Many people are surprised by the high cost of legal services when they go through separation and divorce. It is not unusual to spend tens of thousands of dollars to have issues resolved even in an “amicable divorce”. Here are some of the reasons.
First, in most cases, people have many issues to resolve:
1)
There are so many people who believe that when they separate from their married or common law partner, the law automatically requires them to divide the property they own equally between them. People believe that common law partners eventually acquire the same rights as married partners if they live together long enough. Most of us
Catherine Hyde – Family Law Clerk
Summers in Barrie, Ontario have always been beautiful. We live in a marvelous city with the beautiful Kempenfelt Bay at its centre. I came from a si
ngle parent home and there was not much money. Back in the 60’s every Sunday we walked from our home on Mulholland Drive
The breakdown of a relationship is always a stressful experience but the emotional impact is heightened when there are children involved and spouses are faced with making a decision about how they intend to parent their children going forward or, worse yet, they are faced with having a judge make that decision for them. Once
This week, let me digress a bit from the family law field, although I think this topic is directly related to the issues we mediators face on a daily basis. If any of you have watched the Rick Mercer report on CBC television, you are undoubtedly a fan of his “weekly rant” in which he
Given that the sheer number of spouses who separate has increased cumulatively over the years, then the number of people who re-partner must also be increasing. This results in an increase in the number of people who should protect themselves, and their net worth in the event of a separation from their second (or third
For the past twenty six years I have been practicing law. It definitely does not feel as though it has been that long, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
To me, it has always been about helping people. However as I get set in my ways I notice how habits develop without me
Catherine Hyde, Family Law Clerk
In the movies there always seems to be one spouse trying to get the other to sign the “divorce papers” so that they can get remarried. Think “Sweet Alabama”. In Canada, our procedures are somewhat different.
There are two streams for divorces. It is either an Uncontested Divorce in which
Catherine Hyde, Family Law clerk
We are sometimes asked by clients whether or not they should seek a divorce or instead can they seek an annulment of the marriage, essentially declaring that the marriage is null and void, or the other spouse may be threatening to have the marriage annulled.
Most often an annulment is
A relationship breakdown affects people in different ways. Some people know that they have grown apart, accept that fact and are able to move on with their lives rather quickly. These are the people who can come to a quick and rather painless resolution of their parenting and financial issues. If they use lawyers, their