Separation agreements are relevant to parties who are married, or who have lived together for 3 years or more and/or have children together. Absolutely everyone should get a separation agreement completed and signed as quickly after separation as possible, especially if you have siginificant income, assets, and/or liabilities to address. This agreement will define the division of assets, any support payable, and any parenting arrangements that need to be made. The longer you wait, the more information your ex can request from you that may feel overly invasive. You want to avoid surprise claims against your income and property.

Similarly to separation agreements after you separate, pre and postnuptial agreements are completed while you are still together, but cover many of the same potential issues. It may seem "unromantic" to complete such an agreement, but I have seen so many people who are happy they did, whether they ever needed to rely on them or not. These agreements level the playing field. They not only map out what will happen if the parties were to separate, they identify each party's assets and debts held going into the marriage. This leaves no surprises to create issues later on. 

Cohabitation agreements can be done for couples living together, as well, even if they are not married or do not plan to get married.

This is especially important if they are coming up on 3 years of cohabitation and/or they have children together. The law treats these couples essentially the same as married ones, so it is just as important to protect yourself and your children.

Whether you have been served with papers or wish to intitiate divorce proceedings, we can discuss your next steps. Some of these may be in Court and some may be able to be done through out-of-Court negotiation. In order to finanilze a divorce, you generally need to finalize property division, spousal support, and parenting and child support matters. This can sometimes be resolved quickly when parties are either amicable or do not have much integration, but this process can sometimes be long and very stressful. I am here to guide you through it and try to settle things as quickly as possible so you can move on with your life after divorce.

Whether you were ever in a long-term relationship or not, both parents have presumed rights to see and parent their children. To what extent this may be is sometimes contested when parties are no longer together. This can sometimes come as a surprise to people who believe the law will automatically grant primary parenting to the mother of the child(ren). However, the law has no gendered presumption. The Court is only guided by the best interests of each child.

I will do everything I can to walk you through the law in this area and come to a resolution that prioritozes the best interest of your child(ren), while limiting the stress for you throughout. 

Child support will almost always be a factor to consider when children are involved in a separation. The Federal Child Support Guidelines mandate a certain amount of support each parent owes their child. In shared parenting situations, this support obligation is also generally shared. Given the law in this area, there is very little room for deviation from these guidelines, though a party's income or preffered/actual parenting time may be in question.

Spousal/partner support is dictated by many more factors and is not mandatory like child support is. However, spousal/partner support is becoming more of a presumption under the law. This is especially true when parties have children together, have been together long-term, there is a significant gap in the income between the parties, and/or when there are roles one party played in the relationship that may be deserving of compensation. The  Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines give a calculation of the range in which support should be payable, based on the parties' incomes, but other factors determine where in the range this amount should be set. 

This can be a difficult area to navigate and you will benefit from having someone experienced to help you through it and ensure you are not paying too much or receiving too little. 

Has your partner or ex already had their lawyer draft a separation, prenuptial, postnuptial, or cohab agreement? In most instances, you will also need a lawyer to advise you on your rights and responsibilities under the agreement and witness your signature. If there is anything within the agreement you are unsure of, I will also be there to bring this up with the other lawyer and see if we can get it changed to make you more comfortable. 

This is a limited scope service, but I am generally available to continue representing you if negotiations devolve and require more fulsome representation and/or Court proceedings. 

By appointment only, I can notarize most signatures that require a Notary stamp. Please contact me to ensure it is a document that I can assist you with and set up an appointment. Some real estate documents require an additional commissioner of oaths, which I do not always have present, and some international documents require more resources than I have available. 

Charges may vary on the type of document and whether legal advice is required, but start at $60+ gst.