---
title: "Does My Child Have Their Own Lawyer in Quebec? ✦ Goldwater Droit"
canonical_url: "https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/faqs/does-my-child-have-their-own-lawyer-quebec"
last_updated: "2026-09-15T20:55:03.257Z"
locale: en
meta:
  description: "In Quebec, a child can be represented by their own lawyer—required in youth protection under s. 78 LPJ—independent of the parents. Here's how it works."
  "og:description": "In Quebec, a child can be represented by their own lawyer—required in youth protection under s. 78 LPJ—independent of the parents. Here's how it works."
  "og:title": "Does My Child Have Their Own Lawyer in Quebec?"
---

# Does my child have their own lawyer in a family case in Quebec?

In some family proceedings, yes. A child of sufficient age and understanding can be represented, consistent with the child's right to be heard under article 34 of the Civil Code of Québec. In youth protection proceedings, the child is represented by their own lawyer, independent of the parents, and section 78 of the Youth Protection Act requires the child's lawyer to be independent where the child's and parents' interests differ; a young child who cannot instruct counsel is assigned a lawyer who acts in the child's interest. The child's representation exists to give effect to the child's rights and views, not to take a parent's side, and in practice the child always has a different lawyer from the parents.

Civil Code of Québec, art. 34 (child heard) Youth Protection Act, s. 78 (representation of the child)