Back in the beginning, it was love, hope, and sharing for the common good. Then for one or several reasons things fell apart. The old song about breaking up is hard to do never addressed the financial side.
Even before you start to discuss who gets what you owe it to yourself to complete a thorough inventory of what you own and owe. So, make an inventory of everything, long before you rush to the lawyer's office to even think of discussing spousal support.
All too often, a simple adult-to-adult agreement is complicated by the adversarial nature of competing lawyers. Sure, your lawyer is trained to represent your interests in a court of law, and you need to listen to his professional advice. However, this is your money not your lawyers'. It is you who is going to live with the results.
If you do venture down the lawyer road to resolve spousal support / alimony then your prep work will shorten the process and the bill. Too much billable time is spent letting lawyers gather information through discovery, interrogations and request for documents. It turns simple cases into complicated cases, and keeps the lawyers in control of your alimony case and your money.
Gather your information yourself and make an inventory. You and your ex might be able to do this together and come to an early agreement and when you put this in written form it is called a “separation agreement.” The courts will not interfere with an agreement between spouses. They actually encourage you to have an agreement. A full separation agreement form is available from within the CanDivorce web site, without charge.
People have paid three thousand dollars for a lawyer produced separation agreement. Try to come to terms with your spouse through negotiation and a written agreement - do it yourself and keep your money. If you can cut your conflict then it stands to reason that you will cut your costs. A mutual agreed approach definitely saves money and it speeds up the process.
If your spouse resists this kinder gentler approach, or the issues are so complicated that you need a lawyer, financial advisor, or mediator you can still reduce their fees by doing your homework. Trust me on this one - lawyers love alimony and spousal support cases. "When couples see red the lawyer sees green".
The divorce laws in Canada and the US are similar; it's easier for you to obtain a court ordered divorce on the grounds of a one-year separation. Now it is much faster and less expensive to legally end your marriage. Moreover, a court appearance is rare with a divorce more and more people have discovered that you do not need an expensive lawyer to prepare and file the paper work. It's almost similar with spousal support becasue when someone shares the rules and proceedures it's so much easier.
Summary
Get an agreement early.
Complete an inventory.
Negotiate who gets what.
Put it in writing.
Take Action without the expense of adversarial lawyers.
Colin Kennedy is a divorce specialist helping people resolve separation and divorce issues without a lawyer. He can be reached at www.myspousalsupport.com and www.CanDivorce.ca
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