The decision to hire a family lawyer can be a difficult one. One of the first questions to consider is, do you even need an attorney? For the most part, the answer is “yes.”

One of the first decisions that must be made after your marriage or common-law relationship ends is where you and your ex will live next.

Divorce rates have been falling in Canada since the 1990s, according to Statistics Canada. However, there were still close to 43,000 divorces granted in this country in 2020, the latest result available.

Telling your children that you are planning to divorce is one of the most difficult tasks a parent will face. The dissolution of a marriage already evokes a range of emotions, including anger, guilt and resentment.

Many people have fond childhood memories of time spent with their grandparents.

Many marriages end in divorce. There could have been serious issues in your relationship and the request for a divorce is not unexpected, or perhaps it came as a complete surprise.

The Court of King’s Bench has implemented four mandatory pre-court requirements as part of the Alberta Justice Family Justice Strategy.

A divorce is the legal end of a marriage. Only the court can grant it, provided the parties involved have followed the correct steps on whatever path they have chosen to get there. Once the process is completed, the court will issue a divorce certificate proving that you are no longer married.

While the results of a divorce and an annulment of a marriage are essentially the same, the processes are very different. That is because a divorce terminates a legally valid marriage while an annulment treats the marriage as if it never existed. 

There are many reasons why marriages fall apart. Working parents have the stress of their job weighing on them, compounded by the caregiver responsibility for their children.

The end of a marriage may feel like you are riding on an emotional rollercoaster. Divorce is not a single event but a process that unfolds over time involving a series of changes.

The breakdown of a relationship can lead to pain and resentment for both parties.

Since Canada has no-fault divorce, the only ground for a divorce in the Divorce Act is marriage breakdown.

Children love going on summer vacations. However, problems can arise if divorced or separated parents do not communicate effectively about their summer holiday plans.

After a separation or a divorce one person may want to move, to another city, province or even another country. Problems arise if there are children involved since any parenting time agreement will no longer work if the move is significant.

By Sean Schaefer We all make mistakes. It can be easy to overlook or forget an important detail when under stress.

Going through a divorce can be a difficult and emotional time. It can cause stress and doubt, potentially affecting your mental and physical well-being. 

Financial planners always suggest that parents start saving for their children’s education early.

If you have decided to get married or start living together, there is reason to be optimistic about the days that lay ahead.

When couples split up after sharing a matrimonial home, one will often stay in the residence while the other rents or buys a new property.

You married in your 20s and worked hard for 30 years. You built up a sizeable portfolio of investments and are looking forward to a comfortable retirement.

There is little doubt that people consider their pets to be much more than just animals.

Parental alienation arises in situations where a child persistently rejects one parent in favor of the other for no objectively valid reason.

Calculating child support is usually pretty straight forward when one parent is the primary parent – determine income, number of children, then look it up in the guidelines. However, when you are in a shared parenting arrangement, child support is governed by section 9 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

Effective March 1, 2021 there are significant changes being made to the Divorce Act. These changes will affect everyone whose proceedings started ahead of March 1, 2021 that are still ongoing.

During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Courts in Alberta have altered their operations, policies and procedures with a view to helping to contain or prevent the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining, as much as possible, access to justice.

In Michel v. Graydon, a 2020 Supreme Court of Canada decision, it was held that the court can retroactively adjust child support amounts for non-married couples even after the child is no longer a child of the relationship if the provincial statute allows for it.