What Is A Separation Agreement?

A Divorce Agreement is better known in Ontario as a Separation Agreement. This agreement will be the ongoing legal contract between you and your ex-spouse with regards to all issues moving forward.

It is very important that this agreement is prepared properly and in accordance to the laws of Ontario, as the decisions you make now will affect you and your children for years to come.

Negotiating your financial and parenting arrangements and signing a legal contract (the separation agreement) are the crucial first steps in your Ontario divorce process.

Spousal Support

Divorce or separation will sometimes mean one partner paying spousal support to the other partner. Spousal support is applicable to married partners and sometimes common-law relationships. The one receiving spousal support can be a husband or a wife (gender neutral) and applies top all relationships including same-sex relationships. Spousal Support is usually paid by the partner with higher income to the partner with the lower income. The receiving partner is “Support Recipient”. The paying partner is called “support payor”.

Can A Court Order Be Amended?

Parents may bring a motion to Court to amend Court orders. But, the parties have to prove that there is sufficient and dramatic changes in their circumstances which necessitates the Court’s intervention.

Can I Amend A Parenting Plan?

Sometimes parents may wish to change the parenting plan or separating agreement. Trivial aspects in the parenting plans should be amicably resolved between the parents. If you need help, call a mediator or your family lawyer. Taking trivial matters to Court is time consuming and an expensive affair.

What If I’m Concerned For My Child’s Safety?

If a parent sincerely beliefs that the visitation rights with the other parent will cause serious harm to your child, then the parent will want to formally challenge their agreement and apply to deny the other parent’s access to the child. For instance, a parent perennially under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a reasonable reason to be denied accessibility rights.

What To Do When A Parent Is Denied Access?

Parents formally agree to access schedules through their formal parenting plan, separation agreement or Court orders. Still some parents may purposefully deny visitation right. This can cause tremendous mental agony and frustration to the parent as well as to your children.

Can I Move With My Child?

A parent may want to move with their children after a separation or divorce. The move may be due to the parent’s new job opportunity, better housing facility, closeness to the family support or a new partner. However, this move is not necessarily automatically allowed and may be curtailed by several external factors.

What Are The Different Kinds of Child Access?

The right to access the child is an inherent right of the parents and the children have a right to access both parents. This right can only be denied under very limited circumstances.

Access To Your Children

The child should spend sufficient time with both parents regardless of them being separated or divorced. The child should spend enough time in order to create a meaningful relationship with each parent. The child’s primary place of residence will decide the parent whom he/she spends the majority of time with. The other parent will be given the right to access the child.

How To Calculate Child Support

The Child Support Guidelines determine the basic monthly financial support to be provided by the paying parent. These are set out in the Government of Canada’s child support tables. They are calculated by taking into account the total gross annual income of the parents and the number of dependent children.