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Getting a divorce is a complicated process, especially when you have children. The ex-spouses have to decide who will have legal guardianship of the children.

The couple getting divorced must also discuss the amount of child support to provide, among many other factors.

Are you having marriage problems? Does neither person know what to do next? You need an experienced family lawyer in Ottawa to advise you.

The lawyers can assist with:

• getting a court order
• creating a separation agreement or reviewing it
• spousal support
• custody and access
• marriage contracts
• legal advice about the Divorce Act
• explaining the legal process

Legal guardianship matters

We can connect you with affordable family lawyers in Ottawa. These top lawyers help you with the next steps to protect your rights. They ensure that your children will be taken care of during the divorce process.

The lawyers also help with marriage mediation in Ottawa. This mediation help means you don’t have to take your case to trial, which can help cut your costs. It helps move things forward between you and your ex-spouse.

Lawyers can offer legal services that cover legal guardianship matters, adoptions, and pre-marriage agreements.

Separation and Legal Services

Sometimes both spouses decide that it is time to end the relationship. They will have to sit down and figure out how to proceed with dividing up assets.

They will need to talk about legal guardianship of children and spousal support payments. The lawyers are well-versed in separation and mediation law. So the lawyers can help you get through this vital negotiation process.

Our top lawyer’s separation mediation services are based on whether you are getting an uncontested separation. It is a different conversation if you are doing a contested or legal separation.

Your lawyer will help draft legally binding documents for you and work with the other party to come to a mutual agreement. This legal agreement may include details regarding child guardianship and payments.

Can neither party agree to certain aspects of the separation, such as asset division? Then, experienced lawyers can provide legal representation and help represent you when the time comes to take your case to court to get a court order.

Custody And Access Ottawa

Are you in dispute with an ex-spouse regarding spousal support payments? Maybe it’s regarding child custody or how to separate your assets. Seek out one of our specialized family law lawyers in Ottawa who can handle your case.

Find an attorney with years of legal representation experience, and use that knowledge to assist couples with making big family decisions that will impact the rest of their lives.

We also help couples before they get married. You need to connect with family lawyers in Ottawa who will draft marriage agreements such as prenuptial agreements. These services are ideal when you are bringing certain assets into the marriage.

You may want to keep your assets separate from your spouse’s assets. It can also help if it’s your second marriage. You might want certain assets to go to the previous spouse and their children.

The Legal Process When Couples Split Up

Understanding the legal process when couples split up can be difficult, and the legal process of ending a relationship can be confusing. The chances are that property rights and child custody issues arose throughout your relationship, and they must be resolved before you can move on with your life.

For example, the law recognizes marriage as an equal partnership regarding rights to real and personal property. When a marriage ends, the parties are entitled to an equal share of that property.

The law does not extend this rule to common-law relationships where each party is only entitled to retain property acquired in their name during or before the relationship begins.

The following step-by-step account of what to expect in the legal process of breaking up should help eliminate any confusion you might have about it.

Separation agreements

When two people in a relationship decide to live separately and apart, it is referred to as a separation regardless of whether the couple is married or living in a common-law relationship.

Married couples that elect to separate must begin divorce proceedings to officially end their marriage. Even though you and your spouse agree to live apart, your legal status as married continues until a court ends it.

There is no formal process for separation. Once a couple splits up, and the parties begin living apart, they are separated. They should, however, speak with a lawyer about a separation agreement, which is a legally enforceable contract containing agreements they reach on essential issues, including:

• Child custody and access to the children
• Child support
• Spousal support
• Division of property, including pensions
• Responsibility for debts

Living apart for at least one year can be used as grounds for obtaining a divorce to end the marriage. Other grounds for divorce are mental or physical cruelty by one spouse against the other and adultery.

There are many emotions that both estranged spouses will go through during the separation or divorce process. Getting assistance from a mental health professional or counselling agency can be life-transforming and calming during this complicated and emotional time.

Ending a marriage

The power of courts to end a marriage is granted by the Divorce Act, which is a Canadian federal Law. A divorce proceeding is heard by courts in the province where either of the parties has resided for at least one year before seeking a divorce.

If you reside in Ontario, you or your lawyer must fill out an application for a divorce. Before filing the divorce application, you must decide if you are only requesting that the court grant a divorce or if you are also asking for it to resolve other disputed issues, such as child custody, property division, and support.

Courts have the authority to resolve issues related to the divorce, but doing so could require additional paperwork, such as a financial statement, and generally takes longer. It is much easier if an out-of-court agreement can be negotiated on your behalf by your lawyer and your spouse’s lawyer.

Speak to a family lawyer in Ottawa

The completed application for a divorce must be filed with the court and a copy of it must be given to your spouse. Your spouse has a legal period to respond to your application with an answer.

If you and your spouse are both in agreement on the issues related to divorce and on the divorce itself, you could file a joint application. Joint applications save time, but one of the conditions of being able to use this streamlined process is that custody, support, property division, and other issues must be resolved ahead of filing.

A lawyer experienced in family law can help

If you are considering splitting up with your spouse or partner, a lawyer knowledgeable in family law has the guidance for your legal rights and obligations to help you avoid mistakes.

Getting assistance from a family lawyer in Ottawa in reaching an agreement on financial and child custody issues can ensure that your rights are protected.

Thinking About Splitting Up?

Are you thinking about splitting up? Based upon data collected through surveys of people splitting up, you probably know of someone who has gone through a divorce or separation or the end of a common-law relationship.

It is estimated that five million of your fellow Canadians responding to the most recent census have experienced a split with their spouses through divorce or separation.

If you are thinking about splitting with your spouse or partner, you might not be able to avoid the emotional roller coaster that accompanies a breakup, but you can take steps to plan to protect yourself from suffering financial harm or damaging the relationship you have with your children.

Thinking About Splitting Up? Make sure your relationship is over

Knowing the relationship is finally over is one of the first steps you need to take when splitting up with your spouse. Counselling, either alone or with your estranged spouse, can guide you through the emotional turmoil and help you determine if the relationship is legitimately broken or if it can be saved.

The value of property owned when a couple splits up is divided equally between them when the marriage ends in divorce or separation.

The increase in the value of any property owned individually by either you or your spouse is also taken into consideration for determining the total value of the contribution of each party to a marriage.

If some of the assets were owned by you before the start of your marriage, you must retain and protect any records about those assets and the purchase transactions that prove your ownership of them and their value at the time of the marriage.

Financial records and important documents have a way of disappearing even in an otherwise amicable breakup.

Unless remaining is unsafe, do not move out of your home

You and your spouse share equal rights in the marital home. Moving out could jeopardize your rights to obtain custody of your children, and may be considered by the court if your children remain in the home with your spouse when you are not living there.

If safety is an issue, your lawyer can request a restraining order to protect you against abusive behaviour from your spouse.

Speak with an experienced law firm

Knowing your legal rights and responsibilities is essential. Your relationship with your spouse may be ending, but the decisions you make now will affect you and your family for a long time in the future.

The laws about divorce, separation, or ending a common-law relationship can be complex and intimidating.

A consultation with a lawyer experienced in representing individuals in family law matters can help you develop a plan to ensure a favourable outcome that protects your future well-being and fosters your relationship with your children.

Get legal advice from a family lawyer in Ottawa

A consultation with a lawyer provides advice and guidance for planning an exit from your relationship consistent with the laws in Ontario. For example, judges consider the best interests of your children when deciding custody and access to your children.

Your relationship with the children leading up to the breakup is one of several factors courts look at, so it is essential to remain an important and present part of their lives. 

If the children reside with you, taking steps to encourage them to maintain their relationship with your ex-spouse will usually be considered by the court in their best interest.

Proposed changes to the Divorce Act could affect your rights regarding child custody, financial disclosure, and other important issues in a divorce or separation. A consultation with a lawyer would help you understand the effect of the current laws and how to plan accordingly.

Family lawyer in Ottawa

Would you want to hold on to the gifts that celebrate your union with your spouse that you are trying to divorce or separate from? What benefit will there be in keeping mementos of your marriage that did not end in a happily ever after?

If you need to do equitable distribution, we can help calculate what’s fair using our advanced software. Assets that are acquired during the marriage are often divided 50/50, but there are exceptions. Property division is stressful, so make sure you get legal advice.

An expensive issue that you may run into with the wedding gifts or plans is a prepaid trip. Who gets to go? Or should you even go?

If the wedding gift is a plane ticket, you may consider keeping both airline tickets and thinking about taking someone else. However, most airlines no longer accept name changes on international tickets.

Ottawa Family Lawyers Near Me

If the child states that they do not want to go see the other parent, that parent needs to use the same parenting techniques they would use if a child does not want to go to any other obligation.

As the motion judge stated in this case: What does a parent do when this child doesn’t want to go to school or doesn’t want to go to the dentist? …Does this child have an allowance?

Does she have a hockey tournament that maybe she’s not allowed to go to if she doesn’t go to see her other parent before? Are there things the parent could do to force her to go short of the police attending at her house and physically removing her?

This case makes it clear that mere encouragement is not sufficient.  A parent must use “stronger forms of persuasion.”

You should speak to a family law firm in Ottawa today. Don’t wait, your future and your children’s future and happiness are at stake. Best of luck finding the right family lawyer in Ottawa for you.