How do you define a family and who do you consider to be a part of yours? Unless this question has been posed to you directly, you probably have not spent much time thinking about how you would answer. Your family is, of course, however, you define it. There are endless family configurations in our society, and whatever yours look like, it probably makes perfect sense to you and the people in it.
While each of us defines family in our way, Canadian law does not provide the same flexibility. Specific statutes impose limits on the scope of family composition for our justice system. These restrictions can mean there are times when the state tells us that it sees our families differently than we do – and this can cause quite a bit of anguish.
Originally published by The Lawyer's Daily.
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