What happens if we haven’t agreed on custody, access, and support?

The Divorce Act allows you to include applications for orders concerning matters such as custody, access, and support in your divorce application. While you do not have to ask the court to deal with these other matters, if they are included in the Divorce Order they can be enforced in every province and territory of Canada.

You should seek legal advice if any or all of these issues are still unsettled at the time you decide to apply for divorce. Without legal advice, you may not realize the extent of what you are entitled to upon separation, especially if you or you and your children will be financially disadvantaged by the separation and divorce.

You will definitely need legal advice if there are family assets of any value such as pensions or real estate that must be divided. You should also consider the tax consequences arising from separation and divorce.