After being married for 17 years, award winning country music singer Billy
Ray and Tish Cyrus have announced that they are getting divorced. According
to the divorce papers obtained by the tabloids, as a part of his divorce
order, Billy Ray is asking for “shared” custody of the couple’s
3 minor children. Billy Ray and Tish are parents to 10 year old Noah,
16 year old Braison and renowned actress and singer Miley Ray, who turns
18 in November. He’s also asking the court to “approve a parenting
plan” to be signed by both Billy Ray and Tish and to make an “equitable
distribution of the marital estate.”
In Ontario, custody is defined as the right to make important decisions
about the care and upbringing of a child such as the child’s religion,
school and educational programs, and medical treatment. Where the parents
disagree about what is best for the child, it the parent with custody
who is entitled to make the final decision. In addition to the decision-making
authority, the custodial parent usually also acts the child’s primary
caregiver.
In the
joint custody arrangement, the parents share the rights and responsibilities of custody even though
they live apart. Under this regime,
both parents have the right to make decisions about their child. Mistakenly, it is often thought that joint custody means that both parents
also have equal access to the child. However,joint custody deals with the decision making authority of the parents alone and has little influence on the amount of times the children spend with
each parent. In order to be effective, joint custody requires the cooperation
and works best when then there is little conflict between the parents.
In light of the fact that both Billy Ray and Tish have been actively involved
in the upbringing of their children and both are agreeable to having joint
custody, this parenting arrangement may be the most appropriate choice
for the two. In the broadest scheme of things, a joint custody arrangement
may be in the best interest of the children who will be subjected to the
varying views of the media. That is, as joint custody promotes that the
parents maintain a harmonious relationship, witnessing an amicable relationship
between their parents may assist the children in adjusting to the separation.
As they wish to avoid litigation, it is likely that Billy Ray and Tish
will devise a separation agreement that outlines the agreed upon custody
and access arrangements. Unlike marriage contracts and cohabitation agreements,
where custody and access to the children cannot be dealt with, separation
agreements have no such limitation. However, despite the fact that a separation
agreement may reflect the wishes of the parents, a court may nonetheless
disregard such provisions in a separation agreement in accordance with
s.56 (1) of the
Act where it is in the best interest of the child to do so.
While the custodial arrangements that have been proposed by Billy Ray are
unlikely to be problematic, as one can imagine, the equitable separation
of the marital estate may prove to be a point of contention.
Property division can be difficult to determine. Often times people assume
that the dissolution of a marriage triggers an automatic 50/50 division
of all assts. Unfortunately, it is almost never that simple. In order
to determine a division of property, it is necessary to calculate the
value of what is called your “Net Family Property” (NFP).
In this case, what is likely to cause chaos is the difference between actual
and apparent entitlement to the assets Billy Ray has acquired during the
course of their marriage. In particular, as manager to daughter and famous
actress Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray has often been accused of riding on his
daughter’s coattails and really does not have much since his career
in the music industry came to an end. So, despite his lavish lifestyle,
it may just end up that Tish receives very little by way of equalization
as Billy Ray is said not to own much himself.