Family Services
Family law matters often involve some of life's most significant personal and financial decisions. Whether you are navigating a separation, divorce, parenting dispute, child support issue, or property division, the family law team at Capital City Law is committed to providing practical legal guidance and strong representation. We work closely with our clients to help them achieve fair and effective resolutions while protecting what matters most.
Divorce & Separation
Common Law Separation & Adult Interdependent Partners
A divorce can be one of the most stressful and confusing events in your life. For some, the issue may arise suddenly and require several vitally important decisions to be made in a short period of time. A person going through a divorce has rights, concerns and interests, and sometimes these are in conflict with the rights, concerns and interests of the other spouse.
Like a divorce, when a common law relationship ends there can be several questions that need to be addressed. Do I need to get a Court Order or sign a contract to be separated? How are arrangements made for the children? How do I initiate or respond to an application for partner support? What happens to our property? We at Capital City Law can assist you with all of these questions.
Alberta Family Focused Protocol (FFP)
Parenting
The Family Focused Protocol is a mandatory process for many family law matters in Alberta. It encourages parties to exchange information, explore resolution options, and focus on the best interests of their children before proceeding through the court system.
Any decision made regarding either decision making powers or parenting time must be made in accordance with what is in the children’s best interests. There are a multitude of factors to be considered in determining the best interests of children, including what arrangement best addresses the children’s physical, emotional and psychological needs, what arrangement will best foster a relationship with each parent and, in certain situations, what arrangement is preferred by the children.
Child Support
Spousal & Partner Support
In most separations, both parties understand that the children need to be supported, but often people have questions regarding how child support is supposed to work. These often include questions about how payments can be made, when they should start, and how much the payments should be.
In some situations, support for a former spouse or partner may be payable. Sometimes called alimony or maintenance, spousal support (if the parties were married) or partner support (if the parties were not married) is a financial obligation that sometimes arises on separation, as set out in either the Divorce Act (married) or the Family Law Act (not married).
Property Division
Emergency Protection Orders
One of the most difficult and confusing issues to deal with in a separation can be how to divide the property that has accumulated during the relationship. It isn’t always immediately clear what property needs to be divided or how that division is to take place. As well, the laws for dividing property for married couples are significantly different than the laws for couples who were not married.
If you, or a loved one, are in danger or have been the victim of a crime, the first step should always be to contact your local police. The laws of Alberta have set up two processes for dealing with issues through the family courts where an individual has fears for their safety from other individuals – Emergency Protection Orders and Restraining Orders.
Do I need a divorce lawyer?
Not all separations are contentious, and for those that are the Courts are constantly evolving in an attempt to better serve the self-represented litigant.
However, it can be difficult to pursue an appropriate resolution given the multiple Acts (the Divorce Act, the Family Law Act, the Family Property Act, the Federal Child Support Guidelines, the Protection Against Family Violence Act, the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, etc), the Alberta Rules of Court, the various Practice Notes and the decades of case law that form the basis for how family disputes are to be decided. A divorce lawyer has the education and experience to assist you through this sometimes difficult process and to better ensure your interests are protected.
How long do I need to wait to get a divorce?
A divorce action can be initiated immediately upon separation. However, unless it can be proven that there has been abuse or adultery, the divorce cannot be completed until the parties have been separated for at least one year.
How long do I need to wait to apply for parenting, child support or spousal support?
An application for a parenting order, child support order or spousal support order may be made as soon as the parties have separated.
How long will the process take?
A matter may be completed in a very short period of time or may take multiple years to resolve. Every file is different, but generally the more conflict that is involved between the parties, and the more court involvement that is required, the longer the matter will take to reach a resolution.
What do I do if I’ve been served with Court papers?
At the outset, the most important thing to do is make sure that you understand what you have received and what is being requested or demanded. Depending upon the document served, varying responses may be available or required. Typically the documents will also include a strict timeline for your response. If you have been served, please feel free to contact our office immediately so that we can ensure that any deadlines are not missed and that your interests are not jeopardized due to not responding in time.
Do we need to go to Court to settle our divorce?
The vast majority of files are resolved outside of the courtroom, either through negotiated agreement or alternative dispute resolution. The court process can be lengthy, stressful and expensive. Even matters that initially seem difficult and contentious can be resolved without having to go to trial. Our family lawyers will work with you to determine the best way to reach a resolution in your matter, which will take into account your unique needs and circumstances.
What is an “uncontested divorce”?
An uncontested divorce, sometimes called a “consent divorce” or a “desk divorce”, is a divorce where the parties have reached an agreement that the issues surrounding the divorce have been resolved, and the matter can be presented to a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench to be finalized.