Factors Determining a Child’s Best Interests in Alberta

You will hear the phrase “child’s best interests” repeatedly if you need to discuss child custody arrangements in Alberta.

All court decisions involving children will be made in the child‘s best interests and parents must also consider these first and foremost when making separation agreements — as no divorce will be granted unless you provide reasonable evidence that the child’s best interests have been met.

This is one of the clearest principles in family law. In fact, the new Divorce Act amendment, which came into effect in March 2021, elevated the importance of determining the child’s best interests.

However, there is still some confusion about what it means and how it is determined in custody cases. What specific factors must be considered when determining the “best interests of the child”?

What does “custody” mean in Alberta?

Under Canadian law, “custody” has a broad meaning, namely the “care, upbringing, and any other incident of custody.”

Traditionally, two types of custody have been awarded when parents separate:

• Physical custody, describing who the child spends the most time with
• Legal custody, describing who makes the key decisions for the child, e.g., education, religion, health, and wellbeing.

However, in Alberta, the term “custody” is usually taken to mean decision-making powers.

Because of the confusion and different interpretations of “custody” (and its adversarial connotations), the word is increasingly being replaced with phrases like “parenting” or “parenting time”. These are considered more conducive to parents working together for the benefit of their children.

In addition to custody arrangements, access and visitation rights are important aspects of any separation agreement as both parents retain parental rights and responsibilities unless these are removed by the court, which happens only in rare cases.

We currently have three offices across Alberta — Edmonton, Calgary, and Red Deer. We serve the entire province of Alberta (and BC). We also have the infrastructure to work with any of our clients virtually — even the furthest regions of Alberta.

Call 1 (855) 892-0646 (toll free) to get routed to the best office for you or contact us online for general inquiries.

We also have a dedicated intake form to help you get the ball rolling. Our intake team will review your specific case and advise you on the next steps to take as well as what to expect moving forward. That’s the best way to schedule an appointment

Our offices are generally open 8:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m., Mon—Fri.