Blog - Divorce, Custody, Estate Lawyers & Best Law Firm in Calgary

Mandatory Filing Requirements - Court of Kings Bench and Alberta Court of Justice

As of December 18, 2023, the Court of King’s Bench has established the requirement that four mandatory pre-court requirements are met prior to a person bringing forward an application, which also includes filing of a family docket court notice to attend. These requirements apply to court cases in Edmonton Calgary. What are the Requirements? These are required for people who are both self-representing or have counsel. Completion of the online Parenting After Separation Course (PAS) (i...

High Income Spousal Support and Factors Included in Spousal Support Calculations

When calculating spousal support in family law cases, calculating the amount of spousal support will depend on specific factors. As a starting point when entitlement has been confirmed or assumed, family lawyers rely upon the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (“the Guidelines”) to calculate spousal support. These Guidelines were provided by a Government of Canada working group back in 2005 and have been updated annually. The Guidelines provide calculations based on the base factors of...

Child and Spousal Support and Imputation of Income

“ I’ll quit my job and flip burgers for a living!” -- it is one of the biggest cliches family lawyers regularly hear from a parent or spouse who earns a high income. Until recently, the law may not have penalized the party who went through on their threat. The Court of Appeal in Alberta over twenty-one years ago rendered a decision in the case Hunt v Smolis-Hunt, 2001 ABCA 229, which held that the payor needed to have a specific intent to show that they quit a more lucrative job specif...

Revenge Porn – Have you been a target of it?

The courts in Alberta, and in provinces across Canada have acknowledged and built upon the civil tort for a breach of privacy which can be found to occur when a person publicly exposes another person’s private images and videos. The most common cases of this is when a former partner/spouse uses privately held images and/or videos of their former partner/spouse that they were given. Where tort cases have found fault hinges on possession and use of these images and/or videos, as the expectat...

What is the Child Support Resolution Program?

Along with the encouragement of the Court to try settlement or resolution outside of a courtroom, there are upcoming changes to the previous DRO program at the Court of King’s Bench with an emphasis on parties to the litigation having quality settlement discussions before appearing before a Justice for a decision. The new program requires that the parties to a child support matter have provided and have received disclosure, in order to successfully make offers and review recommendations for...

Being told to avoid court? What's the alternatives?

The family court system is under strain with litigants that seek assistance in resolving matters, however, being in court very often does not lead to the resolution of these matters. Court applications are extremely time consuming, decisions, if made, are piecemeal leaving many outstanding issues without fulsome resolution, and the experience is often highly adversarial. It can often be heard a Judge telling a self-represented litigant in family court that they should seek legal advic...

Reasons to Not Self-Represent in Family Law Matters

For a myriad of reasons, many people believe that they are better off handling their divorce or other family law matters on their own, without the assistance of a lawyer. Some people are put-off by lawyers having intimate details regarding their family and separation, while others are concerned that involving lawyers could jeopardize the amicable nature of their separation. In addition, many people are unable or unwilling, or concerned about paying the costs associated with hiring a family l...

Family Violence- Consideration under the Family Law Act and Divorce Act

As part of the changes to the Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985., c. 3 (2nd. Supp.) that were enacted in 2021, family violence is now legislated as one factor that must be considered when a Court or other decision maker determines the best interests of a child of married parents (or formerly married parents) in family law disputes. The Divorce Act defines family violence as any conduct by a family member towards another family member that is violent, threatening or that constitutes a pattern of coerc...

The Importance of Accurate Disclosure in Family law Agreements

Even when parties’ have reached settlement with the assistance of counsel, and through alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation or mediation-arbitration, these terms can be overturned. In the case of Rick v. Brandsema, the parties had reached terms while attending mediation, and they had their respective legal counsel review the terms of the Separation Agreement, and each counsel had confirmed providing independent legal advice with the signing of the parties’ Separation Agreement...

How is an estate distributed when a person dies without a Will in Alberta?

When a person dies without a Last Will and Testament (a Will), this person is deemed to have died intestate. There are important ramifications when this has occurred for the managing the assets of this person after they have passed away. First, there cannot be a Grant of Probate, which would be the process if a person had a Will. In a Will there would instructions for the proper distribution of that person’s estate, which then would be administered by the Executor/Personal Representativ...

Reported Decisions

Mandatory Filing Requirements - Court of Kings Bench and Alberta Court of Justice

High Income Spousal Support and Factors Included in Spousal Support Calculations

Child and Spousal Support and Imputation of Income

Revenge Porn – Have you been a target of it?

What is the Child Support Resolution Program?

Being told to avoid court? What's the alternatives?

Reasons to Not Self-Represent in Family Law Matters

Family Violence- Consideration under the Family Law Act and Divorce Act

The Importance of Accurate Disclosure in Family law Agreements

How is an estate distributed when a person dies without a Will in Alberta?

Trusted Counsel for Calgary Family Law Matters