Our Services
Our mission is to provide quality legal services in a timely fashion and at very reasonable costs in a professional and friendly atmosphere.

We specialize in the practice of family law in Toronto, Ontario. We have an outstanding record of settlements and verdicts in family law matters. We provide the best quality legal service for the most afford price.

We practice all areas of family law including:

• Child Support
• Custody and Access
• Divorce
• Marriage Contracts and Prenuptial Agreements
• Mediation
• Property Division
• Separation Agreements
• Spousal Support
• Family Collaborative Practice



Child Support
In family law child support is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly by an ("obligor") to an ("obligee") for the financial care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed.

The regulations for setting child support payments under the federal Divorce Act are called the Federal Child Support Guidelines and came into effect May 1, 1997. The guidelines consist of a set of rules and tables for calculating the amount of support that a paying parent should contribute towards his or her children.



Custody and Access
In Ontario, child custody decisions in family law and divorce proceedings include the child's residence, time spent with each parent, child's education, medical attention, religion and upbringing. In making a child custody decision, the courts will take into consideration the following:

• The relationship between the parent and child(ren) and family members who live with the    child(ren);
• The stability of the child(ren)'s home environment;
• The opinion and preference of the child(ren) depending on their age;
• The ability of each parent to provide the necessities of life for the child(ren), including education.

In Ontario, there are now three possible child custody arrangements:

Joint Custody

Parents who have joint custody share the rights and responsibilities of the upbringing of the child(ren). Courts are hesitant to order joint custody if the parents do not have a cooperative relationship.

Sole Custody

Child(ren) lives with the custodial parent for the majority of time. The custodial parent has the legal right to make all the major decisions in regards to the child's upbringing.

Access

A parent who is granted access is entitled to spend time with his or her child(ren) during the week, on weekends, and during the school holidays.



Marriage Contracts & Prenuptial Agreements

Marriage contracts (prenuptial agreements) are commonly used in re-marriage when there are child(ren) from a previous marriage and when people have accumulated assets. A marriage contract details the rights and obligations of the couple related to property, separation, divorce or death.

Issues that cannot be resolved in a Marriage Contract (Prenuptial Agreement)

• A marriage contract cannot deal with custody of, support for, and access to children.
• A marriage contract cannot eliminate a spouse the specific right to possession of the   matrimonial home.



Mediation
Mediation is a series of settlement meetings between the spouses and a third party, to work through custody and property divisions in a divorce related negotiation.

The Benefits of Mediation

• It improves communication between parties.
• The settlement is usually mutually beneficial.
• It promptly resolves divorce matters.
• It significantly reduces legal costs as compared to litigation.



Property Division
Property Division rules apply differently to couples who are married, and couples who are living common law. If you are splitting up with your spouse/partner, you each have rights to certain property, and obligations to your former spouse/partner to share certain property. Many people are often unaware of these legal rights and obligations simply because we generally don't organize our personal lives in a manner to achieve specific legal consequences.



Separation Agreement
Separation AgreementA private contract between separating spouses resolving issues of joint, family or marital property or assets, support and child responsibilities.

Should you get a written separation agreement? If you have children or own a house or other property together, it’s a good idea to have a formal written agreement when you separate. This is what people usually mean when they talk about a “legal separation.” The agreement, which is a legal contract, can deal with things like:

• Who the children will live with
• Support payments for children and spouses
• Occupancy of the family home
• Division of property
• Payment of family debts
• Splitting a family business



Spousal Support
Spousal support determination in Ontario takes into consideration many different factors including the occupation of each spouse during the marriage, the length of the marriage, age, physical health and career potential of each party. Spousal support may be awarded if it is demonstrated that one party:

• Suffered an economic disadvantage during the marriage;
• Deserves a financial relief;
• Contributed to the care and upbringing of the children during the marriage. Spousal support may be paid for periodically or in a lump sum. Child support always takes precedence over spousal support.

In Ontario, the party who pays spousal support is entitled to claim the amount as income tax deductible. The party who receives spousal support is obliged to claim the spousal support as taxable income.



Family Collaborative Practice
Individuals seeking resolution in family law matters through the Courts are required to attend multiple management conferences. The purposes of the meetings are to acquire resolutions to divorce matters including custody and access, spousal and child support, and the division of properties.
Family collaborative practice is an efficient, effective, and relatively cheap method to dissolving your marriage. Parties who choose to resolve the issues and differences related to their divorce through collaborative law settlement negotiations are usually able to reach a mutually beneficial separation agreement as compared to settling the family law matter in Court.

The Benefits of Collaborative Practice

• Both parties are able to contribute to the terms and conditions of the separation agreement;
• Both parties have greater control of the negotiation process;
• Improves communication between parties and increases the chance of reaching a mutually    beneficial separation agreement;
• Relatively cheap as compared to litigation; and
• Matters can be resolved much quicker as compared to litigation.

Third party professionals such as child psychologists, financial planners, parent coordinators, social workers or other professionals may be included if both parties agree to have additional expertise in complicated matters.

There are some other important issues and particulars that are very fact-dependent.
Please contact us for a Consultation With An Experienced Family Lawyer for more information.



Divorce

A divorce comes down to two things; a simple uncontested divorce or a contested divorce.

To initiate a divorce application you file the divorce papers with the family court, you then serve the court documents to your spouse. If your spouse does not contest the divorce within the required time period, the divorce will proceed as 'uncontested' simple divorce. If your spouse contests the divorce, then it will become a contested divorce.

To file a simple divorce, you will need your original marriage certificate for a divorce. If your marriage certified is not in English then it also needs to be translated into English by a certified translator. There are three valid grounds for divorces and they are separation for longer than 1 year, adultery and spousal abuse.

On average, it takes about 2 to 3 months from when your Application is filed with the court until the court grants the divorce. However, it could take much longer occasionally. If you are planning to remarry, you are strongly advised to obtain the divorce order from the Court before making any plan for divorce.

It is extremely technical and time consuming in a divorce application and there's much room for errors. Please contact us for a consultation with an experienced family lawyer for more information.