Warman, Saskatchewan Family Law and Divorce Lawyers
How much will your life change after your divorce? In part the answer to this question will depend on the skill and experience of your family law lawyer.
While there is no avoiding some changes, a good divorce lawyer can help ensure the changes are less painful and damaging to your long-term goals. The lawyers at Merchant Law have decades of experience negotiating favorable divorce settlements for our clients. We’re prepared to help you protect what matters.
High Net Worth Divorce
When you’ve worked hard to develop a diverse and profitable asset profile it can be heart wrenching to think of all the ways divorce can tear your legacy apart.
In Saskatchewan, each spouse has a legal right to 50% of marital property. Yet there are often disputes over what is and is not marital property. In addition, dividing certain assets the wrong way could mean devaluing them.
We work closely with your team of financial experts to spare you from unpleasant business or tax consequences. We work hard to help you maintain the value of the assets you care most about keeping in your name. Many of our lawyers have a background in civil litigation, real estate law, and business law, all of which provides a useful breadth of perspective for our high net worth clients.
When litigation is required we’re known as some of Saskatchewan’s toughest family court lawyers. Yet in most cases, it will be more advantageous for you to take advantage of our negotiation skills. Divorces that settle out of court tend to be more advantageous for high net worth individuals.
Farmer’s Divorces in Warman
Farmer’s divorces are some of the most complex divorces a person can go through. Without expert guidance from a lawyer who specializes in farm divorces there is a good chance your divorce could put your farm out of business.
The reason is simple: many of the assets that you’ll need to keep your farm in operation are the very assets that could go to your spouse during a divorce. Being forced to sell vital farm equipment or land in order to split the price of sale isn’t a good option.
Instead, we come up with solutions that help keep the farm assets in tact. We also come up with solutions for spousal support and child support that correctly take the variations of income into account. We’ve used structured payments, lump sum payments, and other business deals to bridge the gap between what’s fair for the spouse who is leaving and what allows the spouse who is staying to continue to make a living.
Common Law Separation
While you can dissolve your common law marriage by living separate and apart for one year, doing so won’t solve all the major issues of property division, support, and child custody that must be solved in order to protect your rights.Each spouse has equal rights to the marital property. Arrangements must be made for the children. Informal, verbal arrangements are dangerous, because they run the risk that your ex will go back on their word.
Instead, reach out to Merchant Law to craft a formal separation agreement. These settlements are backed by court order, which means you get all the same protections a more traditional couple gets when they divorce.
Child Support, Child Custody, and Visitation
If you have children then your divorce settlement must make arrangements for your kids. Saskatchewan courts use the “best interest of the child” standards.This means that one parent must pay the other parent child support in accordance with the federal child support guidelines. The courts will not accept any amount smaller than the guidelines. They will accept larger child support payments. Setting child support can be a challenge when you run a business, work on commission, or have variable income of any kind.
You should also be aware that Saskatchewan courts favor shared custody arrangements where each parent gets close to 50% time with their children, and where both parents retain guardianship over their children, defined as the ability to make educational, legal, and medical decisions on their behalf.
If your ex is a danger to your child and you intend to pursue sole custody you will need an expert custody lawyer to help you present your evidence to the judge.
Spousal Support
If spousal support is structured incorrectly it can leave you scrambling to get the funds you need to live. Fortunately there are multiple ways to structure a spousal support settlement.
For example, if a monthly payment is not desirable it may be possible to negotiate spousal support as a lump sum. In addition, the spousal support guidelines aren’t like the child support guidelines. It’s possible to negotiate a different number than the one the software program provides.
It may also be possible to raise or lower spousal support by agreeing to give up additional assets.
Keep in mind that lifelong spousal support awards are very rare. Usually you get six months to one year of support for every year of marriage. Lifetime awards tend to happen for much older couples married for decades, where one member of the couple served primarily as the homemaker.
Get Help Today
We have offices in Saskatoon, Regina, and Moose Jaw, but we help people throughout the province, including residents of Warman. We also serve other areas like Prince Albert, Lloydminster, Swift Current, North Battleford, Yorkton, Estevan, Weyburn, Martensville, and White City.Many of our lawyers have decades of family law experience and have even been published in prestigious family law journals, which means when you work with us you get all of the advantages that come with working with truly skilled professionals.
Schedule an appointment to go over the facts of your Warman, SK, divorce case with one of our divorce and family law lawyers by calling (306) 653-7777 today.