Skilled Advice in Ontario Legal Separation

Legal separation provides spouses with a way of resolving complex financial and custody issues without legally ending their marriage. It provides a means for spouses to move forward with their lives without severing the legal marital relationship. Yet it also provides an agreement that spouses can later use to proceed with divorce if they choose.

At the law office of Thomas J. MacLennan, Barrister & Solicitor, we have been assisting people with separation agreements for 26 years.  We know what issues you need to resolve to move on with your life. We know the information you need to make the right decisions for you and your children.

We recognize that each client is different and each case presents unique challenges. While some people are separating from a traditional marriage, others have children, high-income levels or significant assets that complicate the resolution of issues.

We listen to clients and assist them in identifying and resolving necessary issues to move forward with their separation, such as:

• Child custody and access: Our firm guides clients through custody negotiations and works to identify not only a child custody agreement in a non-confrontational method that serves the best interests of children, but an agreement that facilitates future parenting needs.
• Property division: We offer knowledgeable guidance to our clients wishing to create a fair property settlement that fully addresses such matters as bank accounts, real estate assets, business interests and valuation, future division of pension or retirement accounts, allocation of debt and other property matters. We carefully analyze the value of separate property of each party as they entered the marriage as well as upon separation.
• Support: We assist clients in obtaining proper assessments of income in order to determine appropriate income levels to be considered when the court orders child support. These income determinations can be of paramount concern in child support and spousal support cases involving high-income earners. We also create a process within separation agreements for reviewing circumstances for potential changes to child support or spousal support in the future.

The issues we deal with are:

Parenting of your children, including:

• Custody and access schedule;
• Holiday access;
• Communication;
• Mobility;
• Name Change;
• Death.

Child support, including:

• Declaration of income of payer;
• Special or extraordinary expenses;
• Termination;
• Annual review and disclosure;
• Income tax benefits for split and shared custody;
• Methods of payment.

Spousal support, including:

• Release of spousal support;
• Lump sum payment of spousal support;
• Fixed term support;
• Periodic support;
• Third party payments with tax consequences;
• CRA acknowledgment and registration.

Medical and Dental Benefits

• For children;
• For spouse.

Life Insurance

• Life insurance to secure child support;
• Life insurance to secure spousal support;
• Failure to maintain insurance;
• Changing policy amount.

Property, including:

• Equalization payment;
• Transfer of property;
• RRSP transfers;
• Transfer of capital property as a rollover.

Matrimonial Home, including:

• Ownership;
• Transfer of home;
• Principal residence designation;
• Sale of matrimonial home;
• Sale proceeds;
• Household expenses pending sale;
• Deferred sale;
• Mortgage renewal;
• Household contents.

Debts, including:

• Joint debts;
• Separate debts;
• Joint credit line/mortgage;
• Family loans;
• Indemnities.

Pensions, including:

• Canada Pension Plan;
• Pension Benefits Division Act;
• Method of Payment.

Dispute Resolution, including:

• Mediation;
• Arbitration.

Releases, including:

• Property and estate claims.

General terms, including:

• Incorporating terms into a divorce judgment;
• Costs of future divorce proceedings;
• Costs;
• Disclosure.

Schedules, including:

• Certificates of independent legal advice;
• Income Tax Act schedules;
• Travel consent form.

Our law firm approaches every case with a strong focus on our clients, treating them with attention, respect and providing them with regular information updates. Contact a highly knowledgeable Toronto separation agreement lawyer through our online form or call 416-591-1354 to arrange a consultation.