Filing Your Divorce Online in Canada

How to know whether you can complete your divorce online.

It has become very popular to file your own online divorce, and there is good reason.  You save thousands in attorney fees, the divorce is usually completed much quicker, and you can control the process and keep it more private.

But before you go and start your online divorce, you should make sure that you are a good candidate for doing your own divorce without the help of a divorce lawyer.  Although most every divorce can be started online, there are some questions you should review to determine whether you should consider hiring a lawyer.  If you answer "yes" to any of the following 5 points, you should try to resolve these issues before you file your own online divorce:

1. Are you unable to reach an agreement regarding the terms of your divorce?
2. Will your spouse hire an attorney to challenge the terms of the divorce?
3. Is there a large amount of marital property that cannot be agreed upon with your spouse?
4. Do you and your spouse disagree on the custody arrangements of your children?
5. Is spousal support an issue where you disagree with your spouse?

If these points are true in your situation, then you should consider hiring a local divorce attorney or a mediator to help you work out the terms of the divorce before you start your online divorce.

How to know if you can do an online divorce.

Most couples are able to reach an agreement on the terms of the divorce.  In many situations, the spouses have already been separated for a long period of time and have worked out the division of property and the custody arrangement for their children.  These types of situations are well suited for doing an online divorce.

If you can come to an agreement with your spouse on the terms of the divorce, then you can do your own online divorce, saving you money and time.  No one wants to spend thousands on a divorce attorney and have the divorce process take many months longer than it should.  Not every divorce handled by an attorney takes longer than a divorce done on your own, but you would be surprised how long it can take to get a divorce completed when an attorney is involved.

Filing your own online divorce can be a simple process, as long as you go into the process well-informed, and with the correct divorce forms.  You are done before you even start if your documents are not correct, and not approved by the Judge.  The problem is that you won't know this until you get through the process and realize the Judge wants the documents to be redone.  Then you have to start over.  So starting with the correct documents at the beginning, and making sure you follow the simple procedures, will ensure that your online divorce will be completed quickly and without any problems.

What if you can't locate my spouse

Many people want to file for a divorce, but they can't locate their spouse.  This is fairly common, and as long as you have the correct divorce forms for this situation, you won't have any trouble completing your online divorce.

When a divorce is filed, your spouse must be served, or sign a waiver of service.  When the spouse's whereabouts are unknown, then the spouse is served by a process called publication or posting.  This is where a notice is published in a local legal publication or the notice is pinned to the court wall.  Once your spouse has been served by publication or posting, the court will deem your spouse as being properly served and will proceed with the finalization of the divorce.

What about issues like child support, alimony, retirement accounts and other major issues.

It doesn't matter how difficult a situation might be, such as division of pension plans, alimony (also known as spousal support) or child support, if you can reach an agreement with your spouse on these terms, you can file your online divorce.

Issues such as child support and alimony can be left to the court if you can't come to an agreement.  In many cases, the spouses prefer to have child support determined by the court pursuant to the State's child support guidelines.  In these situations, the court will determine the support for the children.  If you come to your own agreement on the amount of child support, as long as it seems reasonable to the Judge, it is usually approved.

Getting started on an online divorce.

The first step in starting your divorce is to make sure you have reached the point where the marriage is broken.  If so, and a divorce is the only option, then work with your spouse on the terms of the divorce and complete the online questionnaire.  Our experienced divorce team will prepare your divorce forms, detailing all the specific provisions, and send the forms to you for signature.

Once you receive your divorce forms, they will be signed and filed with the court.  This will get the divorce process started with the court.  Following the detailed step-by-step instructions that are included with your divorce forms will make the divorce process smooth and simple.

Filing Your Online Divorce