You will find if you meet with several lawyers that hourly rates fluctuate in accordance with each lawyer’s years of experience. The more years that a lawyer specializes in family law, the higher his or her hourly rate is likely to be. Most work conducted in divorce or separation cases is charged on an hourly basis, though there are some fixed fee services available for certain services such as obtaining an uncontested divorce or drafting a simple separation or cohabitation agreement where there is no dispute between the parties and thus no need to expend time negotiating. Some matters can be handled by junior lawyers at much lower hourly rates than more complex matters requiring the services of a senior family law lawyer.

By fully disclosing your particular situation to one of our Vancouver or Surrey Family Law lawyers, we can explain the typical range of fees that are usually incurred for each step of the litigation so that you can make the best possible decision for your particular situation.

The basic answer is that matters relating to children are determined in accordance with what is in the particular child’s best interests. Generally judges try to maintain stability for the children such that whatever arrangement the parties had in place prior to their relationship breakdown should be maintained in the post separation period provided that it maximizes the child’s time with each parent.

In fact since March of 2013, the terms “custody” and “access” are no longer used in family law or divorce disputes. Instead the term “guardianship” & “parenting time” are used.

Generally the courts are inclined to award joint or shared guardianship of children so that both parents are entitled to be kept informed and have input into all matters relating to the children’s general health, welfare, and education. It is less common for the courts to deny a parent guardianship rights but that is done in circumstances where the weight of the evidence convinces the judge that a parent poses a significant risk to the child’s health or welfare, which may include issues relating to a parent’s use of drugs or alcohol, their mental health, a propensity for violence, or the child having been exposed to acts of violence by a parent (whether against the child or against any other person or object) in the child’s presence.

One of our Surrey divorce lawyers or Vancouver Family law lawyers will be pleased to advise you in a free initial consultation as to how your particular fact situation can impact the issue of child custody or guardianship.

Generally the court’s approach to parenting time is to put an arrangement in place that maximizes the amount of time children spend in the care of each parent. Courts recognize that once a couple separates, there are two homes in which the children will spend their time and that children ought to spend time each week with each of their parents. Judges are not concerned with determining who is the better parent. As long as a parent has sufficient parenting skills, they will be permitted to have parenting time with their children even if the other parent is viewed as the best parent there can be.

One of our Surrey divorce lawyers or Vancouver Family law lawyers will be pleased to advise you in a free initial consultation as to how your particular fact situation can impact the issue of child parenting time.

In any legal dispute you should not take any drastic step without first obtaining legal advice as your actions are likely to have a significant effect on the determination of your legal rights and obligations. As bad as your situation maybe, moving out of the home may make it impossible for you to ever re-enter the home. An agreement for one spouse to move out of the home can often be used as leverage to obtain other interim agreements such as parenting time with children or interim responsibility for various household bills.

Similarly unilaterally deciding to stop contributing to household bills or to cut off services to the home such as cable, hydro, telephone, gas etc can be a decision that causes significant blow back if the matter proceeds to court. Judges will often be very upset with a party who takes such unilateral actions and will be more sympathetic to the “innocent” party in determine interim issues such as occupation of the home , financial support obligations, etc.

It is vital in every family law dispute that you obtain legal advice before you take any action which may affect your rights and obligations. Even voluntarily paying various bills or providing financial support to your spouse, without first obtains legal advice can come back to haunt you as such voluntary pavements may serve as independent evidence of your ability to afford to pay a certain level of financial support going long into the future.

If you set up your free initial consultation with one of our Surrey Divorce lawyers, we will be able to provide you with a typical range of time required to resolve your particular type of dispute.

When deciding matters of guardianship and/or parenting time, Courts are obligated to consider the impact of any violence witnessed or experienced by the children. The use & abuse of alcohol or drugs by a parent will obviously also be considered by the courts whenever dealing in issues involving children.

It is not uncommon for courts to impose supervision of parenting time when the weight of the evidence convinces a judge that drugs, alcohol or violence may put children at risk.

With over 25 years of courtroom experience, our Vancouver Family Law lawyers & Surrey Divorce lawyers will listen to your particular situation and concerns in a free initial consultation and advise you as to the best approach to take to protect your children’s best interests.

Financial support is determined by a number of factors such as each party’s respective income, the length of the couple’s cohabitation or marriage, the lifestyle typically enjoyed by the couple prior to their separation, how the parenting time of the children is being divided, the existence of any prenuptial or cohabitation agreement, each party’s need for and ability to pay financial support, and other factors.

Once you have retained a lawyer we can send your spouse demand letters for interim relief or failing an agreement we can bring on an interim court application to obtain orders for interim spousal and or child support as quickly as the law will permit.

At a free initial consultation with one of our Vancouver Divorce attorneys we can explain the process, timelines, and fees involved in obtaining financial support for you or your children & the factors to be consider in each individual case.

It is important to speak with a lawyer as quickly as possible if you are concerned about assets ( Real Property, Bank Accounts, Shares, GIC’s, investments, chattels, or any valuable asset) from being disposed of, particularly if the assets in question represent the majority of a couple’s accumulated wealth. We can get into court quickly to obtain a restraining order or an injunction to prevent an asset from being sold, transferred or removed from the jurisdiction of the court.

At a free initial consultation with one of our Surrey Divorce lawyers, we can assess your situation and advise you as to whether it is necessary or makes financial sense to bring on an urgent application to obtain a restraining order or an injunction.

If you have an issue that requires a court order, it will be necessary for a court application to be drafted, filed in court & served on the opposing party. At the hearing of the application, the presiding judge will make his or her decision based upon the balance of the evidence presented in court either by way of testimony of and cross examination of witnesses or written testimony contained in sworn affidavits (depending upon the type of hearing). There are various rule regarding the timelines required ( # of days between filing, serving court documents and the date of the actual hearing. In urgent circumstances a Judge can grant an order without service having occurred, or upon substituted service, or can shorten the time periods normally required in order to allow a hearing to take place earlier than the normal rules require.

At a free initial consultation with one of our Surrey Divorce lawyers or Vancouver Family Law lawyers, we can advise you as to the likelihood of your application being granted and whether there is a sufficient factual basis or necessity for your application to proceed on an urgent basis.

Generally speaking, going to court with the assistance of an experienced lawyer can be very expensive. If possible it is always preferable to see if matters can be resolved through negotiation, compromise and settlement. In many circumstances having a demand letter prepared outlining the legal opinion you have received on your particular issue which also highlights the costs and consequences of going to court, will help move the opposing party toward settling outside of court – particularly once they have received legal advice from their own lawyer advising them as to whether the representations made in a lawyer’s demand letter are accurate or are exaggerated. Another approach is for both parties to engage a mediator or Parenting Coordinator to assist the parties in communicating with each other and negotiating a binding settlement.

Our Surrey Family Law lawyers and Vancouver Divorce lawyers will discuss all settlement options with you and encourage you to avoid the costs of litigation by helping you to devise a settlement strategy whenever appropriate.