Sylvan Lake, AB Divorce Lawyer

Is your marriage coming to an end? If so, you’re going to need a local divorce attorney who knows how to handle the complexities of this serious legal matter. Ending a marriage is, legally, a lot like dissolving a business, and it can have long-term implications for your financial future.

The team at Merchant Law has handled thousands of Alberta’s most complicated divorces. This includes high net worth divorces, business owner divorces, intellectual property divorces, farm divorces, and more.
 

Sylvan Lake, Alberta Division of Property

Each spouse has the legal right to half the marital property, that is, half of the property accumulated during the marriage.

It sounds simple, but in execution the division of property is usually anything but straightforward. It is often not feasible to simply sell off the property and split the proceeds down the middle.

This means that you will need your attorney to negotiate a settlement that makes sense. The key is to know your goals going into the divorce. You might be able to maintain control of your business or the marital home, for example, but you may need to be willing to give up other property in return.

Speak to your lawyer about your options.
 

Sylvan Lake, Alberta Spousal Support

Spousal support will not apply to every divorce. It is most commonly awarded when one spouse has a significant financial advantage over the other spouse, especially if one spouse sacrificed a career to care for children, keep the home, or put the other spouse through school.

Spousal support generally lasts six months to one year per year of marriage. Federal guidelines are complex enough that most attorneys use a computer program to come up with a starting figure.

Until your case goes into litigation, spousal support is also highly negotiable, and there are a lot of options for structuring it that don’t necessarily require one spouse to make large monthly payments to the other. Speak to your attorney about putting together some options.
 

Sylvan Lake, Alberta Child Custody

Alberta courts tend to favor shared custody and joint custody arrangements over sole custody arrangements. This is because the courts generally feel like it’s in the best interests of the children to give them roughly 50/50 access to each parent whenever possible.

The exception is when one of the parents presents a proven danger to the child. If you think this matches your situation then you should work closely with your attorney to protect your family.

Otherwise, you can expect some sort of co-parenting and child support arrangement to be the norm, and should focus on creating a schedule that will work for your kids.
 

Why Merchant Law

Decades of experience make the team at Merchant Law a solid choice for negotiating or litigating your divorce case. Our award-winning team is responsive, caring, and has the proven legal acumen to bring your case to its best possible conclusion.

To get matched to your divorce attorney, call (780) 474-7777 and schedule an appointment.