Learnings - DISRUPT DIVORCE

Some Things To Keep In Mind

Going through a divorce is stressful and can be overwhelming. Our learnings can help you navigate the process.

It is not illegal for your ex-spouse to take funds from any joint accounts.

It no longer makes sense to enter divorce arbitration. It is now riskier, more complex, more costly and more time consuming than going to court.

You can’t sue an arbitrator, they can’t be held accountable for their errors.

Don't drag your children into the conflict with your ex-spouse.

If one spouse is not amenable to separation and divorce, the process can drag on for years.

More Learnings...

Ensure you thoroughly investigate the experience and credentials of the mediator, arbitrator, or parenting coordinator. Ask in writing for their credentials.
Counselling could be an option. Explore all options before you choose divorce.
A vindictive ex-spouse may “alienate” your child. Parental alienation is a serious matter. Do not alienate your spouse from their children.
In transferring US property from one spouse to another, KPMG or another firm may issue more than one opinion on how the transaction should be executed. These can be competing opinions. Ensure the transaction you undertake is not contrary to US tax code.
You will respect yourself at the end of the process if you maintain your integrity, trustworthiness, and honesty.
If you feel you want to be vindictive with your spouse, think carefully. At the end of the day, will you have received good value for the money spent?
Your ex-spouse, whether self-represented or with a lawyer, can rack up very large legal bills and you have no way of controlling it.
The cost of divorce can be hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars if you allow the lawyers to drive the agenda.
A vindictive ex-spouse may be prone to steal or hold your personal belongings hostage if they have access to them. Think about who has access to your belongings.
More involvement by financial experts and psychological experts rather than lawyers can reduce the cost of divorce, both financially and emotionally.
Be prepared for opposing counsel to mislead the court or the arbitrator, this happens more than you might think.
A parent can change a medical practitioner without advising the other parent.
Be prepared for your ex-spouse to file incomplete financial disclosure documents.
Maintenance and Enforcement arrears are unenforceable outside of the jurisdiction of Alberta or in the provincial jurisdiction you reside in (Canada).
Your ex-spouses character quality may be unrecognizable within weeks of separation.
Your ex-spouse may start dating and introduce a new partner to the kids long before the kids are ready. Find out how to handle this with your kids.
It is not uncommon to become overwhelmed with the new reality of separation and narcissistic behavior may occur as a result. Psychologists predict that some individuals may go through a 3 to 4 year period of uncharacteristic behavior with an 80 percent probability of recovery (with children) thereafter.
Your ex-spouse may seek to arbitrate a even small amounts they have been ordered to pay. You have no ability to avoid the cost of the arbitration which can often exceed the amount of the original payment.
Your lawyer can leave a message (20 seconds) and bill you a minimum charge of 6 minutes. There is no regulation as to how many times a lawyer can charge you.
During examinations for discovery, or cross-examinations, lawyers can require unlimited amounts of undertakings for additional information, sometimes irrelevant information. This is clearly an area where lawyers are able to rack up significant legal bills and cause you undue amounts of time and energy.
Arbitrators and lawyers in family law often have long-standing relationships, referring business back and forth for many years. This can create conflicts of interest, which they have no requirement to disclose.
When making an ordered payment to your ex-spouse, they can refuse to accept a cheque or e-transfer from you without reason, demanding payment by money order or bank draft. If this causes you to be late with a payment, they can execute a garnishee summons on your income, despite the fact that you attempted to pay.
An arbitrator can breach the arbitration act, make rulings beyond their jurisdiction and then claim when their account is being taxed “well if I made mistakes, the client could have just appealed my errors”.
An arbitrator may, months after rendering a final decision on a matter, take an appeal of the ruling requiring new affidavits, new books of authority and render a new ruling on the previously closed matter. This generates new legal bills and new arbitration fees for all parties involved.
Your ex-spouse can have their employer remove you from insurance plans. All employers should inform individual parties when insurance is cancelled, but this does not always happen.
Arbitration is not recommended divorce processes as the arbitrator and lawyers have no motivation to wrap up the file. In fact, rulings can be overturned by a judge in the courts so there is no point in using these processes.
With the Alberta Court of Appeal's decision in June 2019 (Allen vs. Renouf), restricting and making more complex and costly arbitration appeals, it no longer makes sense to enter divorce arbitration in Canada as its' more time consuming, costly and risky than going to court.

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