Family Law Services

Areas of Family Law Practice

Separation Agreements

A separation agreement is a contract designed to resolve issues between parties when there is a separation or divorce. A separation agreement can be created at any time. A separation agreement can cover whatever issues the parties want clarified in writing. Separation agreements must be fair to both parties or there is a risk it will be set aside later.

Divorce

It may surprise you, but a divorce is usually the least difficult order to obtain from a court. It is the other things: child support, spousal support, custody and guardianship of children, and division of property that people fight over.

Even if never legally married, unmarried people are still entitled to resolve issues involving kids, property and support.

Custody & Access

Custody is the right to have a child or children with you and to make decisions such as school, health care, education, religion and extracurricular activities. It is often lumped with “guardianship,” which refers to the full rights and duties associated with the care and raising of a child or children. Custody has nothing to do with where the child lives, often referred to as “primary residency.”

Child Support

Child support is money paid by one parent (the “payor”) to the other (the “recipient”), with whom the child or children primarily reside. Its sole purpose is to assist with the expenses of child care. Where children live is the determining factor in deciding who is the payor and who is the recipient. Both parents will pay child support to offset the cost of this arrangement if custody is shared.

Spousal Support

Spousal support is the court’s way of compensating a spouse who has come out of a relationship with less earning potential than the other spouse. The classic example of this is a homemaker who managed a household and raised children while the other spouse was the family breadwinner.

Property Division

This can often be the biggest issue in a divorce, particularly if the marriage was long and significant assets accumulated during the relationship. The Family Law Act has changed how property is divided. Now all property that a person owned prior to becoming a spouse is “excluded property.”

Adoption

Adoption allows a non-biological parent to assume the rights and responsibilities associated with parenting. It also removes these rights and responsibilities from one or both biological parents. Judges have the same concern for the child’s best interests during an adoptions process.

Adoption can happen in two ways:

Voluntarily, by a biological parent consenting to a relative or step-parent taking on the parenting role;
Or by a stranger through an adoption agency.

The first requires a court order. The second requires involvement of government agencies such as the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Section 3 of the Adoption Act outlines the relevant factors a court will consider:

The child’s safety;
The child’s physical and emotional needs and level of development;
Continuity in the child’s care;
The child’s development of having a positive relationship with a parent and a secure place as a member of a family;
The quality of the relationship the child has with a birth parent or other individual and the effect of maintaining that relationship;
The child’s cultural, racial, linguistic and religious heritage;
The child’s views;
The effect on the child if there is delay in making a decision; and
If the child is an aboriginal child, the importance of preserving the child’s cultural identity.

Consent is required for adoption to occur through the court system. It can come from:

A biological parent (a child must be at least 10 days old before a biological mother can consent),
A guardian, if someone has been appointed to fill this role,
A child older than 12.

It can also come from a director under the Child, Family and Community Safety Act if the child is in the government’s care.

Consent is normally given by the person swearing an affidavit in which they outline their consent. The affidavit is then filed as part of the application for an adoption order.

Consent can also be revoked – but only before certain things happen. A birth mother may revoke her consent until the child is 30 days old or up to the point where the child is placed with adoptive parents. A child can revoke consent at any time until an adoption order is made. After a child is placed with adoptive parents, consent can only be revoked by application to the court, provided the application occurs before an adoption order is made.

Mediation

Mediation is assisted negotiation, or “managed negotiation.” It is useful when parties want an agreement but are unable to reach it without outside help. The mediator’s role is to facilitate the negotiation towards a mutually beneficial resolution, or facilitating a “win-win scenario.”

These agreements are likely to stand the test of time because they align with both parties’ interests as much as possible.

A mediator will:

Guide the Process: Agenda planning, framing issues, providing stages for the mediation and drafting the agreement.

Defuse Emotions: Showing empathy, active listening, calling breaks and (where suitable) using humour.

Enhance Communication: Ensuring understanding, including providing equal time forall parties to speak.

Assist In Information Exchange: Clarifying, defining terms, asking difficult questions and obtaining information from third parties.

Provide A Reality Check: Looking at hypothetical outcomes, including estimating what results might look like if mediation fails.

How Does Mediation Work?

Pre-Mediation:

Meet with the parties to gather information and fill out an information form. Each meeting usually takes about an hour. My preference is to meet with all participants at the same time. I will then have both parties sign a retainer agreement before setting the mediation date. Parties can meet in one room, or separate rooms, if they prefer. Parties will be asked to provide full, fair and frank financial disclosure to me at least two days before the mediation date.

A non-exhaustive list includes:

Mediation briefs (optional);
Any sworn financial statements;
Your T1 general tax returns and Notices of Assessment for the past three years;
Your most recent statement of earnings [pay stub] from your employer;
Your most recent B.C. Property Assessment for all homes you own;
All court documents, especially court orders, separation agreements and other pleadings; and
If you own a company, all corporate T2 income tax returns, balance sheets, and statements of income for the past three years.

Mediation:

I begin with an overview of the mediation process, including ground rules for how parties will speak to each other, if necessary.

I then determine the issues. My primary goals are to collect any missing information, allow the parties to add any required information and determine common ground.

I then begin exploring interests. My goal is to get behind the issues to what each party needs to maximize potential for a satisfactory agreement that addressed those needs. The point is to begin transitioning to problem-solving. Sometimes I state the interests and then invite the parties to begin crafting options meeting those interests. There may also be some reality checking and hypothetical exploration.

The Agreement:

I will thus usually begin drafting separation agreement clauses as soon as it is appropriate to do so. I want the parties to have a signed separation agreement they can then file.

Parties are invited to sign the agreement when they are comfortable doing so. I suggest obtaining independent legal advice before signing.

What are your fees and do you accept payment plans?

Don’t be afraid to seek legal advice because you are afraid of fees. The allocation of support and division of assets makes divorce one of your most important financial decisions so professional counsel can be money well spent.

The actual cost depends on the amount of work involved. I charge $350 per hour, billed in six-minute increments.

In general, we start by establishing an amount for a retainer and a monthly payment amount. This is money you provide to pay for the lawyer’s work they on your file. I accept payment by cash, cheque and major credit cards. The money goes into a trust account and is only moved out of this when work is done and a bill is sent to you.

I can’t guarantee exactly how long your matter will take – nobody can.
How can we minimize costs?

Be clear about what you want to accomplish: The longer it takes, the more it will cost you. Most divorce lawyers who see the client for the first time in an initial consult have first had the client fill out an “initial client meeting” sheet. Take the time to fill it out thoroughly because it will save the divorce lawyer time [and your money] asking you for that information, which will be needed to begin a court action. You can check out the “Divorce Law Issues” page on this website for more information on common divorce law issues.

Prepare all the relevant documents as early as possible: This will save time and money when your lawyer prepares a financial statement. This is required from both spouses and lists assets, debts and monthly expenses with financial records to confirm.

Remember the meter is running: Lawyers will charge you every time you speak to them, email them or ask them to do something. Part of a good divorce lawyer’s job is to keep you focused on your final goals rather than getting sidetracked on less important matters that can still prove costly.
What should I prepare for my consultation?
- Your original marriage certificate [if you have it];
- Your T1 General tax returns and notices of assessment for the past three years;
- Your most recent statement of earnings [pay stub] from your employer;
- Your most recent B.C. Property Assessment for all homes, condos etc. that you own;
- All court documents, especially court orders, separation agreements and other pleadings;
- If you own a company, you should bring all corporate T2 income tax returns, balance sheets, and statements of income for the past three years;
- Your bank card, so the divorce lawyer can print your bank statements from your online account, which may be needed on division of property issues;
- Your credit card. In addition to providing payment, the divorce lawyer may wish to print your credit card statements from your online account, which will be needed to quantify the family debt on division of property issues;
- Your most recent mortgage statement.
Sample hourly billings for common family law services:

Uncontested Divorces: Approximately two hours of legal time plus a $200 filing fee.

Separation Agreements: Approximately 10 hours of legal time.This includes in-person meeting(s) to establish objectives, correspondence and negotiation, and preparing a financial statement to ensure full, fair and frank disclosure.

Filing a Notice of Family Claim or Reply/Counterclaim in Contested Proceedings: One – three hours of legal time plus a $200 filing fee.

Judicial Case Conferences: Approximately five to seven hours. Two to four hours of preparation, 1.5 hours for the conference plus travel time, and one to two hours for follow up on next steps.

Mediation: I offer mediation services on a sliding scale from $100-$350/hour depending on family cash flow. I can accompany you as counsel or provide information by telephone if you need independent legal advice during a mediation with another mediator.

Trials: Most family law cases settle before this because trials are expensive. Estimate 10 hours per day of trial plus five hours per day of prep time. A five-day trial would equal 75 hours.

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