Canadian Family Lawyer Debunks Some of the Most Commonly-Believed Divorce Myths

We dream of spending the rest of our lives with the love of our life. We dream of building memories together while watching our children grow and carving their own destiny. But, the painful reality is that not every relationship and family ends with a ‘Happy Ever After’. Oftentimes, most relationships end with misery and broken relationship. If you think you belong to this group of people who suffer from a miserable marriage, then the thought of filing a divorce might’ve crossed your mind more than once.

You might think that getting a divorce is going to be easier, especially if both parties agreed to it, however, that isn’t always the case. Most of the time, your matrimonial circumstances need to meet legal grounds for your divorce to work. This Canadian Lawyer debunks some of the most famous divorce myths to save you both time and money on your divorce process.

Since Your Spouse Had Another Affair, The Court will Favor You

Decades ago, the courts usually favored the partner who became the victim of cheating. While this principle still works in some countries, most of the time, this isn’t the case anymore.

The painful realization is that most family courts nowadays don’t have any sympathy for why a marriage or a relationship broke. Cheating generally bears no grounds anymore. The Divorce process focuses more on dividing your conjugal properties and fighting over custody rights for the children’s welfare.

Both parties should have equal access to exercise their responsibilities and rights to their children. This is often the most stressful part of a divorce process because your children will receive the ultimate blow of your broken marriage. If you have a common-law relationship with your partner, you might have to consult a lawyer on possible legal remedies that need to be taken into consideration.

I Can’t Get a Divorce Because My Spouse Isn’t Cooperating

We often see on TV how a divorce filing won’t proceed because a spouse refuses to cooperate. Movies often indicate cases when a partner doesn’t receive the divorce papers or wants to give a response, causing the other one to wait in misery and in vain.

It turns out this isn’t the case in the real world. The truth is, if you believe that you already have enough legal grounds and evidence to support your divorce papers, then the court can grant you the divorce without waiting for the other party’s consent.  

Live-in Partners Don’t worry about the division of assets and conjugal properties.

Like we said before, even if you and your partner might not be married, you’re still bound in common-law relationships. Once you and your common-law partner decide to end your relationship, your assets are still bound by division according to Family Law Legislation. It may be a bit different from a married couple, but the same principle still applies.

Furthermore, there’s also a possibility for one partner to pay a “spousal support” to the other one. An example of spousal support is when you share your children’s custody with your common-law partner. You may need to support your partner to raise your children, especially if he or she is the primary caregiver between the two of you. Some properties are also subjected to a division based on the circumstances.

I get to keep my sole properties

That’s not necessarily the case. Even if the property is only registered under one person’s name, your partner is likely entitled to own a part of it, especially in cases where your partner moved in with you for the duration of your marriage or common-law relationship.

You can only get your sole property if you and your partner signed a marriage contract, cohabitation agreement, or a prenuptial before you started living together. If not, then the 50-50 division rules still apply for married couples while the court will determine the division percentage on common-law relationships depending on how much each partner has contributed.