When a marriage ends in significant disagreement, the path forward requires more than just legal filings, as property division, support obligations, or parenting arrangements may present significant complexity. In these moments, you need a Toronto contested divorce lawyer who understands that while settlement is often the goal, litigation may be the necessary tool to achieve it.
Our divorce lawyers can step in during high-conflict scenarios to provide the clarity and boundaries necessary to protect your interests through every stage of the legal process. Our firm can guide you through the procedural requirements of the Family Law Rules, and help you marshall the evidence needed to prove your claims under the Family Law Act and the Divorce Act. One of our goals is to ensure that your voice and the voice of your children are heard in a system that often feels indifferent. We provide the strategic backbone needed to transform a chaotic dispute into a manageable legal process.
What Constitutes a Contested Divorce?
While a simple divorce will dissolve a marriage, there are typically corollary issues related to parenting, support, and property division that must be decided when ending a marriage. A contested divorce occurs when spouses cannot agree on one or more of these corollary issues.
Because the court system follows strict guidelines, a contested matter requires a lawyer who can apply modern, litigation-ready strategies to pursue a favorable outcome. In high-conflict cases, these steps often involve complex motions for temporary orders. Our lawyers prioritize advocacy during contested divorce disputes to ensure you have the financial support and parenting time you need while the broader case moves toward a final resolution in Toronto. What we oversee includes:
- Financial disclosures: Mandatory exchange of all tax returns, bank statements, and asset valuations
- The case conference: A meeting with a judge to discuss the issues in dispute and explore settlement possibilities.
- Motion hearings: Court appearances to resolve urgent issues, or to obtain temporary orders like interim support, possession of the matrimonial home, or the children’s primary residence pending a final settlement or trial.
- Questioning: A formal discovery process where lawyers question the opposing spouse
- Settlement conferences: A final attempt to resolve the matter with judicial input before heading to a trial
Our firm focuses on ensuring that every document filed is meticulous and every argument made is supported by the best available evidence. This strategic preparation allows us to prioritize the issues and focus on the strengths of your case while mitigating its weaknesses.
Resolving Complex Property Division and Equalization
A contested divorce often centers on the valuation and division of significant assets. In Ontario, this is governed by the equalization process, where the growth in net worth during the marriage is shared. This becomes complicated when dealing with corporate interests, pensions, or professional practices. Our contested divorce lawyers in the Toronto area focus on deep financial analysis and the enforcement of disclosures to ensure no asset is overlooked or undervalued.
Whether your case involves complex asset tracing, hidden income, or disputes over the date of separation value, we take an evidence-based approach to resolving conflict to ensure every financial detail is scrutinized during the discovery process so that your net family property (NFP) is calculated accurately. This can include:
- Utilizing experts to determine the fair market value of a business or professional practice
- Investigating the movement of funds to ensure wealth has not been hidden or dissipated
- Working to value and divide federal or provincial pensions, in accordance with the Pensions Benefits Act and Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985
- Identifying inheritances or legal settlements that should not be shared with a spouse
Securing a fair equalization requires more than just filling out forms. It requires a deep understanding of accounting principles and tax implications. We work closely with financial experts to ensure that the bottom line on your financial statement is defensible under cross-examination.
Establishing Decision-Making Responsibility and Parenting Time
In a contested divorce, disagreements often arise over parenting time and decision-making responsibility. We understand the high-stakes nature of these conflicts, especially when they involve psychological dynamics like coercive control or alienation. We provide the decisive representation needed to secure your rights and the well-being of your children.
If your situation involves a risk to safety or a relocation, we respond with the swiftness and confidence required for urgent motions. Our lawyers also frequently encounter contested cases where one parent wishes to move a child outside of the Toronto area. Our goal is to create a stable, enforceable parenting plan that protects your relationship with your children from the volatility of a high-conflict separation. We can also help obtain protective orders for you and your children when domestic violence is a factor.
Calculating Equitable Child and Spousal Support
Support obligations are often the most contentious aspect of a contested divorce. Child support is generally determined by the Child Support Guidelines, but disputes frequently arise over extraordinary expenses or the actual income of the payor. Spousal support is even more complex, requiring an analysis of entitlement based on the length of the marriage, roles during the relationship, and the financial fall-out that results from the breakdown of the marriage..
Our contested divorce lawyers can guide you through these calculations with a focus on your long-term financial security in Toronto. We assist with clearly defining who pays for childcare expenses, determining how long spousal support should last based on the length of the marriage, working with the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) to ensure payments are actually made, and more.
Secure Your Future with a Contested Divorce Lawyer in the Toronto Area
At Golestani & Pop-Lazic LLP, we provide the strategic insight of senior counsel to resolve disputes that others find insurmountable. Our virtual-first model ensures that we are responsive and accessible no matter where you are in Ontario, allowing you to meet with us during a lunch hour or from the privacy of your office.
If you are ready for a legal team who will take a stand for your future, reach out to a Toronto contested divorce lawyer at our firm to begin. Request your case consultation today.