Webinar Q & A: Top 10 Things You Should Know About the Divorce Act Changes
Our team hosts a bi-weekly webinar series to provide our community with a free educational resource on Divorce & Family Law. Our audience has the opportunity to submit questions anonymously to the panelists to answer during the Q&A portion of the presentation. Below are some Q&A’s from a previous webinar we hosted on the Top 10 Things You Should Know About the Divorce Act Changes:
Question 1) How is a settlement finalized?
A settlement is finalized through negotiation with lawyers or through mediation. Once both parties have come to an agreement on concerns such as spousal support, child support, etc., a separation agreement is established in order to finalize the matter.
Question 2) What issues could hold up the settlement process?
There can be delays in the settlement process due to a variety of reasons, often when waiting for additional data to be acquired. Some examples of issues that could delay the settlement process are disclosure of financial information, third-party reports, parenting assessment, pension evaluation.
Question 3) Are you required to sell the matrimonial home as part of the divorce process?
It depends on different factors including the ownership of the home. If it is jointly owned, the two spouses can work collaboratively to come to an agreement. If the two spouses are not able to come to an agreement, you may be able to delay the sale but can ultimately not prevent it. Property division is overseen by the provincial Family Law Act, not the Divorce Act.
Question 4) If you have never been married or lived common law, but have a child together, is this considered divorce?
The Divorce Act only applies to married individuals or formerly married spouses. The relevant legislation for common-law partners is the Family Law act.
Question 5) If the child has always lived only with one spouse, would the other party be entitled to the “parenting order” during a proceeding in family court?
The short answer is no, but there may be some circumstantial cases that may vary.
Our next webinar on the Top 10 Things You Should Know About the Divorce Act Changes is on Wednesday, July 21st at 12 PM EDT.
