TMZ reports that
Amber Rose has filed for divorce from Wiz Khalifa after only one year of marriage. Amber has recently been spending time
with her manager Nick Cannon, who announced his split from Mariah Carey
just one month prior. It has been further reported that Amber is seeking
sole custody of the couple’s one-year old son, Sebastian.
In Ontario, custody does not refer to the physical custody and care of
a child, but, rather, it refers to the decision-making for the child.
As such, a court may order that the parents make major decisions regarding
a child jointly, joint custody, or an order than only the mother or father
make such decisions, sole custody. It is, however, often the case that
care of the child coincides with an order regarding custody, especially
when an order for sole custody is made.
Further, it is important to note that the day-to-day decisions regarding
the child (i.e. not major decisions) are made by the parent who is caring
for the child at that time. Thus, either the “access” parent
or “custodial” parent may be responsible for making the day-to-day
decisions for the child on any given day. The court will decide custody
based on the guiding principle of what is in “the best interests
of the child”. As such, a court will consider a multitude of factors
including the status quo, the desirability of maximizing contact between
the child and both parents, exposure to conflict/violence, and the views
of the child. The views of the child will only be considered where the
court is of the opinion that the child is mature and old enough to consider
what is in their own best interests.
Thus, if the claim for sole custody made by Amber Rose were made in an
Ontarian court, the court would primarily consider what is in the best
interests of the child. The court will not consider the views of the child,
Sebastian, in this case as he is too young. Further, if the parties are
unable to co-operate with respect to decision-making for the child, an
order for joint-custody of Sebastian would be highly unlikely. However,
if the court is of the opinion that the parties can communicate with each
other with respect to the child, the court will likely order joint-custody.