Family Law

Relationships, Children, Support, Property, Marriage, Cohabitation and Divorce

You may be reading this page because your marriage or relationship has broken down. No matter what the cause, you are likely to feel a whole range of intense emotions: sadness, anger, fear of an uncertain future, and confusion over the many decisions you must make.

Taking this step when you Separate, can lead to Settlement

Identify your immediate needs and gather the necessary evidence to meet them. Once all necessary information is gathered and analyzed, sometimes agreement is almost within reach. Negotiating a formal and fair agreement as early as possible often makes sense from a financial perspective.
Therefore, being reasonable is essential. Knowing what is reasonable is critical.  As your family lawyer, Edith can help you find answers and guide you to make informed and reasonable decisions through informal settlement meetings and at mediation. Straight forward matters that are negotiated in good faith, with full disclosure of necessary information, can often be resolved in a few months.
However, sometimes agreement is just not possible. More complex matters and cases that involve partners/spouses who are high-conflict or who are unwilling to cooperate in the process or lack trust in their partner can take much longer and need to be litigated. This means, that if it is a complex matter, high conflict, or marked by a failure to cooperate and a lack of trust it can take eighteen months to three years to resolve. 

Out of Court Options and Legal Fees

Separation Agreements

A Separation Agreement is a contract between you and your former spouse. You can decide on how your children will be cared for, how pensions will be divided, how property and debt will be split, as well as child support or if there will be any spousal support paid. You and your former spouse will have to make full financial disclosure.

The Cost

We charge a flat fee starting at $4,000, plus taxes. We will discuss what the fee includes at our first appointment.


Desk Order Divorce

A desk order divorce is called an undefended or uncontested divorce. You can apply for a desk order divorce once you and your former spouse have resolved any other family law issues. Either one spouse, or both together, can apply for a desk order divorce. The process involves preparing and filing several court forms.

The Cost

We charge a flat fee starting at $2,800, plus taxes and process serving fees.


Marriage or Cohabitation Agreements

In order to avoid the stresses that come with separating, you and your partner can enter into a contract that will establish a shared understanding, prevent future conflict and opt out of the background law. An agreement between common-law spouses is called a cohabitation agreement and an agreement between married spouses is called a marriage agreement, or in some cases, a pre-nuptial agreement.

The Cost

We charge a flat fee starting at $3,000, plus taxes. We will discuss what the fee includes at our first appointment.

If your matter is in court

While many family law matters do not end up in court, there will be times when parties cannot work together to make decisions about finances, property, or the care of children. In such cases, you will need to ask the court to intervene, especially in circumstances when your spouse is acting in a suspicious and unfair way with respect to assets, support and parenting of children.
While there are many reasons to avoid court wherever possible, litigation will likely be the preferred choice when there is a history of family violence; your children are at immediate risk; there is high level of conflict between you and your spouse; there is a significant power imbalance between you and your spouse; and/or you believe your spouse is dealing with family property or other assets inappropriately.
Edith’s hourly rate for litigation purposes is $450 per hour. Prior to starting work on your file, you will need to pay a retainer in the amount of $5,000 – this retainer will be held in trust for your benefit and will be used to pay your invoices for work performed on your file.
For more information on how we charge legal fees and how you can save with our Nova Bundles, please see our Legal Fees Explained page.

Get in Touch

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