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Family Law/Separation Agreements
— Separation Agreements · Surrey, BC

A separation agreement is only worth what it survives.

Most separation agreements are never tested. The ones that are get tested at the worst possible moment, usually years later. We draft and review agreements built to hold.

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(778) 262-2835

Your first 30 minutes are free. If the other side has already sent you an agreement to sign, speak to us before you sign it.

— Overview

Separation starts the moment one of you decides, not the day a court says so.

In British Columbia you are separated when one spouse communicates an intention to end the relationship and acts on it. No filing, no order, and no court appearance is required. You can be separated while still living under the same roof, which is common when a household cannot be split immediately.

What that date triggers matters. It affects how property is valued and divided, when certain claims must be brought, and how support is assessed. Those deadlines are strict and missing one can end a claim before it is argued. If you are unsure of your separation date, or whether a clock has already started, that is precisely the kind of question worth asking early rather than late.

— What we handle

Separation Agreements.

I.Drafting separation agreements
II.Reviewing an agreement you have been sent
III.Negotiating terms before signing
IV.Full financial disclosure
V.Spousal and child support terms
VI.Property and debt division clauses
VII.Parenting arrangements within an agreement
VIII.Setting aside an unfair agreement
— How it runs

Four stages, in order.

I
The disclosure stage

A separation agreement stands or falls on financial disclosure. Both parties must lay out income, assets, debts and pensions honestly. Agreements are most often overturned because one side did not disclose properly, so this is not a formality to rush.

DISCLOSURE
II
Working out terms

Property, debts, support and parenting are negotiated. Most matters settle here, through correspondence or mediation, without anyone filing in court.

NEGOTIATION
III
Independent legal advice

Each party should have their own lawyer advise them before signing. An agreement signed without it is far easier to attack later, which helps nobody who wanted certainty.

ADVICE
IV
Signing and enforcement

The agreement is executed and, where appropriate, filed so that support terms can be enforced. What was agreed becomes something that can actually be relied on.

SIGNING
— Common questions

What clients usually ask first.

Do I need a separation agreement if we agree on everything?+
Agreeing is not the same as having it recorded in a form that binds. Verbal understandings between separating spouses tend to hold until one person remarries, moves, loses a job or changes their mind. A written agreement converts goodwill into something enforceable, and it is far cheaper to do while you still agree.
The other side sent me an agreement. Should I just sign it?+
Not before someone independent has read it. An agreement drafted by the other spouse's lawyer is drafted in the other spouse's interest, and it is not that lawyer's job to protect you. Having it reviewed is a short piece of work compared with trying to undo it afterwards.
Can a separation agreement be changed or overturned later?+
It can. Courts can set aside or vary agreements in defined circumstances, and incomplete financial disclosure is the most common reason. Terms dealing with children are always open to review, because a child's best interests take priority over what the adults agreed.
Do we have to go to court?+
Usually not. Most separations in British Columbia resolve by agreement, through negotiation or mediation. Court becomes necessary when there is family violence, a refusal to disclose finances, urgent relief needed, or one party negotiating in bad faith to run the clock.
Can we use the same lawyer to save money?+
No. A lawyer cannot act for both sides of a separation, because your interests genuinely conflict. One of you instructs us and the other gets their own independent advice. That is not a formality, it is what makes the resulting agreement durable.

See also how family property is divided · parenting time and support · resolving it outside court.

— Begin

Before you sign anything.

The first 30 minutes are free. Call (778) 262-2835 or send a confidential inquiry — every conversation is privileged and completely confidential.

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