On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Divorce Mediation on Friday, December 5, 2014. If you and your co-parent are separating or divorcing in Alberta, then you have options as to how you come to an agreement about a parenting plan. Your agreement doesn’t have to be put …
Child care agreements and holiday plans: Tips for Calgary parents
On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Family Law on Friday, November 28, 2014. Whether your relationship with your former spouse is amicable or strained, co-parenting during the holidays can be a challenge, especially if these are the first holidays with a new parenting plan. With that in …
Push for unified family court ramps up in Alberta
On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Family Law on Friday, November 21, 2014. Alberta remains one of only four Canadian jurisdictions where family law matters are divided between the lower and superior courts, while the other nine jurisdictions have some kind of unified family court. In Alberta, …
Eschewing the term ‘divorce’ as Canadian marriages change
On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Collaborative Law on Friday, April 18, 2014. Go back 60 years and the idea of marriage was relatively uniform: a man and a woman would marry, often in their 20s; have children; and remain married until one spouse died. Of course, …
How is entitlement to spousal support determined in Alberta?
Alberta’s Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines offer formulas for deciding the amount and duration of support to be paid. However, using the guidelines can lead to a variety of potential payment amounts. Even with these guidelines, the determination of spousal support can be very complicated. Before the amount and duration of …
How does Alberta collaborative law work?
On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Collaborative Law on Friday, November 7, 2014. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is an increasingly popular way for separating spouses and partners to resolve their family law disputes in a non-adversarial setting. We recently discussed three effective ADR processes — collaborative law, …
Using an exclusive possession order to stay in the matrimonial home
On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Family Law on Saturday, November 1, 2014. The matrimonial home is the most valuable asset in many divorces, and sometimes spouses disagree about who should leave the home during separation. Leaving the home does not necessarily mean that the spouse or …
How does divorce affect one’s taxes?
On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in High Asset Divorce on Saturday, October 25, 2014. A variety of financial concerns have to be taken into account when a marriage breaks down, and it may be necessary to call upon accountants, financial advisors and business valuators to provide an …
What property is exempt from division in an Alberta divorce?
The Matrimonial Property Act (MPA) is the Alberta law used to classify and distribute property when a marriage ends. The basic presumption of the law is that matrimonial property and debts will be divided equally between the spouses. The MPA also provides for some kinds of property to be exempt from …
3 effective ADR options for divorcing spouses
On behalf of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP posted in Divorce Mediation on Friday, October 10, 2014. For spouses who have chosen to separate, alternative dispute resolution — ADR — can be an efficient and cost-effective way of coming to an agreement on matters such as child custody, spousal support and …