Family Law Lawyers In North York

In Canada, the federal government handles marriage and divorce and is legislated under the Divorce Act. It also has jurisdiction over custodial and access matters, and spousal and child support during and after divorce. Many people going through divorce are unsure and worry about the whole process. Whether you are having trouble with child custody, access, spousal support, hidden assets, marital fraud or property division, a family law lawyer could help you get through it. Here are important aspects regarding family law in Canada.

Marriage

In 2005, Canada legalized same sex marriage with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a neutral definition of marriage. In Toronto, marriage may be formed between two individuals of different or same sex. Marriage is forbidden where one of the individuals does not have capacity or where there is a familial relationship such as brother/sister or parent/child relationship.

Marriage Dissolution

A marriage can be annulled if one of the spouses is underage, when one of the spouses is still married, mental incapacity, duress and failure to consummate marriage due to physical disability. In Toronto, the marriage Acts provide that the parties must have a marriage license, be of age or have marital consent.

Separation and Divorce

A legal separation is a state where you and your spouse have no hope of reconciling the relationship. A separation could become complicated in a case where there are disputes about family property, child custody or spouse and child support payments.

Once separation has occurred and you cannot agree on certain things about the agreement, it doesn’t mean that you have to go to court. A family lawyer can try to negotiate with your partner’s lawyer.

To get divorce in Toronto, you have to prove that you marriage has broken down. A marriage is considered to have ended if:

• Your spouse has been mentally or physically cruel towards you
• One of the spouses has committed adultery
• Spouses have lived apart for 12 months and there is no hope for reconciliation.

Spousal and Child Support

After divorce, spousal and child support are governed by the federal law, other support agreements come under provincial law. Spouses or parents have a legal obligation to support their children. With that in mind, the resources of both parents are important at establishing the amount of maintenance that needs to be paid.

Division of Property

In Toronto, the law governing property division states that the value of any property you acquired during marriage and when you separated must be divided between spouses. Property that was brought in to your marriage belongs to you but an increase in the value of this property during marriage must be shared.

 Custody

There is no law that specifically states that young children be granted to their mothers. The court works under various considerations like in a case where it does not want to separate the siblings. Increase contact between child and parent can be allowed without mandating a joint custody.