Why Waiting To Deal With Your Separation or Divorce in Ontario Can Cause You Some Serious Problems!

Why Waiting To Deal With Your Separation or Divorce in Ontario Can Cause You Some Serious Problems!

You can face some serious legal and financial issues if you don’t deal with your separation in a fairly reasonable period of time after you and your spouse have separated.

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

When you first get separated, you have to start giving some serious thought to how you want to deal with the legal issues in your separation. 

These issues usually include child custody or access, now called parenting time and decision-making issues, child support, spousal support, and property issues.

What happens if you don’t deal with these issues in a timely manner?

If you were in a common-law relationship with your spouse and you get separated, you could easily have a false sense of security if you continue to live in your former spouse’s home.

When you lived in a common-law relationship and your spouse is the registered owner of the home, your spouse could let you to continue to live in the home. 

However, you have no legal right to continue to live in the home.  Your former spouse can legally ask you to move out at any time. 

Your spouse can also simply decide to sell the home.  When your spouse is the only owner of the home, they do not need your consent to sell the home. 

You can quickly find yourself homeless if you don’t deal with your living arrangements fairly quickly after you get separated from your spouse when you were living in a common-law relationship.

You can find it more difficult to get spousal support if you wait too long to claim it from your ex-spouse. 

Although there is no formal time limit on making a claim for spousal support, your former spouse is much less likely to be willing to pay you spousal support the longer you wait to ask for it.

As well, Ontario family court could also determine that you need less spousal support than you are claiming since you waited so long to claim spousal support. 

The rationale behind this thinking is that you don’t need spousal support as much as you say you do or else you would have made a claim for it much earlier.

When you establish a routine or pattern for parenting time and decision-making over a period of time, this will often stay in place.  It’s called the status quo for your parenting situation. 

When you want to have a parenting situation that’s different than what your former spouse might expect, you should negotiate a separation agreement or go to family court to get the parenting time arrangements and right decision-making for your children.

In short, you face some serious issues that will only get worse if you don’t deal with the end of your marriage or common-law relationship with a negotiated separation agreement or go to family court if required.

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  

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