What You Absolutely Need to Know To Get A Separation Agreement in Ontario!

What You Absolutely Need to Know To Get A Separation Agreement in Ontario!

If you’re looking for a way to avoid family court, then you should negotiate a separation agreement with your former spouse.

Hi, my name is Thomas O’Malley.  I’m an experienced family lawyer in Durham Region and the GTA.

I’ve discussed in other videos how to deal with the legal issues in your separation or divorce in family court.

However, as I mentioned, you can skip family court by negotiating an effective separation agreement with your former spouse.

Your spouse must be willing to take a reasonable position on the various family law issues in your separation or divorce to successfully negotiate a separation agreement.

If your spouse is unreasonable on important legal issues in your case and they will not budge from this position, you might have to go to family court to resolve these legal issues.  Your family lawyer will advise on the best approach to take in your situation.

When you negotiate a separation agreement, your lawyer will first carefully advise you on your family law rights based on the facts of your situation and the application of Ontario family law principles to your situation.

You must also make sure your spouse has provided you with full financial disclosure before you send a proposed separation agreement to your former spouse.  You must also provide full financial disclosure to your spouse.

Full financial disclosure means that you must provide a detailed Financial Statement with the support documents showing the value of your assets and the amounts of your debts to your spouse.  Your spouse must provide the same information and documents to you.

Be prepared for some “back and forth” in negotiating your separation agreement with your spouse.  This means that your spouse will very likely send you some proposed changes to the separation agreement that they want.

When you and your spouse take reasonable positions on the various legal issues in your situation, it’s very likely that you can settle your issues with a signed separation agreement.

When you and your spouse have signed a separation agreement, then your family law issues are now resolved or settled.

You can now get what is called an uncontested divorce.  An uncontested divorce means that you are simply seeking to get a divorce order in family court since you have already resolved the legal issues in your case in a signed separation agreement with your spouse. 

In other words, there’s nothing for your spouse to challenge or contest since you and your former spouse have already resolved your family law issues.

When you hear the term a contested divorce, this means that spouses are dealing with the divorce-related issues in family court, such as child custody and access, child support, spousal support and property issues.

You avoid this contested divorce or divorce battle in family court by first negotiating a separation agreement with your spouse.

A judge will review your court documents in an uncontested divorce.  They will usually only delay granting your divorce when you have not adequately explained child support payments for your children. 

If you or your spouse are paying the proper amount of child support pursuant to the Ontario Child Support Guidelines, the judge will grant your divorce order after reviewing the court documents.

A family court judge will also grant your divorce order in a contested divorce as part of the process of making orders on the disputed legal issues in your case, such as spousal support and the property issues.

If you have any questions about your separation, divorce or family law case and you would like our help, there’s a few ways to contact our office.  

You can leave a message on my Facebook law office page, visit my website at www.canadiandivorcelegaladvice.com, or call me directly at 905-434-8837. 

We would be happy to speak to you.

Oh, by the way, did you know you can protect your family law rights and get essential information on settling your family law issues with your former spouse with the daily indispensable family law advice and tips at my FREE Facebook group? 

Click here to find out more: Durham Region Separation and Divorce Legal Support Group  

Thanks for watching this video.