After separating, many spouses and parents try to work out the issues between them on their own, and to make sure that what they decide "stays decided" they put it into a written separation agreement. The recent changes to the Family Law Legislation encourage people to work out their issues without going to Family Court. But, if the parents or former spouses do not do their agreement totally properly, section 56 of Ontario's Family Law Act, and several court decisions says that a judge can throw out the agreement and leave the parties without anything settled. The rules for separation agreements are specific to each province, and so taking an agreement off of the internet is unlikely to result in a binding settlement. Agreements actually have to be specific to the situation of the parties, and address that situation in light of the technicalities in Ontario Family Law. People who do not get at least some help with their separation agreement from a Family Lawyer often find that they do not have an enforceable agreement at all or, worse, they are bound to an agreement that is bad for them in light of Ontario Law. In this episode of the Ontario Family Law Podcast, Certified Specialist in Family Law, John Schuman, talks with Family Lawyer, Katelyn Bell, about the common mistakes that people make when they write their own separation agreement and what the effect of those mistakes can be. Anyone who is contemplating doing their own separation agreement should pay close attention to the content of this episode.
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