A divorce will not be granted until you have been apart from your spouse for at least a year or have established one of the other grounds for the marriage’s breakup (adultery or mental or physical cruelty).

If you have been separated for at least a year, a divorce application that does not include other claims, such as custody or access, support, or property division, may normally be completed within four to six months.

If your application includes other claims, the amount of time it takes to resolve the matter will be determined by how complicated the problems are and whether the parties can reach an agreement on all or parts of the issues.

While you can submit a divorce application on your own, you should contact a professional beforehand. A lawyer can help you in understanding the issues that may be involved in your case, as well as the consequences that divorce may have on your rights and obligations. For example, when a divorce is granted, you may lose your right to property distribution and your benefits under a spouse’s health insurance plan.

In most cases, in order for a divorce to be granted, you must have lived separate and apart from your spouse for at least one year. While you can begin the divorce process before this period has passed, it cannot be completed until the year has passed.

Where another basis for the breakdown of the marriage has been established, such as adultery or mental or physical cruelty, the court can grant the divorce at any time, although additional steps will be necessary. You should speak with a lawyer for more information regarding the process for obtaining a divorce on one of these bases.

A joint divorce application is a request for a divorce order made by both spouses, with or without extra terms (for example agreed-upon child support payments). With a joint application, both spouses must complete the appropriate documents to seek the divorce.

The number of times parties must appear in court and the length of time it takes to settle a matter will be determined by a number of factors, including the complexity of the case and whether the parties can agree on all or some of the issues.

In most cases, your spouse must either sign the divorce papers or be “served.” The divorce papers can be issued to your partner at home, work, or any other location. If you are unable to contact your spouse, you must prove to the Court that you tried to locate your spouse. You might start by going online at sites like www.canada411.com or www.yellowpages.ca. You might also try contacting your spouse’s friends or family. You should also consider contacting a skip tracing agency (look in your phone book or search the Web for one near you). If you are still unable to locate your spouse, you may need to speak with a lawyer about other options.

By mailing: Serving your spouse by regular mail is provided at no extra charge.

To make this strategy work, your spouse must sign and submit the included Acknowledgement of Service form. If your spouse does not sign and return the Acknowledgement of Service form, he or she must be served in person.

In-person: If your spouse refuses to be served by mail (or you prefer not to be served by mail), you must serve him or her in person. Your spouse is not obliged to sign anything if you are served in person.

You will not be forced to appear in court at any time during the course of your case. Our divorce fee is included in the overall cost of the process. This means we’ll go to court on your behalf when needed to file paperwork and communicate.