client, whether they are the applicant or the respondent, and whether a pension is being transferred.
   • Address — current residential address, including city, province, postal code, and country.
   • Representation — whether the person is self-represented or has counsel, and the lawyer and office shown on documents.
4. Changes are saved automatically as you enter them.

The client's province of residence is particularly important, as it determines the applicable jurisdiction for support calculations and court forms.

Entering Ex-Spouse or Partner Information

The process for entering the other party's information is the same as for the client. On the Parties page, click the other party's name and complete the same sections. Under Representation, record whether they are self-represented or have counsel. Even if you do not have complete information for the opposing party, enter as much as you can — you can always update the record later as more information becomes available.

Adding Other Parties

In some matters, additional parties may be involved (for example, a new partner or a grandparent seeking access). To add one, click Add party on the Parties page, choose the party type (such as Grandparent, Stepparent, Biological parent, Adult child, Corporation, or Other), and enter their name. Additional parties capture the same basic information and can be referenced in relevant calculations or documents.

Children Overview

The Children section is where you add and manage information about the children of the relationship and any other dependants. Child information is essential for child support calculations, parenting arrangements, and court forms. At the top of the page, Primary parenting responsibility applies to the whole file; each child's own arrangement is set on their record.

Adding Children

To add a child to the matter:

1. Click Children in the matter's sidebar.
2. Click Add Child. A new child record opens.
3. Enter the child's information:
   • Identity — the child's legal name, date of birth, and gender. The date of birth is used to determine eligibility for child support and other age-dependent calculations.
   • Relationship & parenting — whether the child is a child of this relationship and who the child mainly lives with.
   • Income & benefits — any income the child has and whether the child has a disability.
   • School — when the child starts and finishes school, and the school name.
   • Representation — whether the child is represented by counsel.
4. Changes are saved automatically as you enter them.

You can add multiple children to a single matter. Each child's information is managed independently.

Parenting Arrangement

For each child, use Parenting to record who the child mainly lives with: one of the parties, or Shared. Together, the children's arrangements describe the type of parenting arrangement:

• Primary residence with one parent — one parent has primary care of the child. The other parent pays child support based on the Federal Child Support Guidelines table amount.
• Shared — the child spends at least 40% of their time with each parent. Child support is calculated using a set-off approach based on each parent's table amount.
• Split — each parent has primary care of at least one child. Record each child with the parent they mainly live with. Each parent pays the table amount for the child(ren) in the other parent's care, and the difference is set off.

The parenting arrangement directly affects how child support is calculated, so it is important to select the arrangement that accurately reflects the parenting situation.

Parenting Time

You do not enter exact parenting time percentages on the child's record. Instead, choose the arrangement that matches the time the child spends with each parent: if the child spends more than 60% of their time with one parent, choose that parent; if the child spends at least 40% of their time with each parent, choose Shared.

How Party and Children Data Flows into Calculations

The information you enter in the Parties and Children sections is used throughout the Divorcepath platform:

• Support calculations — province of residence, number of children, ages, and parenting arrangements feed directly into child support and spousal support calculations, together with each party's income from the Finances section.
• Court forms — party names, roles, addresses, dates of birth, representation, and children's details are automatically populated into generated court forms.
• Financial statements — party and child information appears on financial disclosure documents.

Keeping this information accurate and up to date ensures that all calculations and generated documents reflect the current circumstances of the matter.