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Legal Separation Services With Pathway Legal

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Do You Need a Legal Separation Agreement?

A legal separation agreement sets out everything needed to create clarity of agreement between you and your to be ex-spouse, after separation. While you do not always have to have one, it is virtually always a must have if there are assets and children involved. Even if not, it is a good document to have in case there are disagreements down the road about entitlement. A legal separation agreement is highly recommended. 

In BC, if you’ve lived together for more than two years in a marriage-like relationship — or if you have a child together — you are considered “spouses” under the Family Law Act.

That means, when you separate, you may need to make decisions about property, debts, parenting time, child support, and (now thanks to new legislation) even pets! A legal separation agreement helps document what you have agreed to in clearly defined terms that help you avoid future disputes.

A legal separation agreement will include details on:

  • How you will divide your assets.
  • What the spousal support obligation or entitlement is in your matter, if any. 
  • Whether your children (if you have them) are entitled to receive child support based on your circumstances. 
  • Your parenting plan (if applicable).
  • Legal releases, confirming that each of you is released from certain obligations under BC law. 

There are multiple ways to agree upon and create a separation agreement, many of which use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes.

At Pathway Legal, we often use mediation, mediation/arbitration, collaborative family law, and four-way meetings. Sometimes, however, our clients, after obtaining some initial legal advice from us, negotiate directly with their soon-to-be-ex spouse. In amicable situations that are not overly complex, negotiating directly with your ex-spouse can be efficient and save on expenses.

Quick Links

1. Do I Need A Legal Separation?

2. Factors Affecting Costs

3. Pathway Legal Fees

4. Related Pages

What Affects The Cost Of A Legal Separation in BC?

When clients first meet with us, they will usually ask us what the cost of a legal separation in BC is. This can be a very challenging question to answer!

Of course, the cost of a legal separation depends upon many factors, including: 

  1. Is your matter relatively straight forward or is it more complex with multiple issues that need to be addressed?
  2. Do you anticipate that the negotiation and resolution of your matter will be amicable as opposed to a matter that is fraught with high conflict? 
  3. Are you confident that you can (after receiving initial legal advice) negotiate directly with your ex-spouse? 
  4. Are you confident regarding your family assets and debt, or are you concerned that your ex-spouse has been hiding assets? 
  5. Do you each have a clear idea as to what the other party earns via their employment?
  6. If you have children, do you anticipate that you and your ex-spouse will be able to agree on a parenting schedule, and be able to agree on significant decisions regarding your children? Or, do you have significant concerns about the other parent and their ability to meet your children's needs?

Having helped many families through separation in BC at Pathway Legal, we’ve found that your investment for reaching a legally binding separation agreement can fit inside a very wide range.  

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What Does Pathway Legal Charge for a Legal Separation Agreement?

In most circumstances, we charge an hourly rate for assisting you in reaching a legally binding settlement (or, in some cases, a court order). This is because we will assist you depending upon which dispute resolution you utilize. Whether your matter is resolved using four-way meetings, mediation, mediation/arbitration, collaborative law, or court, we can assist you using the hourly rate structure. 

In our experience, the average cost of a legal separation in BC ranges from $3,000 to over $100,000.

That said, most people resolve their matters between $10,000 to $15,000, or under. It can be up to $30,000 when there are one more issues that are "sticking" points in the negotiation and resolution of your matter.

How Are Pathway Legal's Family Law Services Unique?

  •  Court as a last resort: 
    The last thing you need is to drag your changing family through the court system. If we can avoid court, we will.
  • Transparent billing: 
    Always know exactly what you are being billed, right the way through.
  • The goal of resolution:
    It is stressful to have your family matter outstanding. You want it resolved. Every time you meet with us, we get you closer to the goal of final resolution.
  • Dispute Resolution: 
    We have lawyers at Pathway Legal who have dispute resolution training. The extra value to you is that it provides a powerful level of skill in keeping clients out of court while still getting your matter resolved.
  • Demystifying the law: 
    Nobody likes long-winded and stuffy sounding legal words. At Pathway Legal, we describe the law and your rights and responsibilities in straightforward terms.
  • Care and nurturing:
    We mean it when we say you are in good hands. We are more than your lawyers, we are an entire legal team that cares about you and your changing family.

What's Next?

  • If you are ready to take advantage of our family law services or need to discover more about how we work, simply contact our team. 
  • If you are still deciding whether you are ready to take the step of separation or divorce, you may find our dedicated Pathway Legal Better Divorce series of emails very useful. You can subscribe here and you can unsubscribe at any time. Your address will not be sold for information and you will not be sent marketing material.