Fort Saskatchewan, AB Divorce Lawyer

Your marriage is ending. It doesn’t matter whether you’re initiating the divorce or your spouse is. You need a local divorce lawyer who can help you protect your interests.

Alberta’s divorce laws are complex. Mistakes can cost you both personally and financially. Your divorce settlement can impact your life for years to come. It pays to work with responsive experts who care about getting results.

Here are a few of the questions we get from our divorce clients in Fort Saskatchewan. Got others? Contact us!
 

Does the reason for the divorce impact the division of property in Alberta?

No.

Spousal misconduct doesn’t have any impact on the division of property. This is true even if your spouse cheated on you or was abusive towards you. You can waste a lot of time and money trying to use your divorce to “punish” your spouse for wronging you.

Each spouse is entitled to 50% of the marital property. The division itself may require a lot of creative legal solutions to avoid devaluing property or to deal with assets that can’t easily be divided or sold, like a family business. Yet regardless of behavior, both spouses do have the right to that property.

Some behavior can impact child custody or spousal support arrangements. For example if a cheating spouse moves in with their paramour then they may not be eligible for spousal support. If your spouse was abusive you might have a case for taking sole custody of your children.

Bring these issues with your attorney so that you get the protection you need and deserve while attempting to draw up your divorce settlement or fight out your divorce in court.
 

What is the biggest mistake you can make during your Alberta divorce?

The biggest mistake you can usually make is letting your emotions take control.

Ask your attorney what the “best case” scenario and “worst case” scenario is, should your divorce settlement go to court where it will be decided by a stranger. A reasonable, fair divorce settlement will usually fall somewhere between these two extremes.

Decide what the most important issues are to you during this divorce and work on making those issues the priority. Be willing to give up other assets or payments to get what you’re after. Go in with the mindset that you’re going to negotiate, because that’s how you save time and money, and get a settlement which may actually work for your family.
 

What do I need to know about child support, child custody, and visitation in Fort Saskatchewan, AB?

Unless the other parent presents a clear and present danger to your children, you can expect the judge to favor a shared custody arrangement or a joint custody arrangement where both parents are seeing the children roughly half the time. Sole custody arrangements are rare, and even sole custody arrangements come with visitation for the other parent, even if that visitation ends up being supervised.

If you have minor children, a child support arrangement must be included in your divorce decree. It must follow the Federal Child Support Guidelines.
 

Why Merchant Law?

Our attorneys have decades of experience helping Fort Saskatchewan residents navigate the divorce process. We’re tough negotiators and even tougher litigators with a long track record of helping our clients get favorable settlements.

Working with our full service office also means getting access to business and real estate attorneys who can lend their expertise to complex high net worth, entrepreneur, farmer, or rancher divorce cases.

Get started today by calling (780) 474-7777.