Cohabitation or Marriage Agreements
One of the best ways of protecting the one you love is by drafting a marriage or co-habitation agreement before you move in together. Consider it an “agreement for lovers”. Like taking an umbrella to prepare for a rainy day, the time taken to draft an agreement reduces or eliminates future problems. We will assist you in co-operatively drafting an agreement with your partner that will fairly deal with property and establish guidelines for child and spousal support, in keeping with the legal principles under the Family Law Act.
Separation and Divorce
We can help you resolve issues arising from a separation and divorce, or help parents who have never lived together but need to resolve parenting and child support matters. In the majority of these cases, the parties are working toward the terms of a separation agreement which governs all future dealings between the parties, including parenting and financial arrangements. We provide legal advice during the negotiation process to ensure that you receive a fair and legally enforceable agreement. Our goal is to draft a Separation Agreement which provides the finality that is required to settle all outstanding family matters between you and your former spouse. To reach your goal, we offer the following services:
- Collaborative Law: Both spouses sign an agreement to work together transparently, compassionately and not to go to court. The process may involve lawyers, financial advisors, divorce coaches and/or a child specialist. Professionals retained by the spouses join the collaborative family law team to obtain a written agreement cooperatively and less expensively, outside of Court.
- Mediation: The spouses hire a neutral third party to facilitate the exchange of information, discuss options and reach agreements. The mediator cannot provide legal advice to either spouse, so it is helpful if each spouse has their own lawyer, but it is not mandatory.
- Negotiation: Spouses negotiate through lawyers by the written exchange of information, proposals and counter-proposals. Spouses may have four-way meetings with lawyers or take steps in court while negotiating. Unsuccessful negotiations may lead to court applications, trials, mediation or mediation/arbitration.
- Litigation: One spouse files and serves a court application. The other spouse can respond after being served with the court proceedings. The Court Rules govern the steps taken, including the exchange of documents and evidence, applications to court, conferences and other processes to reach settlement or prepare for trial, and trial, if necessary. Litigation is not private. The court fees and inflexible processes make litigation an expensive and stressful option for many people.