YOUNG HEARTS LEGAL

Child and Youth Representation

Why do children and youth have lawyers?

Because it’s their right!

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (agreed to by Canada in 1991) sets out rights specific to children under 18 around the world. Among those rights (like the right to be protected from harm and the right to play), is the right to have their opinions heard and taken seriously in issues affecting them. In the area of family law, there are different ways for children to have their opinions heard, and one of the most important (in our opinion) is to have their own lawyer.

As Children’s Counsel, our objective is to get to know our clients, see the world through their eyes, and try to get the adults in their life to understand them. Every child and family is different, so we do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to representing children. We are flexible to meet the needs of our clients and work with their preferences and comfort. We often serve as a source of information gathering by speaking with third parties, such as school staff and teachers, medical professionals, and friends of family members heavily involved with the children.

Our ultimate goal is to reduce the conflict in their lives and work towards a reasonable parenting plan that addresses our clients’ best interests. There is no set age at which children “get to decide” where they live or what happens to them, but as youth age, their views are given more and more weight.

Family Law

While our focus is representing young people, we also have experience providing representation to parents and spouses in a wide range of family law. Some areas in which we provide assistance include:

• Divorce and/or separation
• Family law agreements (prenuptial, cohabitation, separation, etc.)
• Guardianship
• Custody, access, parenting
• Child Support
• Spousal Support
• Property Division
• Restraining and Protection Orders
• Travel Documents
• Adoption

Limited Scope Retainers

Accessing affordable legal services is becoming increasingly difficult for most individuals and families. Young Hearts is dedicated to ensuring every person can access the justice system and the legal rights they deserve. As such, we offer limited scope retainers for some matters.

With limited scope retainers, we essentially break out our legal services into individual steps from which our clients choose which steps they will perform themselves and which steps they wish to have a lawyer perform.

Some services we can provide outside of full representation include:

• Drafting of court documents without going to court;

• Providing legal advice without going to court;

• Limited representation without going to court, such as at settlement meetings;

• Limited representation in going to court, such as shorter appearances or pre-trial conferences.

Limited scope retainers are often more affordable and offer the client more control over their file while having access to the advice and experience of a lawyer. Not all legal matters are suited for limited scope retainers, so please contact us for more information about your specific matter.