Family Lawyer in Markham
One of the most emotionally charged and life-altering fields of law is family law. Entering a family law dispute can be extremely stressful, oftentimes such a legal matter will involve the breakdown of a relationship, which adds an emotional and financial element to the matter. We understand this can be a challenging time, as such it is important that you are provided with sound and prompt legal assistance to ensure the legal decisions you make today provide the foundation for the future you will be entering into at the conclusion of the matter. Our experienced team is here to hear your concerns and work with you in tailoring your family law dispute to fit your priorities, ensuring that you will thrive in your new life.
WE SERVE COMMUNITIES IN BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, TORONTO, MARKHAM, VAUGHAN, WHITBY, NEWMARKET
Our services in family legal matters include but are not limited to:
- Divorce/Divorce Mediation
- Separation Agreements
- Child Support/Child Custody/Access
- Division of property
- Prenuptial agreements & Marriage Agreements
- Arbitration/Collaborative Family Law
Our team is here to serve your needs and all of your family law issues, give us a call and book your 30-minute free in-person consultation so that we may better understand your matter. We are knowledgeable lawyers and are ready to help!
Child custody and child access
Many clients come into the family law or divorce process not understanding the difference between custody and access, oftentimes the thought process is both these terms are one and the same. This cannot be further from the truth.
Custody arrangements are most simplistically understood as decision-making powers for the child. Here we determine who the child will primarily reside with. As such, who will make the decisions for the child and whether these decisions will be made unilaterally or jointly. Naturally, the legal decisions made here will not only affect the parents, but they can have a lasting effect on the children. As such, we ensure that significant amounts of time are spent with the clients in determining the most effective solution and appropriate language to be employed in dealing with custody matters.
Parenting Time on the other hand deals with the physical time that a parent has with the child. The law dictates that access to both parents is a right that every child has. However, a determination has to be made with respect to whether or not access is supervised or not, and this will most often be based on protection concerns. Will access be overnight due to the child’s comfort level or age, which can at times be factors in this determination? What type of parenting plans will the parents have? This can be an extremely sensitive area, which we concentrate on with our clients to ensure we find the best legal outcomes for both our clients and with the children that it will affect, in mind.
Child support and section 7 expenses
Many clients will come in having difficulty in understanding their obligations towards the collection or payment of child support. To determine who pays child support, one must look to where the child lives most of the time.
The amount of child support is determined based on the individual parents’ income levels, which is calculated through consultation with the Child Support Guidelines.
Confusion will arise if the parties have equal parenting time with the child or if one party makes significantly more money than the other party as to what the amount should be that is paid.
Another issue that will often come up is how the payment is to be made, whether by cheque or direct deposit, and when the payment is to be made. Does such a payment occur on a monthly basis, or is it a lump sum payment? Also, there might be a difficulty in procuring payment from the other party, and when and how can the Family Responsibility Office (“FRO”) be brought into the picture to procure the outstanding payments. Our trained child support lawyers can help navigate these complex waters and give clarity to what is required to be paid and how much the payment should be.
Section 7 Expenses
In addition to a child’s basic needs such as shelter, clothing and food, children will be accustomed to participating in sports and summer camps, these financial concerns are dealt with under the section 7 expenses where a proportionate payment separate from child support obligations, needs to be calculated. It is fundamentally important that a child’s development is not affected due to the breakdown of a relationship and as such it is imperative that the activities and developmental programs a child had prior to such a breakdown are maintained wherever possible.
Spousal Support Issues
There will be circumstances when a relationship breaks down where one party was financially dependent on the other party, whether it be due to illness, or a simple economic power imbalance. When such a situation occurs, spousal support issues will need to be calculated if the merits for such an award exist. It is important to consult with a trained lawyer in determining your rights or vice versa your defense against such a request.
Property Issues & Division
When a relationship ends, parties are faced with the stark reality of figuring out how to separate their assets and how far back they must retrace their steps. A relationship might have lasted twenty-plus years or a mere few months. Regardless, it is imperative that the parties keep in mind three important dates: the assets and debts one had on the date of marriage, the assets and debts one had on the date of separation, and finally the assets and debts one has on today’s date. These three dates will help bring order to the oftentimes chaos that is property division in a family law dispute.
Separation Date
Often times the most important date that can affect not only the ability to divorce, it will also be the singular determining factor in custody, access matters as it can affect the status quo arrangement, as well as play a strong role in the division of property. It is very important to reach out to our trained family lawyers as soon as you feel the marriage has ceased so that the date of separation can be properly established.
Cohabitation Agreements / Separation Agreements / Marriage Contracts
The best possible outcome for both parties is one in which the parties are able to mutually agree to terms, whether it be in the form of a parenting plan, an asset division agreement, or an all-encompassing separation agreement. When the parties are able to agree to such an agreement, the decision-making powers are taken out of a third party’s hands and instead, the terms and rules upon which both parties will part ways are determined by themselves. Naturally, such agreements can only come to fruition when there is a possibility of cooperation between the parties, and if and when such an environment exists, this is one of the preferred ways of resolving a family dispute.
Conclusion
Our dedicated team is here to investigate all matters pertaining to your family law issues. Feel free to call us or email us so that we can get you in touch with a divorce lawyer to begin the entire process of creating a road map to the beginning of a new chapter in your life. Our array of family law services is at your disposal!
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Phone number
416-238-5100 – Main Line
416-900-1090 – Fax
HEAD OFFICE
625 Cochrane Dr. Suite 804,
Markham, Ontario L3R 9R9416-900-1090 (Fx)
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