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Winnipeg Child Custody Lawyer


Child custody is one of the most important issues of your divorce, but it’s poorly understood. They can also have a massive impact on the safety, wellbeing, and security of your child, as well as on your relationship with your child.

Thus, you want the best, strongest, savviest child custody lawyers you can find. We can help both with amiable co-parenting negotiations and full-on custody battles. Our lawyers will help you protect your child’s interests while navigating this complex area of the law.

How do I get full custody in Manitoba?

Before talking about “full custody” we should talk about the two types of custody that exist.

The first is “guardianship,” or legal custody. This is the right to make religious, educational, and medical decisions for the child.

The second is physical custody, or “care and control“. This describes the parent the child lives with. The other parent gets “access,” also known as visitation, or parenting time.

The most common custody arrangement is for both parents to retain guardianship. It’s also most common for parents to receive nearly 50/50 time with the child, with the “care and control” parent being the parent the child lives with during the school year.

“Sole” or “full” custody would describe an arrangement where the other parent no longer has guardian rights and who may have severely curtailed access rights. This happens only in extreme cases, where the other parent may be proven to be “unfit.”

Speak to your lawyer if you believe your ex to be unfit…you’ll need to work up a strategy for proving that in court. If your goal is to be the primary care and control parent, then you should be focusing on showing the court all the reasons why you make the best fit for that role. This can include emphasizing your involvement in the day-to-day parenting of the child, including involvement with school and medical appointments.

What age can a child decide which parent to live within Manitoba?

There is no predetermined legal age. The judge will always take the child’s preferences into account as one of many factors that they’ll look at. The standard is that the eventual arrangement must be “within the best interests of the child.”

Older children’s preferences may be given more weight, but they aren’t a “slam dunk” deciding factor on their own. For example, judges are well aware that teenagers often prefer to be with the more permissive parent. That doesn’t make the more permissive parent the best choice.

Can a non-custodial parent fight for custody?

You may sue for custody at any time, even if you did not win custody during the divorce proceeding. If you have definitively lost a custody battle already it’s unlikely you’ll win it a second time unless you’ve made significant changes to your life, or your ex has made significant negative changes to their own.

Consult with your lawyer before making your decision.

Why choose Family Lawyer Winnipeg?

Our lawyers are very experienced in child custody matters and prepared to fight hard for your child’s best interests. We’ve got years of experience and a long, successful track record of resolving cases just like yours.

For a consultation, call (204) 896-7777.