Separations often result in criminal proceedings
Don’t wait until after the police call. A lawyer that practices both family and criminal law is an invaluable resource for people facing separation or divorce. Even though criminal and family law proceedings typically occur in separate courts, there is a nexus wherein knowledge and skill in both areas of law becomes necessary to achieve the most successful outcomes for clients.
Schedule a legal consultation with our family lawyers and criminal lawyers in Toronto.
Potential Criminal Charges Invloved in a Separtion or Divorce
The types of charges that are typically laid on people during the breakdown of their relationship are as follows:
- Assaults, including aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and bodily harm
- Sexual Assault
- Intimidation
- Threatening death
- Criminal harassment
- Mischief
- Extortion
- Fraud
- Stalking
- Abduction
- Property-related offences
- Non-consensual distribution of intimate images
- Breach of a court order
- Homicide
Don’t overlook the potential criminal implications of your divorce case
We are often asked what criminal law could possibly have to do with family law. The answer is that the two areas are inextricably intertwined. When a couple’s relationship is breaking down and conflict is on the rise, it is a well known fact that those dynamics are ripe for police intervention. Police involvement in a domestic conflict usually culminates in at least one person being charged with a criminal offence (eg. Assault, threatening death etc.).
Unfortunately, it is all too common that a party to the conflict leverages the criminal law against the other party with the goal of gaining the upper hand in the family law process. Strategically, it is actually very effective for the complaining party, because criminal charges will almost always cause the accused party to be subject to court orders akin to exclusive possession of the matrimonial home and a designation that the “victim” is the interim primary residential parent and holder of defacto decision making authority over the children.
Police intervention in domestic conflicts, however common, is indeed riddled with consequences that aren’t foreseeable to the lay person. That’s why involving a lawyer that is skilled in both criminal and family law, as early as possible, becomes necessary. We can help you protect yourself without inadvertently exposing yourself to pitfalls. That’s why it is exceptionally proactive to hire a family lawyer that is also a seasoned criminal lawyer.
