 Understanding the Issues
When first meeting with a lawyer he has to first find out about your case, you tell your life's story because you don't know what's really relevant to the legal issues. The lawyer then has to sort through all of the information to determine what is relevant or he has to spend considerable time asking questions. Understanding the issues facing you and having all your information and documents prepared and organized before going to see a lawyer will help you get the most out of your time in the lawyer's office.
The Issues
| Child Sharing Arrangement |
- Legal parenting (joint or sole)
- Physical (shared or primary)
- Visitation or child-sharing monthly schedule
- Holidays and vacations with children
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| Child Support |
- Amount - (guidelines?)
- Withheld from wages
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| Spousal Maintenance |
- Waived?
- Reserved?
- Amount per month
- Length of time - Temporary or Permanent
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| Health Care |
- Children - Who carries insurance, Who pays for insurance, Who pays for costs not covered by insurance
- Spouses - Who carries health insurance for each, Is insurance for spouse available from work, Who pays for insurance
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| Life Insurance |
- Is it available to secure child support and/or maintenance
- Who is to be named as beneficiary
- Amount of coverage
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| Property Issues |
- Property owned before marriage
- Home - Value, Sold or who gets, Any lien required
- Pension, profit-sharing, retirement plans, RRSPs - Value, How to divide
- Other property - stocks, bonds, bank accounts, other real estate, cars, trucks, boats, household furniture & fixtures
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| Lawyers Fees |
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| Tax Exemptions for Children |
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| Filing Taxes in Last Full Year of Marriage |
- How to handle additional liability or refund
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| Property Settlement |
- Any equalizing payment owed by one to other after property division
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| Debts |
- How is responsibility apportioned
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Documentation Required
| Documents you will need to gather |
- Insurance policies for whole life, term life or long term disability insurance you or your spouse may have
- Marriage certificate from Vital Statistics. Only one of you needs to do this, it will not be returned
- Cash surrender value statements for whole life insurance you or your spouse may have
- Pay stubs for 3 months
- Employment Contract/Collective Agreement or Employment Handbook detailing employment benefits
- Current employment pension plan statement
- Tax returns for 3 years including T-4s, T-5s and Assessment Notices
Bank statements for the last 6 months, chequing and savings
- RRSP, GIC, T-Bill, Term Deposit, Canada Savings Bonds, brokerage statement, stock option agreements and any other investment statements from date of separation to the present time
- Copy of Net Worth statement provided to bank in last 3 years
- Copy of title to house and any other real property owned
- Copy of appraisal(s) for house, your bank may have this
- List of safety deposit box contents
- List of vehicles, along with their serial numbers, and appraisals
- Jewelry and art appraisals
- Current loan and mortgage statements
- Copy of loan applications
- Copy of all Personal Guarantees you have signed
- Credit card statements for all credit cards, for the last 3 months
- Pleadings, orders, correspondence, etc. in any other Court action
- Any other information you may have about assets, debts or property you owned before you got married
- 3 Years corporate financial statements
- 3 Years corporate tax returns and assessment notices
- 6 Months of corporate bank statements
- Gather your documents that show the value of what you owned before you were married - property, items, inheritancees, insurance proceds, gifts, investments, cash
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| Documents you will need to prepare |
- Your estimated budget
- Section 7 Special Expenses for your children
- Revenue Canada Consent if you don’t have your income tax returns and assessment notices
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| Things you will need to do |
- If your children are living with you, wait 90 days from date of separation and then you can send the Child Tax Benefit Election to Change Marital Status form to Health & Welfare Canada (form provided) to show your change of marital status for the Child Tax Benefit.
- Wait 1 year from the date you separated and then you can send the Division of Unadjusted Pensionable Earnings (Pension Credit) Canada Pension Plan form to apply to have your credits split.
- Make arrangements to speak to your lawyer about your Will and Estate Plan.
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