Divorce for Professionals and Business Owners in Calgary
Calgary divorce lawyer helping business owners and professionals resolve property division and support matters
Protecting What Matters Most
Advantage Family Law offers divorce solutions for professionals and business owners. Divorce creates a new financial reality for you and your family, and we understand the complexities of dividing income and assets, including family homes, investments, and business entities. We offer solutions that bring stability back into your life and the lives of your children.
THE ADVANTAGE OF LEGAL AND FINANCIAL EXPERIENCE
How Our Calgary Divorce Lawyer Helps Protect Your Financial Future
Divorce for professionals and business owners requires more than an understanding of family law. It requires a clear understanding of the financial realities unique to your family. In many high-income households, one spouse provides the financial support while the other provides the domestic support which makes that income possible. In these relationships, business income and commissions are often mixed into a family’s personal finances.
Advantage Family Law has a unique background of expertise in both business and divorce law. We understand the problems that professionals and business owners face when trying to determine how to split income, savings and investments. Our financial education allows us to offer clear solutions to these types of divorce problems.
Christopher Bungay, our senior lawyer, personally reviews every case to develop a strategy tailored to your circumstances.
Spousal Support, Child Support, and Income Determination
Alberta Courts examine both spouses’ finances when dividing property and setting support. Property division follows a just and equitable standard, not an automatic equal split, and support depends on accurate, verified income. We make sure you pay or receive only what the law requires.
Property Division and the Family Home
Alberta presumes an equal split of property acquired during the marriage, though some assets are exempt and Courts can adjust the outcome to be just and equitable. Who stays in the home, who buys out, and whether to sell remain open questions we help you resolve.
Business, Investment, and Complex Asset Division
Business interests, investment portfolios, pensions, and financial assets require more than a simple valuation. Whether you own a corporation or professional practice, we identify what is subject to division, determine its value, and develop strategies to protect your wealth.
How Business Assets and Savings Are Divided in Alberta Divorces
Protecting Business and Financial Assets in Divorce
Valuing and Dividing Business Assets Fairly
If one or both spouses operated a business, this usually means the business is a family asset that must be valued and possibly divided between spouses. This is often the case even if one spouse stayed home during workdays, or if one spouse only worked part-time in the business. We have the legal and business experience necessary to help resolve these disputes. Our law firm fairly values a family business, and offers creative solutions to ensure both spouse’s share of the business is recognized.
Savings, Investments, and Retirement Accounts
Our legal team helps you clearly identify what types of financial assets are yours to keep vs. what types of assets must be shared with your spouse. Savings and investments made during a marriage are generally considered to be jointly owned family property, even if one spouse owned the asset in his or her name alone. Upon separation, those assets are typically subject to equal division between the spouses. These same principles apply to retirement savings such as RRSPs. However, if an RRSP (or any other investment) was owned prior to the time your relationship began, the value of the investment pre-relationship is likely yours to keep. In these types of cases, your spouse would be entitled to share the increase in value in the original investment that grew during the marriage.
Child Support and Property Division
Dividing Property and Support Payments After Divorce
Protecting Your Interest in the Family Home After Separation
After separation, disputes often arise over which spouse will move and which spouse will stay. These decisions are especially painful when children are involved. Our legal team helps guide you toward the best decision possible for your family. Our support goes beyond the emotional side. We also ensure that the monetary value of the family home is preserved throughout your separation. Whatever decision is made for the future of the home, whether to keep it or sell it, we ensure you retain whatever value in the home is fair to you.
Spousal Support and Child Support Obligations
Divorce can change how much of your income you keep and how it is divided. Alberta family law considers both financial and non-financial contribution to a marriage. A significant income gap between spouses may lead to spousal support obligations.
Child support is calculated separately based on both parents’ incomes and the parenting arrangement. For high-income earners and business owners, income may include more than salary, such as bonuses and dividends.
THE DIVORCE PROCESS IN ALBERTA
The Steps Involved in Getting a Divorce in Alberta
Every divorce in Canada ends with a judge granting a divorce judgment, but most Alberta divorces do not require a courtroom trial. You generally must be separated for one year before a divorce can be granted. During that time, important issues such as property division, spousal support, child support, and parenting arrangements must be addressed. While every divorce is different, these are the common steps involved in the Alberta divorce process.
Getting Legal Advice Before Filing for Divorce
Before starting the divorce process, it is important to learn your legal rights, obligations, and options. Early advice helps you understand issues such as property division, support, and parenting before important decisions are made.
Filing a Statement of Claim for Divorce
The divorce process begins by filing a Statement of Claim for Divorce with the Alberta courts. Your spouse must then respond and outline their position. A divorce application can be started before the one-year separation period is complete.
Negotiation, Mediation, or Settlement Discussions
Most divorces are resolved without going to a courtroom trial. You and your spouse are expected to make genuine efforts to reach an agreement on issues such as property division, support, and parenting. This may happen through lawyer negotiations, mediation, or arbitration.
Receiving the Divorce Judgment
After the required separation period has passed and the legal requirements are met, a judge grants the divorce judgment that officially ends your marriage. Outstanding disputes may affect the timeline depending on the circumstances of your case.
Trial Only When Necessary
If you cannot reach an agreement on important issues such as property division, spousal support, or parenting arrangements, a judge may decide the unresolved matters at trial in Court. However, most Alberta divorces are settled before reaching this stage.
Divorce in Alberta
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents should I gather before meeting a lawyer?
Bring a list of all assets owned by you and your spouse, jointly or individually, including homes, vehicles, investments, and bank accounts. Add documents showing any debts, such as mortgage statements and lines of credit, copies of recent tax returns or notices of assessment for both spouses, and your marriage certificate if you have one.
How long do I need to be separated before I can get a divorce?
Generally, you must live separate and apart for one year before a judge grants a divorce, though you can file your claim before the year is up. Exceptions exist for adultery and cruelty, but even in those cases the process usually takes a year or longer, and issues like property division and parenting typically need that time to resolve anyway.
Will I have to go to Court?
Filing Court documents does not mean you will stand in a courtroom. Most divorces settle through negotiation between lawyers, a separation agreement, or mediation. A trial only becomes necessary if you and your spouse cannot resolve issues like property, support, or parenting any other way.
Does it matter whose name our assets are in?
Usually not. Assets accumulated during a marriage are generally treated as joint assets, meaning both spouses may be entitled to part of their value regardless of whose name is on the title or account, and regardless of which spouse paid for them.
What happens to the family home if we cannot agree?
If you and your spouse cannot agree on who keeps the home, a judge can order it sold and the proceeds divided evenly. Before it reaches that point, options include one spouse buying out the other’s share or one parent remaining in the home with the children.
How is a business treated in a divorce?
A business built or grown during the marriage is generally a family asset, and its income feeds into support calculations. Determining what the business is worth and what its owner truly earns often requires digging into how it is structured, which is where legal and financial experience together make the difference.
How are children supported during and after a divorce?
The legal system puts the best interests of children first. Both parents have a duty to support their children emotionally and financially during and after a divorce. A higher-earning spouse must continue paying child support even when the children no longer live with them, and in high-income families the amount depends on establishing each parent’s true income.
Your Senior Lawyer
Christopher Bungay
What sets Christopher apart in divorce claims is a unique blend of legal experience and financial training. In addition to being a lawyer since 2003, Christopher has also run multiple businesses, and has received specialized education in valuing stocks, real estate and businesses from Harvard and Columbia. Christopher is also a trained mediator, which means he is trained in resolving disputes such as yours outside of the public eye of a courtroom.