Author Archives: divorcebc

What is (separation & divorce) mediation?

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What is (separation & divorce) mediation?

Question: What is mediation?

Answer:  Mediation is a process by which parties who could otherwise go to court to resolve a dispute determine they will go to a neutral third party with or without lawyers to see if they can resolve a dispute. Often what occurs is the mediator selected will often be a family law lawyer with many years of experience. Routinely parties would share the cost of   the mediator’s services. The mediator’s role often involves assisting the parties to narrow or resolve issues or the entire dispute. The mediator can often assist the parties by providing a view of what might happen if they went to court. In many mediations parties still have independent counsel who assist in marshalling the facts and taking negotiating positions to the mediator with the ultimate goal being seeking common ground and a settlement without going to the expense and uncertainty of court proceedings.

Should I leave the home prior to getting a divorce?

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Should I leave the home prior to getting a divorce?

Generally your claim over the matrimonial home is not affected by your decision to leave the home. However, people can live in the same home and still be separated so long as they are living separated lives in this environment. It is often important to remain in the matrimonial home for a variety of reasons.

These include but are not limited to maintaining a relationship with your children, maintaining the residence, and maintaining your financial stability and minimizing expenditures.  On the other hand, it may be worthwhile to leave the matrimonial home if you can afford it, as it often relieves tension between the parties.  If you leave the matrimonial home, this will not impact on your rights and entitlements to share in the assets.  This decision can affect your relationship with your children and what the results may be for custody.

Provided that you are a joint owner of a property or defined as a spouse under the Family Law Act, you can apply for exclusive occupation of the matrimonial residence and use of the contents.  A spouse is somebody who is married or has been living with the other party for a period of at least 2 years in a continuous relationship who is not married.

The residence at issue can be owned or leased by one of the parties or both parties.  It is not guaranteed that a person will receive exclusive occupancy.  The person applying for exclusive occupancy will have to establish that shared use of the home is a practical impossibility and that the applicant is on balance the preferred occupant.

Can I begin dating before I get a divorce?

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Can I begin dating before I get a divorce?

Question: Can I begin dating before I get a divorce?

Answer: You can begin dating before you get a divorce. As there is no fault divorce in British Columbia from a strict legal perspective this should have no or little bearing on the outcome of your case. However, if you make this decision you should use discretion in your disclosure of this fact. A new relationship often causes an emotional reaction for children and former partners that can often make cases more difficult to resolve by consent and further at times this decision can have an impact on determinations of child custody and access.

How quickly can I get a divorce?

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How quickly can I get a divorce?

Question: How quickly can I get a divorce?

Answer: If you have no children and there are no disputes about asset division, you can usually obtain a divorce in British Columbia within three to four months. It will take longer if the other person resides in the United States or outside North America. These types of “uncontested divorces” are handled without court appearances and we can prepare the documents on your behalf. Usually this will require only one or two meetings with us.

Upon what basis can I get a divorce?

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Upon what basis can I get a divorce?

The three bases upon which a divorce can be granted are the following:

Adultery: A person has had sexual intercourse with another person since their date of marriage without the consent of their spouse;

Cruelty: One spouse has treated the other spouse either physically or emotionally in a manner, which renders their continued co-habitation impossible.  This conduct must be extreme and outside of normal arguments and contact.  Generally one is thinking of extreme emotional and physical abuse;

One year of separation:  The parties have lived separate and apart for over one year prior to the divorce being granted.  The parties generally will have lived apart for a year prior to getting their divorce.  This is usually the time they have been apart but could include times they were living under the same roof if prior to physical separation they had actually started to live separate lives.  The Court looks at all the factors to determine this.  These include but are not limited to whether parties are still intimate, interacting as a family unit and whether or not they still share finances.

Adultery and cruelty require independent corroboration to be founded.  This usually means having a third party or the offending party confirm conduct often in Affidavit form.  As what amounts to adultery or cruelty can often be subjective, these grounds are not now often pursued and the most common ground is one-year separation.