Redpath & FellBARRISTERS & SOLICITORS
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Separation & Divorce

Ending a marriage or common-law relationship, and dividing what you built.

Most separations do not need a courtroom. Roughly four in five of the files we open are resolved by a negotiated separation agreement, and the ones that go to court usually get there because one side won't disclose their finances rather than because the issues are genuinely intractable.

We start by working out what actually has to be decided — parenting, support, and the division of property — and which of those you already agree on. It is common to arrive convinced everything is contested and leave the first meeting with two live issues instead of six.

If your matter does need litigation, you will be told that early and given a realistic estimate of what it costs, rather than discovering it after eight months of correspondence.

What this covers

  • Separation agreements
  • Uncontested and contested divorce
  • Equalisation of net family property
  • Matrimonial home and possession
  • Spousal support, entitlement and quantum
  • Pension and RRSP division
  • Common-law property claims
  • Restraining orders and urgent motions

Questions we get asked

Do we both need our own lawyer?
Yes, if you want an agreement that holds up. A separation agreement where only one side had independent legal advice is far easier to set aside later, which defeats the point of signing it. We can only ever act for one of you.
How long does a divorce take?
An uncontested divorce in Ontario generally takes four to eight months from filing, and most of that is court processing time rather than anything either of you is doing. You cannot apply until you have been separated a year, though you can settle everything else in the meantime.
Who gets to stay in the house?
Neither of you can force the other out simply by asking, regardless of whose name is on title — a matrimonial home has special status in Ontario. In practice it is usually resolved by agreement, and where it isn't, it turns on children, affordability and safety rather than ownership.

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