Assuming it is an uncontested divorce, the usual cost is approximately $1,700, bearing in mind that much of this cost is many disbursements, from court filing fees to service of documents and other relevant disbursements. In addition, of course there is the new HST tax that is applicable to legal services.

See Also:  Costs of an Uncontested Divorce

Legal fees are tax-deductible in matters where a party is pursuing child support and/or spousal support.  Matters dealing with the custody of children, divorce, and/or equalization are not tax-deductible unless, in the same Court action, child and/or spousal support is dealt with.  These legal fees are tax-deductible to the spouse who will be receiving the payments, but not to the spouse making the payments.

Confidentiality allows clients to freely discuss intimate details without the fear that the information could be subsequently disclosed to another. It protects certain communication between a lawyer and the client from being disclosed without the permission of the client. However, disclosure of information that is already within the public domain does not breach the duty of confidentiality.

A lawyer at all times shall hold in strict confidence all information concerning the business and affairs of the client acquired in the course of the professional relationship and shall not divulge any such information unless expressly or impliedly authorized by the client or required by law to do so.

Rule 2.03, Rules of Professional Conduct

The real question is whether it is joint custody, that is shared control and decision making with the father, or whether it is sole custody. The trend has been to have both parents significantly involved with the children, and this is often best achieved with joint custody. Although one may think that this causes problems because decision making has to be shared, usually, the decision making regarding children falls into place, at least over time. The full question of custody, however, is very fact driven in that it depends on the specifics of that case.

However, these rights are dependent on the best interests of the children. The best interests of the children are the paramount consideration and the test that is applied to determine if access should be granted to a parent, regardless of whether that parent is the mother or the father. Generally, courts recognize that a child should have as much contact with each parent as his or her best interests require. This is called the "maximum contact principle."

Access means the time that the non-custodial parent has the child in his or her care. Access includes the right to make inquiries about a child and to be given information about the child's health, education and welfare. Day to day decisions are made by the parent with whom the child is residing, according to the residential schedule.

Although a parent (whether mother or father) who does not receive custody usually receives access, no one, including a non-custodial parent, has an absolute right to access. Judges sometimes state that access is the right of a child and turns on the child's interests, not on the parent's interests. Most Judges and parents view access as a joint right of a parent and child and accept that there should be regular and frequent access unless a parent has forfeited such right by misconduct, or such contact posing a risk to the child.

In some situations, one party is able to buy out the other party's share and keep the house. The Family Law Act provides for a distribution scheme, which in general terms, provides for an equal division of all of the assets that a married couple have accumulated during their marriage. There are some items that are excluded from this type of division. The matrimonial home has a special status and is not subject to the normal Rules of division of assets. To cover this topic, it would be advisable to have discussions with a lawyer regarding this.

See Also: Preparing List of Division of Property Items

If the inheritance money was received by a party during his or her marriage, then that party is permitted to exclude the value of that inheritance on the valuation date (date of separation).  There are several stipulations, however, in that the inheritance must have been received from a third party after the date of marriage, the inheritance could not have been used to purchase the Matrimonial Home or pay down its mortgage, and the inheritance must have been in existence on the date the parties separated.  In other words, the inheritance must be traceable.  It is also not a good idea to place the inheritance money in a joint account, as some case law suggests that the funds may be co-mingled, and a court may not be able to determine what portion of the inheritance should be excluded, if any.

In fact, lawyers have an obligation and duty to draw to the attention of the individual they are representing and to discuss with him/her the possibility of negotiating the matter, and to inform that individual of alternative dispute resolution methods that may be of assistance. In other words, the court system should be the very last method of resolution. In terms of alternative dispute resolution methods, there are many, ranging from negotiating with or without the assistance of solicitors, to mediation, to arbitration, to collaborative law methods. Lawyers can and will assist their clients in determining which of the above methods is most suitable and appropriate in their case.

See Also: Steps in an Uncontested Divorce

Collaborative family lawyers assist clients in resolving conflict using cooperative strategies rather than adversarial techniques and litigation. The clients are encouraged to take the primary role in negotiating settlements that are mutually acceptable and that satisfies the interests of both parties. The lawyers use their skills to model and teach clients how to be effective interest based negotiators; to help identify the issues and concerns of each party; to bring stability and reason to emotionally charged situations; to serve as agents of reality for unreasonable clients; to guide clients through a process of cooperative conflict by using disagreement as a way to find creative solutions to problems, which the parties feel committed to uphold.

The participants communicate to promote the maximum exchange of information; to reveal all concerns of the parties; to generate creative options tailored to meet the clients' unique circumstances and reflects their values- and goes beyond the "one size fits all" approach of the law; and ultimately, to agree upon the terms and conditions of a mutually acceptable settlement that both parties can say "yes" to.

Some of the objectives of the collaborative process are:

• Arriving at a fair and reasonable settlement such that an adversarial court proceeding is avoided.
• Encouraging private ordering and self-determination such that the parties arrive at their own, voluntary resolution of the issues in dispute.
• Reducing tension and conflict, particularly when children are involved.
• Ensuring that all relevant parties have an opportunity to have their views and needs heard.
• Providing an opportunity for parties to re-assess their perceptions and assumptions about each other. The parties and their lawyers commit to work collaboratively and this is reflected in an agreement which stipulates that should settlement fail the lawyers will withdraw and not participate in litigation.

See Also: Explanation of Collaborative Family Law Process

Collaborative Law section

There are two possible reasons for this. One is that people can have complicated situations that require a lot of professional review. For example, property issues where there is a significant business owned which needs to be professionally valued, that process may take a number of months to occur, and so the case may take a year or so before all information is available and decisions can be made. Other cases can have conflicts between the parties over issues such as children's schedule or children visiting the other parent, and there has to be assessments and processes in order to complete this. If the case can be resolved through negotiation, maybe even mediation (involving a professional mediator as well as counsel), and there is significant efforts and desire by both sides to resolve the issues quickly, they may be resolved in two or three months and the final Separation Agreement put into place.

DeRusha Law Firm has a program which allows both sides to jointly hire one of our mediation lawyers. It may be that neither side has to hire a lawyer to go through this process. However, both sides must be cooperative in this approach, and particulars of this program can be reviewed in our Mediation section.