What Happens After You Decide to Separate in Calgary?
Separating in Calgary settles one thing and opens several others: the separation itself, and then the questions that follow it - about the children, about support, about property, and about what gets written down.
The Separation Itself
Separation is the end of the relationship and the start of living apart. It is not something you apply for.
The province puts it plainly: there is no such thing as a legal separation in Canada, and being separated for a year is one of the grounds for divorce. Nothing is issued and nothing is registered; the separation is a fact about your situation, and the one-year period does its work as a ground for divorce.
That one-year period is not broken by every attempt to repair the relationship. Under the Divorce Act (Canada), the period is not treated as interrupted or terminated by reason only that the spouses resumed cohabitation during a period of, or periods totalling, not more than ninety days with reconciliation as its primary purpose.
Living at the same address during that year is a question with its own answer, and it is not a simple one.
separated but living under one roof›The Requirements That Apply to Your Matter
In Calgary the Government of Alberta's Family Justice Strategy sets four mandatory requirements that apply when a party asks a court to decide something, and each applies to its own set of people rather than to everyone.
An alternative dispute resolution process must be attempted where the parties do not agree on any issues, before the court's assistance is sought. The attempt has to have been made within the past six months, a Participation in ADR form is filed, and the process has to cover the issues you want to bring to court.
The Parenting After Separation course is required where children under 18 will be affected by the proceeding. The certificate is filed with a court clerk and has to be retaken if it is more than two years old. A respondent is on a different clock: they file their certificate within 14 days of the date they are served.
Financial disclosure is mandatory for all parties filing an application for child support, spousal support, adult interdependent partner support and family property division. It takes the form of a Financial Disclosure Statement with its supporting documents.
A meeting with a family court counsellor is required for people who have dependent children and are without a lawyer. The counsellor is not a lawyer and cannot provide legal advice.
None of the four is unconditional. Where one cannot be completed, a Request to Waive/Defer Mandatory Requirements is made, and the listed reasons include concerns about family violence, technological barriers, language barriers and being unable to locate the other party. That request is itself an application to the court rather than a form filed instead of the requirement.
Parenting, Support, Property and Practical Arrangements
Where the children live, and who decides
Parenting time and decision-making responsibility are set by agreement or by order, under whichever statute applies to your matter.
parenting, decision-making and child custody›Child support
Child support is calculated rather than negotiated from scratch, and the calculation has inputs you will need.
child support in Alberta›Dividing family property
Property acquired during the relationship is dealt with under Alberta's Family Property Act, and the question of what is divided and what is exempt is a substantial one in its own right.
family property division in Alberta›Staying in the same home for now
The province's guidance contemplates spouses living in the same home during the year of separation.
Getting ready to see a lawyer
Before speaking with a lawyer, write down the questions you want to ask.
prepare for your first family law meeting›Putting Terms in Writing
A separation agreement is a contract between parties who are separating or divorcing.
separation agreements›The province describes what one usually deals with: where the children live and the time each parent spends with them, child support, spousal support, and the division of property.
It also says a couple may write an agreement themselves, and it recommends speaking to a lawyer.
A family lawyer advises on what the applicable Act would otherwise provide, drafts or reviews the terms, and negotiates with the other side where that is what the situation calls for.
divorce lawyer in Calgary›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.
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 About Your Next Steps
Each of the questions above is answered somewhere different, and which court would deal with a family matter depends on what is being asked for.
Contact THEBIL Law to discuss your separation 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.