Family Mediation And Parenting Coordination In Okotoks, Alberta

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Walsh LLP is pleased to announce that Judy Bachmann is now offering her family mediation and parenting coordination services through both our offices in Okotoks and Calgary, Alberta .

Mediation is a positive dispute resolution process for families and separating couples whom are seeking an alternative to a contested and costly court process. In mediation, Judy aims to create a safe and respectful environment such that all involved parties can respectfully and calmly communicate with each other regarding the future of their children and their financial matters.

As both a lawyer and registered psychologist, Judy brings a unique perspective to her work as a mediator. Judy has also worked extensively with families whom are experiencing a high level of conflict where she utilizes a mediation-arbitration process to resolving disputes between parties regarding parenting issues in a process also known as Parenting Coordination.

Judy is both a Registered Family Mediator and Registered Parenting Coordinator and Arbitrator with the Alberta Family Mediation Society and has practiced mediation since 2000.

Walsh At The Supreme Court Of Canada

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Walsh LLP partners (from left to right) Ken McLeod, Eugene Creighton, Q.C., and Gary Befus after appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada. Walsh lawyers were successful in a landmark ruling pertaining to solicitor-client privilege and the powers of the Privacy Commissioner.

Walsh LLP Pleased To Sponsor Educational Initiative And Mayors Showcase

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Walsh LLP is pleased to have been given the opportunity to participate in the 2013 Mayor’s Showcase & Celebration of Citizenship, hosted by the Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation (CEPF). We are pleased that our contribution permitted even more students to attend this excellent educational initiative.

Walsh LLP’s guests at the event are pictured here with Mayor Nenshi.

Walsh LLP In The Community

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Walsh LLP is committed to contributing to its community by providing more than just legal services.

Over the years, we have connected with our community through annual food drives, adopt-a-family programs and community scholarships. We are committed to doing more.

This year we partnered with Ryan Russell-Timbrell in his quest to become a full-time staff member for Youth Unlimited. Ryan is a member of StreetLight (a division of Youth Unlimited), a mobile drop-in center in downtown Calgary that focuses on assisting street youth aged 12-24. Our firm is proud to support and stand behind Ryan and his vision for turning his mobile cart (equipped with food, drinks, snacks, water bottles, and warm clothing) into a focal point for building relationships and instilling hope in street youth.

We are also an excited partner with Social Venture Partners Calgary. Social Venture Partners is a non-profit organization that focuses on capacity building for existing non-profits and not-for-profit organizations in Calgary. Our firm is pleased to be part of SVP and its program in assisting current investees (the Autism Asperger’s Friendship Society, the ALEX and Two Wheel View), and to participate in Calgary’s first annual SVP “Fast Pitch” Event – an Expo giving local non-profit and not-for-profit organizations an opportunity to compete in for prize money as well as professional services.

Walsh LLP has a longstanding relationship with Treaty 7 First Nations. In addition to recognizing the importance of and supporting spiritual and cultural activities within the community, this year we were able to focus on education and minor activities in those communities. We were honoured to support the Treaty 7 Caregivers Conference and to be invited into schools on the Blood Reserve, to meet with children from grades 1 – 3 and contribute school supplies for just over 300 students. We look forward to participating in high school career fairs and providing support for ongoing career development.

Walsh Law Pleased To Announce Assistance Of Wellspring Calgary And Pro Bono Lawyers Of Alberta (PBLA)

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Walsh LLP is pleased to announce its association with Wellspring Calgary and Pro Bono Lawyers Alberta. Volunteer lawyers from Walsh LLP will be providing free summary legal advice to clients of Wellspring Calgary who are living with cancer.

Volunteer lawyers will support cancer patients with issues related to Long Term Disability (LTD) or employment issues through the delivery of a monthly legal advice clinic and legal information sessions. The clinics will be delivered as an extension of Wellspring’s “Money Matters” program.

Wellspring Calgary is a warm and welcoming community that provides a comprehensive range of support, resources and programs so anyone living with cancer and the people who care about them can improve the quality of their lives.

Walsh LLP is pleased to provide unique avenue for lawyers to volunteer in a pro bono capacity.

Walsh LLP Is Pleased To Announce That Stephen Page And Laura Brown Have Joined Our Firm

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Stephen was called to the Alberta Bar in May of 2015 after completing his articles at a boutique family law firm in Calgary. Stephen has appeared on behalf of his clients in both the Court of Queen’s Bench and the Provincial Court of Alberta. Stephen will be a member of the Family Law practice group at Walsh LLP.

After completing her Commerce Degree in Halifax and working for a few years in that City, Laura attended Law School at Dalhousie University and Articled in Ottawa prior to moving to Calgary. Laura was called to the Alberta Bar in August of 2014 and worked at a boutique family law firm in Calgary prior to joining Walsh LLP. Laura will be a member of the Family Law practice group at Walsh LLP.

Walsh LLP Announces Ray G. Hunt’s Retirement

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It is with mixed emotions that Walsh LLP announces Ray Hunt’s retirement from the practice of law. Walsh LLP and Ray have immensely enjoyed many years of friendship and, with that, Ray’s numerous contributions to firm life, from his obvious care for his colleagues and the profession as a whole, to his regaling stories of firm lore.

Since he joined the Firm in 1978 as an articling student, Ray has been a valued and respected member of Walsh LLP, throughout its history of assisting Albertans with their legal questions and decisions. In his years with the firm, Ray has served as a Special Prosecutor for Justice Canada, has developed a practice in commercial law and matrimonial law, and has appeared in those causes in all levels of court in Alberta.

Ray is known by his colleagues both at Walsh LLP and outside the firm, as a man of integrity, honour, and dignity. In the practice of law, he strove unfailingly to achieve a level of respect for the parties and the process that earned him the admiration of lawyers and students at Walsh LLP, whom Ray enjoyed mentoring and with whom he shared the rich history and banter of Walsh LLP.

Walsh LLP thanks Ray Hunt for his many years of dedication, and wishes him the best of years in his retirement. To mark this special occasion, Walsh LLP is pledging a donation of $2,500 in Ray’s name, to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (Calgary & Area Chapter), to help the community in which Ray practiced law and dedicated his many years of care and commitment.

Tenancy At Will Agreements and New Condominium Purchases

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With the exception of cash deals, tenancy at will agreements are signed in virtually all residential real estate transactions in Alberta. While closing dates typically precede or mirror possession dates, there will occasionally be situations where a delay pushes the closing date beyond the possession date. Tenancy at will agreements address such situations by allowing the purchaser to take possession of the property prior to closing on the condition that the purchaser pay a rental fee to the seller. In the majority of real estate transactions, the tenancy at will agreement is a precautionary measure that is never used. However, one area of real estate where tenancy at will agreements are acted upon with regularity are new condominium purchases.

New condominium purchases offer a unique real estate problem because of the delay between the completion of the condominium and its registration with the Land Titles office. Section 14(3) of the Condominium Property Act states that without registration, ownership of condominium units cannot be transferred from the builder to the purchaser. Before individual units can be registered, the condominiums themselves must be registered. To be registered, the condominiums must receive a number of permits from the municipality. To receive many of these permits, the condominium build must be near completion. Unfortunately, the volume of the administrative work required means that many condominiums are fully built and ready to be lived in prior to their registration with Land Titles. If builders waited for registration before allowing possession, unit owners would be subject to prolonged and unpredictable delays. Tenancy at will agreements are the solution to this problem.

When a delay is expected between possession and closing, the builder will inform the purchaser’s solicitor of the estimated length of the delay and instruct the solicitor to collect tenancy at will rents for a period in excess of the estimate. The builder will then hold the rent payments in trust and use only the funds necessary for the duration of the tenancy at will. Any unused funds will be returned to the purchaser upon the funding of the mortgage.

It is important to note that on new condominium purchases a mortgage cannot fund until the purchaser is registered on title, and therefore the purchaser will not be paying both the mortgage and tenancy at will at the same time. If the funding of the mortgage occurs after the specified first payment, the payments will adjust for the delay on a pro rata basis. Further, the purchaser should not expect to pay any more than they otherwise would be paying towards the interest component of their mortgage because the amount of the rent is usually calculated at mortgage rate mortgage amount. In other words, the purchaser will not be out be out additional funds via the tenancy at will.

Ultimately, tenancy at will agreements in new condominium builds operate to provide purchasers with the soonest possible possession of their units. Without such agreements, purchasers would have to wait weeks while permits were granted, documents were processed and titles were registered. The onerous costs of these delays make tenancy at will agreements an invaluable asset in new condominium purchases.

If you are interested in more information about condominium builds, or have other real estate law inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Walsh LLP Real Estate Group.

Travelling With Your Children After Separation

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As the summer nears many parents are beginning to plan summer vacations with their school aged children. If you are a parent who is separated from your child’s other parent and you are planning to travel with your child outside of Canada some additional planning (and documentation) is required before you leave on vacation.

Foreign Affairs Canada strongly recommends that children travelling abroad carry a notarized Travel Consent Letter from every person who has the legal right to make major decisions on a minor child’s behalf if one or more of those persons is not accompanying the child on the trip. For example, if a minor child is travelling abroad by themselves, with only one parent, or with a group or club under another adult’s supervision a notarized Travel Consent Letter is highly recommended.

Without a notarized Travel Consent Letter your child may be prevented by customs and border officials from leaving Canada or from entering a foreign country.

If you are a parent who will be travelling alone with your minor child outside of Canada it is important you plan ahead. Sample Travel Consent Letters are available from Foreign Affairs Canada and can be easily completed by a child’s legal guardians and parents. It is also important that your child’s Travel Consent Letter be notarized by a lawyer or notary public.

Should you require assistance the Walsh LLP Family Law Group is able to assist parents with the notarization of Travel Consent Letters and has extensive experience advising individuals on a wide range of family law matters that arise upon separation and divorce.

Planning For Marriage: Do I Need a Pre-Nuptial Agreement?

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As the date of your wedding nears there are likely many things on your mind – venues, dresses, the cake, the band – but it is also important during this busy time to consider whether you and your partner need to discuss and make plans concerning your individual or joint assets and debts before you marry.

Pre-Nuptial Agreements are becoming increasingly common as parties recognize that a Pre-Nuptial Agreement can be a flexible planning document that can achieve many purposes and provide certainty and security to both parties. A Pre-Nuptial Agreement can do many thing such as:

• Establish each party’s property, assets and debts before the marriage
• Outline how the parties intend to share their assets and property during the marriage
• Provide for dependants and children of previous relationships
• Protect corporate and company assets
• Set out how property division and support matters will be addressed in the event of separation or divorce

As a Pre-Nuptial Agreement sets out each person’s entitlement to and responsibility for assets accumulated and debts incurred during the marriage it is important that each person receive legal advice from a lawyer before entering into a Pre-Nuptial Agreement. This ensures that each person fully understands their legal rights and responsibilities and the effect of the Pre-Nuptial Agreement they are entering into, as well as ensuring that the Agreement is legally enforceable.

If you and your partner are considering entering into a Pre-Nuptial Agreement we would encourage you to speak with a member of Walsh LLP’s Family Law Group whom have extensive experience advising individuals on a wide range of topics and important considerations that arise prior to and upon marriage.