Family Lawyers for Your Divorce In Ontario
You can’t just walk away. Instead, if you are legally married, you must obtain a legal divorce. This process will also involve resolving ancillary issues such as child custody, access to the children, child support, spousal support, and the division of property. Indeed, how To Get A Divorce In Toronto involves so many issues, hiring a Family Lawyer is highly recommended, no matter how amicable the dissolution of the marriage may be.
The first step in How To Get A Divorce In Toronto involves separation, when you are no longer living with your spouse. A formal separation is legal when the parties enter into an agreement that deals with the issues stated in the preceding paragraph. It is important to note that this does not result in a divorce, but rather sets parameters to define how the relationship will be going forward. However, if the parties come to an agreeable separation agreement, the likelihood of an “uncontested divorce” is much higher.
If you cannot reach a separation agreement, court involvement is likely to be necessary to make these decisions for you, through a process known as a “contested divorce.” This expensive and often time-consuming process usually calls for a lawyer to help you understand your rights, how to protect them and how to prosecute your claims and defend those brought against you in a way that you stand the best chance at having your interests met.
No matter what, in order to obtain a divorce, you must prove certain “grounds” that must include one of: (i) you and your spouse have lived separate and apart for one year or more, (ii) your spouse committed adultery or (iii) your spouse has inflicted such physical and/or mental cruelty against you to make it impossible for you to live together any more. The majority of marriages use the first category, sometimes known as a “no-fault” divorce. Even if true, the other two grounds require the time and expense of acquiring proof and presenting it to the court, rendering them uncommon and more difficult to obtain.
Living separate and apart for one year typically requires the spouses to maintain separate residences for that time period, even though leading separate lives, sleeping in separate rooms and having no intimacy will also likely serve to satisfy this category even if sharing a residence. Further, you can file your divorce action before the year has elapsed, but no divorce may be issued until the year has been met.
Circumstances during which the Court will halt a divorce proceeding include (i) if either or both spouses have deceived the Court, (ii) arrangements for child support, custody and access have not been made or (iii) neither spouse has resided in Ontario for less than a year.
Clearly, there is a lot to know regarding how to get a divorce. This is why there are experienced Lawyers out there to assist. Even if the issues an easily resolved and there is little dispute, it is important to make sure that all forms are properly completed and filed in order to obtain a proper divorce.
