How to Protect Yourself When Getting a Divorce in Calgary
Protecting yourself in a divorce is partly a matter of process: what the court requires you and the other party to disclose is set by law, and there are public services to contact where safety is the concern.
Disclosure Is a Requirement, Not a Tactic
In Calgary the Government of Alberta's Family Justice Strategy makes financial disclosure mandatory for all parties filing an application for child support, spousal support, adult interdependent partner support or family property division.
It takes the form of a Financial Disclosure Statement with its supporting documents.
The Family Property Act goes further once a property application has actually been commenced. At that point each spouse or adult interdependent partner has to file with the Court a statement, verified by oath, disclosing particulars of all of their property, whether it is in Alberta or elsewhere, and to serve that statement on the other.
That statement also has to include property disposed of within one year before the application was commenced.
The requirement runs both ways. It applies to the party who starts the application and to the party responding to it.
family property division in Alberta›A family lawyer advises on what the requirement covers in a particular situation and prepares the statement with you.
If You Hold an Account Jointly
A joint account has the same features as a chequing or savings account held by one person, and it lets two or more people make withdrawals, deposits, payments and other transactions with the same account.
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada sets out what that means for each holder. You share access to the account, and you are responsible for any transaction made by the other account holder.
The Agency's own example is overdraft protection: where an account has it, all account holders may be held responsible for repaying debts.
The Agency directs you to read the account agreement and to speak with a representative of your financial institution about its policies on joint accounts and how it manages them.
Banks must give you key information about joint accounts when you open a personal account, and when a personal account held in one name is converted to a joint account held by two or more people. That information must be clear, simple and not misleading.
If your institution is not federally regulated, such as a provincial credit union, the Agency says to check your account agreement or ask a representative for information on joint accounts.
A family lawyer advises on how an account you hold with the other party fits the rest of your matter.
If Safety Is the Issue
Call 911 if you or someone else is in immediate danger. For information about community and safety supports, contact 211; it is not an emergency response service.
211 Alberta is delivered in partnership by several organisations, and 211 Alberta - Calgary and Area is operated by Distress Centre.
The Government of Alberta also runs the Court and Justice Services Contact Centre, which provides information about safety supports.
Talk to a Calgary Family Lawyer
Contact THEBIL Law to discuss your divorce and the questions you want to address. You can submit a consultation request at any time, and the office will be in touch to arrange a meeting.
THEBIL Law, 5920 Macleod Trl SW Ste 720, Calgary, AB T2H 0K1, Canada. Call 403-457-3128.
Read more about divorce lawyer in Calgary and what happens after you decide to separate.