What are the various steps that must be taken in order to obtain a judgment for divorce? When you decide to put an end to your union, it is important for legal grounds that a judgment governs the various aspects of the rupture.
The first step is to collect all the documents necessary for the introduction of a divorce request. You will need to obtain a copy of your certificate of birth, your spouse’s birth certificate, your certificate marriage, your marriage contract, a copy of the birth certificates of your children if necessary. You will also need to present all the documents (deed and mortgage loan, lease, etc.) relating to the residence bank statements (RRSPs, investments, etc.), financial statements from the pension, your tax returns for the current year and the previous with the notices of assessment for both levels of government.
Once all these documents in your possession, you are now ready to consult your lawyer. At a first meeting, the prosecutor will explain what your rights and obligations. To obtain a divorce judgment, you must invoke one of the grounds provided for in the Divorce Act (1): Your spouse has committed adultery, your spouse has treated you with cruelty physical or mental cruelty making living together intolerable or even if you and your spouse have ceased to live together for more than a year the date of the decree of divorce).
Thereafter, your lawyer will prepare a divorce application according to the provisions of the Act. As part of these procedures, you will have to entrust a clear mandate to your lawyer about all aspects of your separation. Obtaining a judgment divorce can be quick when the spouses have a prior agreement on all the measures that are corollary to the divorce.
It is rare, however, that people making the decision to end their marriage fully agree on all of these measures. Thus, in the absence of such agreement and in the light of the significant delays involved in bringing a dispute before the court and to obtain a final decision, it is possible that your lawyer must undertake procedures for obtaining a temporary judgment (provisional) which will have questions requiring immediate attention, among other things, child care, child support, the use of the family residence, the payment of common debts and the common.
The judgment pronounced the divorce would decide on the share of the family patrimony the sharing of the matrimonial regime, the alimony ex-spouse and for children, child care, access arrangements of each parent to the children, the compensatory benefits and the sharing of common assets and debts.
To complete your procedures, it is quite appropriate to be represented by a lawyer because these procedures and rules of practice are complex. In light of this, you have every interest in being well represented.
(1) Loi concernant le divorce et les mesures accessoires, L.R.C. (1985), c.3 (2e suppl.), art. 8(2)(3).