Divorce coach Deborah Mecklinger speaks of helping her clients be “realistic, informed and mindful” while working towards a “mutually respectful” divorce. Coach Deborah Moskovitch’s goal is to “help you get through your divorce smarter with your family, your finances and your sanity intact, while saving you time and money.”  This all sounds great – but what does a divorce coach actually do?

Coaches train clients how to appropriately deal with the dynamics of divorce, including the legal, emotional and daily living aspects of that upheaval.

Coaching is not counselling. A coach serves a different role – building a client’s confidence and ability to manage the divorce process so that there is a greater likelihood of satisfaction with the outcome.

A coach can help you collaborate with your lawyer in a more efficient and cost-effective way. By explaining the legal process, for example, a coach can help prepare a client to make better use of a lawyer’s time and expertise.  This is not legal advice, which is the sole realm of the lawyer, but it can be legal information about the steps in the process, the documents to be prepared, the information collected, and so on. This training is valuable not only for the lawyer-client relationship, but also for the contact you might have with other professionals along the divorce road, such as accountants, mediators, assessors and such.

A coach can do the hand-holding that you might not want to share with a lawyer, and that would be very costly for a lawyer to undertake. You can complain to your coach about your ex-spouse while also getting valuable training in how to respond differently to the same old triggers, in order to obtain a better result.

Life after divorce is complicated and challenging.  A coach can assist with the so-called dynamics of divorce; the transition to living life as a divorced person and/or parent. There will be new relationships to navigate, a new family unit created and a new financial reality with which to cope.  A coach can help you face these challenges head on, remaining in the picture once your lawyer has served his/her role and closed the file.

I have been retained by clients who have divorce coaches and by those who do not.  A coach is not necessary.  Many people are able to manage quite well without one.  But if you feel you lack the tools to effectively work with counsel, you might want to speak to a coach. Take an hour and see if what a coach offers would be of use to you.

The post What Is A Divorce Coach? appeared first on Toronto Family Law Blog Canada.

https://www.advocatedaily.com/jennifer-samara-shuber-survey-shows-people-not-fully-aware-of-legal-implications-of-marriage.html

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The Bill addresses three main areas:

1. Promoting the best interests of the child;
2. Redefining family violence; and
3. Access to justice.

The amendments renew the emphasis on promoting the best interests of the child by setting out a list of specific factors that a court must consider, including the child’s physical, emotional and psychological safety and well-being; the nature and strength of the child’s relationships with parents, grandparents and other important people in their life; the child’s linguistic, cultural and spiritual heritage and upbringing, including Indigenous heritage; and the child’s views and preferences.

The new legislation will replace the traditional terms “custody” and “access” in an effort to make the statute more user friendly. The statute will instead reference “parenting orders” which set out each parent’s decision-making responsibilities and “parenting time” to identify when the child is with each parent. The Bill proposes the creation of notice requirements with regard to geographic relocation (moving out of the jurisdiction) following a divorce, as well as the development of relocation guidelines for parties and the court based on the child’s best interests.

The existing Divorce Act does not include specific measures to address family violence and, in particular, its impact on a child’s best interests. The proposed amendments would include a new definition of “family violence”, whose existence would have to be taken into account in the consideration of appropriate parenting arrangements. Similarly, the court in the family law proceedings would be required to consider any other court proceedings or orders involving the parties before making family law parenting, contact or support orders.

Access to justice is a critical aspect of the new amendments. Encouraging parties to resolve their family law disputes through alternative dispute resolution is part of the way in which the amendments aim to reduce the need to resort to court. The plan includes making the family law system more accessible and efficient, through various provincial initiatives including child support administration services and recalculation services.  Other amendments aim to reduce the risk of a child living in poverty following divorce, for example, by empowering the government to release income tax information in order to ensure accurate child support is being paid.

Stay tuned for further information on this topic, once the Bill is available in its entirety.

The post Update on proposed Divorce Act Amendments appeared first on Toronto Family Law Blog Canada.

Raising the contract issue is delicate. It forces a candid and honest discussion about money and requires you to discuss your future plans and expectations: Will you each be financially self-sufficient or do you anticipate forming one financial unit? What if you stay home to care for children? Do your support or property entitlements change if the relationship lasts five or even 25 years? Do you want the same result if the relationship ends due to either separation or death? Do you share the house value equally (even if one spouse owned it before marriage or one spouse contributed more to the house than the other)? What if you work in or have shares in a family business or expect to receive a large gift or inheritance? What if one spouse has significantly more debt than the other? A marriage contract can address all of these issues and more.

A common marriage contract provision deals with the matrimonial home. Spouses enter into a contract in order to ensure either that they only share the increase in value of the matrimonial home during the marriage (rather than its entire value) or to prevent the sharing of a home owned solely by one spouse. Without a contract, the law mandates equal sharing of the value of the matrimonial home.

Get family law advice before your wedding about whether a marriage contract would make sense for you.  Feel free to contact me. I would be pleased to assist.  

The post Why You Should Consider A Marriage Contract appeared first on Toronto Family Law Blog Canada.

https://www.advocatedaily.com/jennifer-samara-shuber-scc-family-law-bar-divided-on-habitual-residence-test.html

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