Family law is a changing and dynamic field. In the twenty-first century, Canadian families will encounter new challenges. Marriage and the family are no longer synonymous. The traditional nuclear family of the 1950s, with its breadwinning husband, homemaking wife, and their two or more children, is a minority group. Two-income families, with or without children, high divorce and remarriage rates, and the increasing incidence of unmarried cohabitation, whether involving opposite- or same-sex couples, have fostered new family structures and radical legal reforms. At the same time, there has been increased recognition of the inherent limitations of the law in regulating marriage and the family.
The 10th edition of Canadian Family Law is a companion volume to Payne and Payne’s Child Support Guidelines in Canada, 2024. It examines the impact of recent judicial decisions and fundamental changes to the Divorce Act and provides insights into how family law is evolving to address the changing nature of families and relationships and the challenges they face.

Julien D. Payne, CM, KC, LLD, LSM, FRSC, is one of Canada’s pre-eminent family law specialists, and has been called the architect of Unified Family Courts and no-fault divorce. He has taught family law at the universities of Alberta, Ottawa, Western Ontario, and Saskatchewan, and has written very extensively about family law and family dispute resolution. He is the author of Payne on Divorce, 4th ed (Carswell, 1996), and is the co-author with his wife, Marilyn, of Canadian Family Law and its companion text, Child Support Guidelines in Canada, 2024, both of which are published by Irwin Law. His writings have been cited more than 2,000 times by trial courts and appellate courts in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He was awarded the Law Society Medal by the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2002 and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2004.

Julien D. Payne's profile page

Marilyn A. Payne is an experienced author and the founding editor of Payne's Divorce and Family Law Digest. She is is the co-author of Canadian Family Law, Third Edition and Child Support Guidelines in Canada, 2009, both published by Irwin Law.

Marilyn A. Payne's profile page