Calgary Family Law

When you have a high stakes family financial or child custody and parenting time dispute it pays to hire the best Calgary family law lawyers – we’ll help you resolve your family matter. Hiring a firm with a pedigree for setting new law in Canada’s highest courts can improve your outcome and your chances of a prompt settlement.

CALGARY FAMILY LAW SEPARATION & DIVORCE

Making the decision to separate or divorce your partner and disrupt a family is one of life’s most challenging, complex and demanding experiences. The emotional and overwhelming experience of separating an opposite or same-sex marriage, with or without kids is a strenuous and difficult situation. This separation can become especially challenging in a high net-worth, high profile family’s with complex business, or family assets making the stakes particularly high.

As a Calgary Family Law firm, we pride ourselves on the strategic, supportive and discreet manner we practice with all of our unique, individual cases. When taking your family smoothly and discreetly though this challenging transitional stage, our lawyers work closely with you to promote and protect your family’s best interest. Preparing thoughtfully and proactively for separation and divorce is the key to optimizing your results. This preparation is why our lawyers pride themselves on their abilities to help you explore your options, carefully weigh the benefits and limitations to each approach, create fresh, new possibilities to an approach and help you meet the strict requirements for time-sensitive decisions and actions. Through negotiation, mediation or litigation in the courts, we can resolve matters such as: spousal and child support; child custody, guardianship, and parent’s arrangements; and property division and debt resolution.

At MacLean Law, our mission is aimed to preserve and protect what’s most important to you, optimize your separation or divorce outcomes and help lay the groundwork for a successful new future.

CALGARY FAMILY LAW MEDIATION & ARBITRATION

We take a practical, goal-oriented approach to help you find constructive, creative, cost-effective ways to resolve your family legal issues. We offer progressive alternative dispute-resolution approaches including family mediation & arbitration and collaborative family law, that allow you to discretely restructure your family relationship through collaboratively negotiated private settlements, rather than having to go through a l litigation process.

Mediated parenting plans allow the parties to actively participate in the outcome and create a plan that works for their unique family situation.

Including one of Calgary Family Law’s highly dedicated, experienced family lawyers or mediator-paralegal right from the outset ensures that you have expert help in assessing and choosing the dispute-resolution approach most right for you. We’ll educate, guide, and support you all along the way to ensure that you fully understand your legal rights, options, and obligations and that you’re empowered to make informed decisions and take carefully considered actions that lead to your desired family outcomes.

The collaborative process is a dispute resolution process founded on these core elements:

A pledge to engage in non-positional negotiation to reach a mutually acceptable resolution without going to court
Honest and good faith communication and exchange of information
A goal of creating shared solutions that take into account the interests of both clients
Withdrawal of all professionals if either client chooses to withdraw and commence adversarial or positional negotiations or go to court

CALGARY FAMILY LAW CHILD SUPPORT

In Alberta, child support is a legal obligation of every parent. At MacLean Law, our Alberta child support lawyers work hand in hand to protect your parental right and provide a secure financial future for your child. We understand that restructuring your family is a difficult process and therefore it is imperative to recognize the different options available.

Alberta child support is applicable to opposite, same-sex, common-law, and married couples. A determination of child support can be answered through a mediation agreement between you and your spouse, or by court order. The qualification to receive or pay Alberta child support and the amount payable is determined by federal and provincial guidelines, along with formulas, special rules, and specific criteria.

At MacLean Law, we take on the responsibility to ensure that our clients are guided, educated, and empowered with respect to their rights and choices, which in turn will enable you to make the most informed and intelligent decisions.

A number of factors will determine the amount of child support payable in Alberta. Some factors including split custody, shared custody, and primary custody. However, there are some limitations to this, such as business ownership (by one or both spouses), investments, trust interest, maintenance of substantial capital, or if either of you is a professional with a ‘book of business’.

Alberta child support payments can also be affected by the child custody or guardianship arrangements you possess, due to potentially increased childcare costs.

Take advantage from this helpful free Alberta child support calculator as the first step towards estimating the payable child support applicable in your family situation.

CALGARY FAMILY LAW SPOUSAL SUPPORT

Spousal support helps safeguard any undue economic hardship that can have a burden on family members after a separation or divorce. We are here as experts regarding Calgary, Alberta spousal support to compassionately guide you through this sensitive time and help you navigate and move forward to a new future where both spouses can live and work to potential.

At MacLean Law, we strive to support you with making sound, constructive decisions, to triumph over difficulties and arrive at practical, transformational solutions that are in your best interests. Alberta spousal support matters can be resolved through negotiation, mediated agreements or by court order. Support and alimony requirements apply to same, opposite-sex, common-law and married couples.

A variety of factors will be assessed to determine Alberta spousal support payable.

The qualification to receive or pay spousal support is determined by your unique marriage and financial circumstances, which will also determine the recommended amount payable.
The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines will provide guidance for both duration and quantum of Alberta spousal support.
The “with” and “without child” spousal support formulas will change the amount and duration of spousal support payable.
The length of your marriage will often influence the quantum received.
Remarriage, partnering, and retirement can present aging spouses with challenges moving forward.
A number of factors will determine the amount of spousal support payable in Alberta. Some of these include: if one and/or the other of you hold significant capital, investments, or trust interests, owns a business, or is a professional with a ‘book of business.’

Our top-rated*, multiple award-winning lawyers have the expertise, compassion, and experience to help you resolve this very complex, highly emotional matter and move forward with your life.

Spousal support advisory guidelines: http://www.justice.gc.ca/

Alberta Spousal Support Calculator: https://www.mysupportcalculator.ca/calculator

CALGARY FAMILY LAW DEBT DIVISION

In the midst of a relationship separation, Alberta family property debt division is a vital aspect to consider. Preserving and creating a framework for success is crucial when moving forward after a breakdown of your marriage or common-law and marriage-like relationship.

When dealing with multi-faceted, high-value personal, family, and business or professional holding, it is particularly important to have comprehensive legal advice regarding the decision of family property, excluded property, and division of family debts.

We are considered experts in the complexities related to Alberta property and excluded property, as well as debt division. Our lawyers will help you divide and preserve the family assets accordingly. In addition, we will be creating a strategic guide to manoeuvre you through this life-changing process.

With years of expertise and experience on the complex financial matter, our lawyers will assist you with assessing income tax implications, pension entitlements, capital gains, spousal contributions and more related to the acquisition and/appreciation of assets. Furthermore, we safeguard business and professional ventures from impairment of success during or after a marriage breakdown. As well as, ensuring the family property is not hidden or disposed of.

Alberta family property division and debt resolution can be resolved through the courts or negotiated agreements. Our mission is to navigate you along an individually crafted path that is best-suited to your unique family circumstances. By doing so, we help you optimize your financial health, reduce cost and minimize conflict.

CALGARY FAMILY LAW PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS

MacLean Calgary Family lawyers know that when creating an Alberta Prenuptial Marriage Separation Agreements, it’s important to set expectations and allow both parties to decide what’s fair on the breakdown of their relationship.

When deciding to commit to your significant other and enter into an Alberta family relationship, you are not only emotionally committing to your new partner, you are also partnering in practical aspects as well. This life-changing decision warrants careful consideration and attention to create a solid foundation of mutual understanding. This basic foundation can be created by preparing an Alberta family agreement, which will define clear, fair and agreed-upon goals, intentions, and set expectations at the beginning of your relationship. However, if a prenuptial agreement was not done beforehand, and you and your spouse are preparing to end your relationship, an Alberta separation agreement can be done. Depending if you and your spouse can agree on how to deal with matters such as, debt resolution, Alberta family property division and child and spousal support, an Alberta separation agreement will ensure your new arrangements are clearly documented.

Currently, the Alberta Family Law Act encourages parties to settle outside the court. When Alberta settlements are fair, they will uphold, however, unfair marriage arrangements can be challenged. Read more information on family agreements. We advise clients that non-disclosure can affect the fairness of an Alberta marriage agreement and have the tenancy to prolong conflict. Creating an Alberta family agreement that is expertly done is especially important when you, or your spouse, are a high net-worth individual with complex personal, business holding, children are involved or the future spouse of a high-value partner.

As a leading firm in Alberta family law, MacLean Law provides counsel for opposite- and same-sex couples on:

Alberta Marriage agreements (commonly known as prenuptial agreements)
Alberta Separation agreements
Alberta Cohabitation agreements (for couples that intend to live together but not legally marry)

Our lawyers ensure you thoroughly understand your options, rights and obligations in order to create a lasting family agreement that is exclusive to your unique family dynamic.