FAMILY LAW CALGARY Guiding you through life’s most significant legal challenges Whether you’re facing a complex divorce, navigating sensitive family disputes, or managing estate issues, our progressive and experienced Calgary lawyers offer practical solutions to help you find a path forward.Schedule an Appointment“Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP is a boutique Family …
Estate Planning Tips and Traps
A sensible estate plan is crucial to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition of your assets to your beneficiaries. While estate planning need not be overly complicated, here are some items that should be thoughtfully considered in consultation with a lawyer, tax accountant or financial advisor. Tip: Perhaps this is …
Help! My Ex Is a Narcissist
Narcissist Personality Disorder is a mental condition where people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships and a lack of empathy. Characteristics of narcissists and symptoms can vary drastically. While most people are not formally diagnosed with Narcissist Personality …
Why do I need a Family Lawyer after separation?
Separating from a spouse or partner is no doubt one of the most difficult events someone will experience in their lives. The worries are endless and often include the well-being of children, how time with children will be structured, debt management, protection of assets, and what support will be paid …
The Prenuptial Agreement: Alleviating the Hopelessness of the Hopeless Romantic
“Never marry someone you wouldn’t want to be divorced from.” – Nora Ephron Charting your matrimonial journey should be as rational as it is aspirational. A thoughtful approach will reduce your personal and financial anxiety, and ironically, removing those stressors may also improve your marriage’s chance of success. The exercise …
The ‘Rule of 65’ & Spousal Support
Spousal support in Alberta can be a highly complex issue, as there are multiple steps and considerations to determining appropriate support, one of which is the ‘Rule of 65’. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines offer direction for courts in Alberta when deciding whether a party is entitled to spousal support …
Family Law Triage: Emergency Room or Operating Room?
In the medical community, “triage” is the assignment of degrees of urgency to injuries to decide the order of treatment. Lawyers and Judges conduct their own version of Family Law triage to prioritize and resolve separating couple’s issues. Within the scope of the usual Family Law issues of Parenting Time/Decision-making, …
Safeguarding Enforceability of Domestic Contracts
APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX: SAFEGUARDING ENFORCEABILITY OF DOMESTIC CONTRACTS AND EXERCISING PROFESSIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT Whether generated by the genuine good faith efforts of the parties or a subtle exploitation of leverage and ultimate capitulation, if nothing else, the Domestic Contract is the physical representation of the joint intention of the parties. …
Defending an Unjust Enrichment Claim in Alberta
As innovative as the decision might seem, Kerr v. Baranow represents nothing more than a renovation and modernization of the law of unjust enrichment.1 The cause of action is relatively well-established, as is its analysis. The Supreme Court of Canada has merely tweaked or reinforced each step of the original …
Challenging the Validity of Cohabitation and Pre-Nuptial Agreements In Alberta
Issues that may impact the validity of a Cohabitation or Pre-Nuptial Agreement are typically viewed far too abstractly by parties and lawyers alike. The demise of the relationship or marriage is viewed as merely a remote possibility. Any disputes about the agreement actually culminating in litigation are seen as even …