Often parties who are separating wish to resolve matters amicably. In such situations, they may try to save money on lawyers by trying to negotiate terms of parenting, access, child and spousal support and the division of property.
Lawyers for Divorce Negotiations in Calgary
The lawyers at Foster LLP recommend that parties seeking to negotiate their own settlements begin by having a consultation with a lawyer. There are many reasons to do this, some of them include:
- A lawyer will clear up any misconceptions parties have about the law. The advice given by a lawyer in a television drama, or to your friend, may not be correct given your situation or jurisdiction.
- The lawyer will tell you the most recent state of the law. The law does not stay the same. Legislation is regularly changed or updated, procedures change and the interpretation of the law changes.
- If both spouses have had a consultation with a lawyer, they will know their own rights and the rights of their spouse. This should assist to make negotiating easier.
- Once the parties arrive at an agreement, they will need to have it drafted into a document by a lawyer and will need to be given independent legal advice before signing. If parties have had legal advice before negotiating, they are less likely to be in the awkward position of having to renegotiate, should they decide the deal is not actually fair, once they have spoken to a lawyer.
- The division of any assets whether owned personally or through a corporation require the advice and assistance of a lawyer to ensure that the division is cost effective and to structure the documents required to effect the division.
Many people are not comfortable negotiating with their spouse. The lawyers at Foster LLP are trained to negotiate family law matters on behalf of their clients. Our lawyers will make sure their clients understand the law related to disputed matters and the range of results they could expect. They will discuss whether negotiation is likely to be successful, the cost of negotiating and a negotiation strategy with clients. Often matters can be resolved by communication between lawyers or through 4-way meetings.