Chown Cairns Lawyers LLP

If you want to file for divorce, have been served divorce papers or are simply considering divorce, you may have questions about what is involved. In order to dissolve a marriage in Ontario, you must prove in the Superior Court of Justice that you are legally married and that your marital relationship has broken down. The steps for divorce begin with preparing and filing an application with the court. The best way to navigate the process of a divorce in Ontario is to hire a Family Law lawyer to guide and advise you. This blog will provide information about divorce that you should know. Determine grounds for filing for divorce You will need to establish that you are entitled to a divorce.  Canada’s Divorce Act identifies the basis for a divorce as “marriage break down.” The three accepted grounds for divorce in Canada include: Adultery Abuse or Cruelty Separation A one year separation or a no fault divorce is the most common and best way to pursue a divorce in Ontario. Once you...

In Canada, an estate planning tax is just one of the costs that your loved ones will incur upon your death. Others include funeral expenses and the payment of debts. The number of potential costs and their financial impact is why planning to minimize estate planning taxes is an important part of comprehensive  estate planning . Depending on the size of your estate, estate planning taxes (or “estate administration tax”) can be significant. In Ontario, for example, this tax (formerly known as probate fees) can equal 1.5 to 2% of the value of your estate. This tax is in addition to the taxes levied on your savings accounts and capital gains upon your death. If it sounds complicated and like there are a lot of fees to worry about, it is because it is and there are. But there are methods to minimize the estate planning tax and the process less onerous for your loved ones. Here are two of the most popular methods: Joint Ownership of Assets Jointly held assets do not, typically, form a pa...