1. Lying on financial documents – When dividing property in Ontario, spouses generally divide everything acquired during the marriage equally (though there are exceptions). To facilitate the division process, you must prepare a full financial report. If you lie on this report, exclude information or otherwise misrepresent your assets, you could face serious, financial penalties.
2. Attacking your ex – Revealing unflattering information about an ex on social media, disclosing private information or trying to intimidate him or her during a divorce can have costly repercussions. Not only could your case wind up going to court (which is typically more expensive than out-of-court solutions), you could risk facing criminal charges.
3. Trying to rush through the process – When parties are amicable, they might feel like they can rush through the legal process to divorce. However, this can lead to logistical oversights and clerical mistakes that ultimately delay the divorce and take more effort to resolve. As such, having a lawyer to help you navigate the process can allow you to avoid missteps made out of haste.
4. Making false allegations – Allegations regarding cruelty, neglect or abuse are very serious, and courts do not take them lightly. There may be investigations, court hearings and other efforts to confirm the credibility of the allegations. If such accusations are false, it can cost divorcing parties — and the court system — considerable time, money and other resources.
5. Disobeying court orders – Whether the courts issue temporary or permanent orders for protection, custody or support during a divorce, complying with them is essential. Violations of a court order can lead to fines and possible detention.

Making these mistakes can ultimately create expensive consequences for one or both parties during a divorce. Therefore, it is wise to avoid them. Instead, you can discuss with your lawyer legitimate, effective means of minimizing expenses without it jeopardizing a fair, efficient divorce.

A couple is breaking up acrimoniously, and one of the major sources of disagreement is their family pet. Both partners want to retain possession of the animal as their pet and companion. All efforts to mediate the custody dispute fail.
The dispute ends up in court. Who might the court award possession of the animal to?
Are Pets Personal Property?
Canadian courts generally see a pet as personal property, rather than as a member of the family. The person who purchased the pet is its owner, as long as that person can show proof of purchase, such as a bill of sale from the person or breeder from whom they purchased the animal. Courts across Canada have followed this principle in over a dozen cases. Courts of Appeal in Newfoundland and Ontario have affirmed their lower courts’ decisions in this regard.
Many courts at the trial and appeal level see custody applications for pets as “a waste of the … court’s time” and that the courts do not possess the jurisdiction to make orders for pets akin to a custody order, disguised or otherwise.”
Custody And Support For Pets?
Some couples see their dogs and cats as their ‘babies’ and themselves as ‘parents’ to their pets. There are several divorce and separation cases in which the couple fights bitterly over who has custody of their pets.
In one pet custody case, a divorcing couple had four cats and three dogs. The husband cared little for the cats, but insisted on having visitation rights to their dogs. The husband kept one of the dogs for a month when he took it for a walk and didn’t bring it back to the wife’s home. The husband finally agreed to return the dog after he and his wife agreed he would have visitation rights to see the dogs.
The judge ordered that the dogs stay with the wife. He strongly encouraged the two parties to use their common sense and uphold their informal agreement, pointing out that this dispute wasted court time that could have been spent on disputes over the support and custody of children.
Support disputes can also arise after custody of pets has been settled. In one case, a partner asked her ex-partner to pay $755 per month to support the couple’s 10 cats and 5 dogs. Her lawyer contended that the two had bought the pets together, but their separation was causing his client financial hardship as she was paying to feed and house the animals. Therefore, his client was entitled to spousal support for the pets as a purpose of spousal support is to ease financial hardship caused by the breakdown of the relationship.
The court awarded the woman $5000 per month in spousal support, but the judgment does not state clearly that this amount included support for the pets.
Could Courts Ever Make `Pet Custody Orders`?
Recent cases suggest that some judges may be willing to see pets as more than just property. In a Newfoundland Court of Appeal case, the dissenting judge wrote that “the ownership of a dog is a more complex and nuanced question than the ownership of, say, a bicycle.” In the case, the couple bought a dog together. The female partner actually spent more time caring for the dog, as the male partner worked for two weeks out of every three in Alberta. The male partner won custody of the dog, as he bought the dog and could prove it.
However, the trial judge and the dissenting appeal court judge would have awarded joint custody of the dog to both partners. It is very uncertain whether this approach will be considered, let alone adopted, by other judges or courts.
Pet ownership and custody after divorce is a difficult and emotional question to resolve. If you are a party to such a dispute, you should seek the counsel of an experienced family lawyer who can help you deal with the law in this area.

• An arbitrator can’t grant a divorce or an annulment
• An arbitrator can help a couple make decisions on such issues as child or spousal support, division of property, and child custody
• Witnesses can offer evidence on both sides
• Any decisions made must be incorporated into an arbitration agreement

Selecting the proper arbitrator for your case
The arbitrator is the key player in helping you and your spouse come to an agreement, so enlisting someone who has the adequate credentials for the job is crucial. He or she should be fair, unbiased and competent, and both you and your spouse should agree on the choice. Your arbitrator should have adequate experience with family law in Ontario, and must have the ability to screen for domestic violence and scenarios that include power imbalances. This individual could be a lawyer, accountant or businessperson, depending upon your specific needs.
Arbitration may be the best way for a couple to turn a dispute into a resolution. An experienced lawyer can evaluate all of your circumstances to help determine if family arbitration is the best means for you to proceed forward, and if so, can help guide you through this process, increasing your odds of receiving the best possible outcome for your circumstances and moving on toward a brighter future.

• Be a good listener
• Be able to explain things in an easy-to-comprehend manner
• Have accreditation or certification as a mediator
• Be knowledgeable about the mediation process
• Provide screening of both parties to ensure fairness and safety

A mediator who has accreditation completes specialized training and understands what is necessary to facilitate the mediation process. Part of that is ensuring that you and your partner are suitable candidates for mediation. For example, if a mediator discovers that there are instances of abuse in a marriage, he or she may use a different approach for the mediation process so everyone feels safe. That could mean conducting talks while partners are in different rooms or on the phone.
Signing an agreement
Your mediator will draft a mediation agreement that stipulates the particulars of the process, such as when and where the meetings will take place, who foots the bill for the mediator, your mediator’s name, and the details surrounding the sharing of any documents that will be involved during these meetings. Be sure to read the agreement thoroughly, making sure to understand what it entails before you sign it. It should also stipulate how mediation talks can come to a halt if they are not meeting their intended goals.
There are many positives about the mediation process that may be able to help alleviate some angst-inducing situations that could otherwise accompany your divorce. Getting legal advice may help you to be clearer about your rights regarding the process, and to determine if proceeding with a mediated divorce is the potential best course of action for your particular situation.

• Specify who gets custody of your children
• Specify who has access to your children
• Spell out who will live in a matrimonial home if you legally marry — in which case a cohabitation agreement becomes a matrimonial agreement

What can a cohabitation agreement include?
This type of agreement is for the benefit of both parties in a common law arrangement. It can be a reflection of your unique, personal situation. Cohabitation agreements spell out the particulars if you decide to divide any property should you separate, and they can specify how you will handle any debts you incurred during the time of the partnership. The agreement can also speak to the specifics for future spousal support — who pays whom and for how long?
Also, there are certain legalities that automatically come into play whenever such a union dissolves, so it’s important to have a cohabitation agreement in place if you need a way to avoid particular legalities to protect your future interests. For instance, you may wish to protect your personal assets in the even that your relationship crumbles. Partners in a common law arrangement don’t normally share property when they separate, but a cohabitation agreement could change that if you and your partner agree to the terms.
Making sure the agreement is fair
Honesty is paramount in a cohabitation agreement. There should be no secrets. You both have to be up front about your financial picture. That means mentioning every penny, every asset and also debts. The agreement will be a snapshot of your finances. Should the agreement ever come into play, a judge will want to ensure it is fair and that it entails transparency. A judge will also need to know that neither of you put your signatures to the document while under any pressure from each other or a third party.
Finally, your written agreement should bear both of your signatures along with the date of signing. Those signatures must also have a witness whose signature should appear on the document as well.
A cohabitation agreement may contain many complexities, and acquiring legal counsel might be a wise decision prior to signing on the dotted line. A lawyer may help a client to better understand what such a document can and can’t do as well as what legalities the agreement should follow. It could prove crucial to have a firm grasp on the specifics within your agreement and how they are likely to affect your future should you and your partner separate.

• You and your partner don’t agree on every detail in the agreement.
• If you believe that your partner will not be fair in his or her negotiations even with the aid of a lawyer, then you will most likely need to proceed with a litigated divorce.
• You might need to hire additional help like financial planners, which could become increasingly costly.
• Collaborative law is probably not the best route if there is any potential that you would need a court order for an emergency situation.

Where to find support
There are resources available to you who can help you make the decision of whether collaborative family law is the proper means for your divorce. Acquiring legal counsel might help to answer any questions you may have about the collaborative process and could ultimately increase your odds of achieving the best possible outcome for your situation.

• To ensure the best interests of children come first
• Ensuring each individual has an equal say
• To scale down the emotional stress of all those involved
• Slashing the potential expense of dispute resolution
• Allowing both parties to come to a fair, reasonable agreement regarding contentious issues
• Allows for more options than what may be available under a court order
• To give both participants a better way of solving potential future problems that could arise

Family mediation should be strongly considered before you pursue any adversarial action. Litigation can sometimes be costly and stress inducing; however, the mediation process is private, informal and relaxed and is a forum for lessening tension. By working in a realm of fairness and cooperation, you and your family members are far more apt to reach positive solutions to highly volatile issues like who gets the kids at Christmas and who pays for Susie’s skates and baby Johnny’s jungle gym.
First eye-to-eye meeting
Upon your initial meeting, you and your spouse will talk to the mediator about what each of you expects from the outcome, which will assist the mediator in setting ground rules for communication with respect. That understanding will set the tone for the entire process. Seeking legal advice before starting the mediation process is something each individual would be wise to do.
Each of you will sit down with the mediator on your own so you can feel free to express your feelings without the other person’s presence.
A mediation contract is fashioned according to the lives of those involved, so no two will be exactly alike. Here are some issues that will likely be put on the table to be ironed out, if they haven’t been already:

• Child custody, support and access, spousal support, and division of property
• Any contract, like a prenuptial agreement, that speaks to finances while living together
• Any areas of non-agreement regarding children
• Business issues if you and your spouse are in business together

If you and your partner reach an agreement, the mediator will draft a Memorandum of Understanding regarding all aspects to which you have agreed. Your legal OUR TEAM should get a copy of the document, and your lawyer will make sure the memo conforms to all legalities according to the Family Law Act.

• Child and spousal support
• Division of assets and property
• Division of debts
• Child care issues, including custody and visitation

Although parents are free to set their own custody and access arrangements, final say over these decisions goes to the courts. A judge must agree that the plan as drafted by the parents meets what are in the child’s best interests. If a judge does not agree, he or she may order an alternative arrangement.
Creating a valid and enforceable separation agreement
It is important to ensure that a separation agreement will stand up to scrutiny should either party ever feel they’ve been short-changed in some manner. It must also be legally enforceable, if the need ever arises. Making sure your settlement agreement meets both these criteria will require taking certain actions.
Once your agreement is completed, it’s prudent for both parties to seek independent legal counsel and to register the document with the provincial courts. A judge can enforce a registered agreement in the event of a dispute or if your ex-spouse refuses to uphold his or her end of the agreement.
Where can you find the help and support you need?
One possible way of making sure your agreement is solid is to work with a lawyer. By seeking your own, independent legal counsel, you can be sure that your agreement will have been examined thoroughly by someone with extensive understanding of Ontario family law.
A separation agreement may be a good first step along the road to a divorce, or it may be an assurance of rights for someone exiting a common-law relationship. Either way, a skilled and dedicated lawyer can help you draft a tailor-made agreement for your unique needs.