‘One family, one lawyer’ model could save divorcing couples in Canada time and money

‘One family, one lawyer’ model could save divorcing couples in Canada time and money
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Lawyer Melissa Bourgeois of One Family Law, in Edmonton, on Sept. 12.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press

Edmonton lawyer Melissa Bourgeois had been practising family law for more than a decade when she had what she calls her “light bulb moment.”

After years of helping couples navigate amicable divorces – ones where spouses aren’t actively fighting, but simply choosing to go their separate ways – Ms. Bourgeois heard about a unique legal service being offered in Britain. There, low-conflict separating couples were being offered the opportunity to hire just one lawyer to act for both parties.

The concept at the time was untested in Canada, where conflict-of-interest rules have traditionally dictated that each divorcing spouse must retain their own lawyer, Ms. Bourgeois said.

But she suspected it could work here, too.

“It just seemed to me really brilliant,” she said. “I think what most couples today are looking for is a way to navigate the legal system, but in a way that helps them preserve a decent relationship with one another.

“It seemed like a really good way to help this sub-set of clients that I knew existed, anecdotally, from my traditional practice.”

Around 38 per cent of marriages in Canada end in divorce, but just because divorce is common, that doesn’t mean it’s easy – or cheap.

According to a 2021 survey by Canadian Lawyer magazine, lawyers charge on average $1,860 in legal fees for an uncontested divorce, where couples agree both on the divorce and on the terms of separation. The process can take between four to six months, and still traditionally requires each spouse to hire their own independent legal counsel.

As soon as one spouse disagrees with the other on anything from who gets the house, to alimony, to child support, the divorce becomes a contested one.

In these cases, firms typically charge by the hour for every e-mail, text or phone call required to get two warring spouses to an agreement. According to the Canadian Lawyer survey, the average fees charged for a contested divorce in Canada run an eye-watering $20,625.

But Ms. Bourgeois said in her experience, many couples actually want to set acrimony aside, if the outcome is a swifter and more cost-effective agreement. That’s why she decided to seek permission from the Law Society of Alberta to offer what she calls her “one family, one lawyer, one fee” model as a first-of-its-kind-in-Canada pilot project.

That permission was granted at the end of 2021. Now up and running, her firm One Family Law has helped about 40 couples since January of this year untie the knot, with each couple paying a flat $5,000 fee for a start-to-finish process that takes no more than six to eight weeks.

One of those couples, Edmonton’s Bryan Sali and his ex-wife, recently ended their 15-year marriage with Ms. Bourgeois’s help.

“A separation and divorce doesn’t need to ruin a family. We tell our daughter we still love each other, we just love each other differently,” Mr. Sali said.

“Essentially what we wanted to avoid was lawyers ‘doing their job’ and forcing us to fight each other.”

Mr. Sali said he’s seen friends spend tens of thousands of dollars and waste multiple years hashing out their divorces through lawyers and the court system. Some of these friends, he added, said whatever goodwill they felt toward their former spouse evaporated as the proceedings dragged on and the bills mounted.

He said he’s grateful he and his ex kept things as simple and amicable as possible.

“We certainly saved a lot of time and money by going at it this way,” Mr. Sali said.

“But I’m pretty certain that we also saved our relationship as friends and co-parents.”

Many divorcing couples won’t be on the same page about everything, even if the decision to separate is mutual, said Kevin Caspersz, managing partner at Toronto-based family law firm Caspersz Chegini LLP.

“Given the concerns that we as lawyers always have with conflict of interest, if you’re representing both sides of a matter, that’s something you always have to keep in mind,” he said.

However, he pointed out that even for those for whom a one-lawyer model isn’t suitable, there are other ways to avoid the costs and stresses of traditional litigation.

Mediation, for example, involves working with a neutral third party who helps the spouses reach a mutually agreeable settlement that can then be taken back to each spouse’s lawyer for independent legal advice.

“In any sort of family law matter, limiting conflict … even limiting the emotion involved in the process, tends to smooth the path,” Mr. Caspersz said.

“The more emotion that’s involved, the harder and more expensive it is to deal with.”

Ms. Bourgeois said any relationship where there is an obvious financial or power imbalance is not suited to a simplified, one-lawyer model.

Still, Ms. Bourgeois said she believes the majority of separating couples today genuinely want to make the best of a stressful situation so that they can move forward with minimal financial and emotional scars.

In many cases, the spouses still plan to be parents together and simply need help navigating the legal system to make their plan official.

“Certainly there are different options available to people now that are not traditional litigation that takes years and years and hundreds of thousands of dollars,” she said.

“That’s been a really big shift. I think going forward most people really just want to find a way to co-parent in a healthy way.”

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How Can I Reduce Divorce Cost In Canada?

How Can I Reduce Divorce Cost In Canada?

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When author Angie Abdou was heading into her second divorce after two children and 18 years of marriage, she thought she had everything under control. The Fernie, B.C. resident knew it would be emotionally exhausting and that her lawyer would charge her in six-minute blocks for every phone call and email. What she didn’t know was how to cap her mounting pile of legal fees.

“There was so much upheaval and uncertainty that the constant legal bills were incredibly stressful,” said Abdou, who finalized her separation amicably in December. “It seemed like every time the lawyer looked in my direction, I’d get another bill.”

Legal fees—usually the largest cost associated with divorce—can run as high as $700 or more an hour, plus tax. That’s like going out for a nice dinner every six minutes.

Related: After My Divorce, I Didn’t Want My Ex’s Name—or my Dad’s

Practicalities may be the last thing you want to consider when you’re distraught, but if you put as much research into ending your marriage as you likely did planning your wedding, you can slash costs. With more women initiating divorce than men and about 40 percent of marriages in Canada failing, it’s key to be informed.

Oh, and thinking of writing your own separation agreement to cut costs? Don’t—it may not be legally binding. Instead, here are six sounder strategies for saving money on your divorce.

Your first call? Your financial planner

Even before you decide to separate, turn to a financial planner. (If you don’t have one, ask your financial institution whether it offers free planning services.)

“We can reduce costs by helping clients with financial disclosure,” says Caroline Dabu, who leads a wealth planning and advisory team at BMO Private Wealth in Toronto. While financial or wealth planners can’t offer official tax or legal advice, they can outline your options, help compile financial documents and put you in touch with experts like accountants, lawyers or Certified Divorce Financial Analysts (who analyze assets, debt and taxes for an equitable settlement). They can also run financial projections for potential divorce outcomes. “This knowledge is empowering,” says Dabu.

Explore the wide range of other professionals who can help

Divorce doesn’t have to be expensive. Working exclusively with a lawyer isn’t your only option; there is a range of more affordable experts and services available to help you throughout the process.

Certified divorce coaches will walk you through everything from finances to parenting plans, so it’s best to start looking for one before you separate (that said, most divorce coaches will work with you at any stage of the process). Each coach has a different fee structure and rates vary widely. Some charge hourly or offer specific packages. For example, Cindy Stibbard, a CDC based in British Columbia, charges a flat fee that ranges from $2,000 to $6,000 for three to 12 months of service, depending on the level of support needed and where the client is in the process.

LegalShield, available in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, is a company that links members to a roster of law firms for a low monthly fee. Its legal partners can help you with anything from document reviews to representation. You need to be a member for 90 days before you can access legal services for an uncontested separation, divorce or civil annulment, and your net material assets must be less than $500,000.

Qualified mediators work with couples to resolve disputes quickly and draft documents. A properly drafted mediation agreement that is signed, dated and witnessed is a legally binding document, but each party should have it reviewed by an independent divorce lawyer before signing.

Some law firms offer unbundled services, which allow the client and the firm to decide which specific tasks the lawyer will handle so the client avoids a hefty retainer and can allocate other services to lower cost professionals. Others provide mediation as well as collaborative solutions to resolve issues out of court. In fact, the federal Divorce Act now requires lawyers to encourage clients to resolve matters through processes like mediation or collaborative law, which are cheaper and faster than court.

Some provincial and territorial governments offer other free services in addition to legal aid. Quebec, for example, provides free mediation sessions to separating couples with children, Alberta offers free family mediation to couples who meet certain criteria, and the Law Society of Ontario has free 30-minute phone consultations.

Always take a cooling-off period

Taking a cooling-off period—an informal, mutually agreed upon period of time before starting paperwork and negotiations—is a great way to cut costs: this break will help you focus on what’s important, make compromises and avoid a contested divorce (the average cost for which is a whopping $21,000, 10 times the cost of an uncontested one, according to a 2021 survey by Canadian Lawyer magazine).

“The number one thing that gets in the way of amicable divorce is emotion,” says Stibbard, who hosts the podcast Divorce ReDefined. “Unhooking emotions from the business of divorce helps you make rational decisions.”

Maya Teleki, a Canadian living in the U.S. whose children were young teens when she left her marriage of 17 years, says the 18-month cooling-off period she took before starting paperwork kept negotiations amicable and affordable. Because emotions weren’t so “raw and fresh” both she and her ex-husband, who live in Chicago, could agree “to use a peacekeeping, conflict-avoidance, collaborative mindset.”

Abdou also took breaks during her separation to digest emotional information, remind herself she wouldn’t get everything she wanted and remain reasonable. “Normally I’m pretty reactive and you just can’t be when so much is at stake,” she says.

Both Teleki and Abdou prioritized their children and tried to detach from material items to keep negotiations rolling and rein in costs. Jennifer Hurvitz, a relationship expert and the host of Doing Relationships Right podcast, says she and her ex-husband deliberately tried to avoid saying things like “you want” during heated financial debates and instead used their sons’ names, saying “Jonah needs” or “Zac needs” to help them refocus the conversation and stop costs from spiralling.

Create an emotional support system

When you’re upset, don’t call your lawyer or try to negotiate with your partner, send them angry text messages, or post disparagingly about them on social media because it could be used as evidence against you later. Instead, call a friend, hire a therapist or join Circles, which offers small online support groups for people going through divorce or separation, led by experienced facilitators for a monthly fee.

Related: After My Partner Broke Up With Me Out Of Nowhere, I Wrote A Book About It

Don’t hire the first lawyer you meet

“Never underestimate the importance of fit,” says Diana Isaac, a partner at Shulman & Partners LLP in Toronto. Research and interview lawyers to find one who aligns with your communication style and objectives (for instance, if it’s important to you to remain non-combative with your ex, you’ll want a lawyer who has a similar approach). You also need a lawyer who “shows they’re actively listening and understands your case,” says Isaac. This meeting of minds will save you hours in legal fees.

Keep documents organized and use your experts strategically

Contrary to popular belief, lawyers don’t want to deplete your savings or max out your credit. Fees creep up when people aren’t organized, says Isaac, who works on hundreds of divorces a year. You can trim fees by providing material in the format requested, grouping documents rather than sending them piecemeal and sending questions to a legal assistant or clerk first because they charge lower hourly rates. (If they can’t answer your question, they’ll pass it on to the lawyer.)

“Allocate your resources based on their expertise and be honest and candid with them” about everything, says Isaac. Use your financial planner or accountant for financial advice, your lawyer for legal advice and your support network for emotional help.

Pulling in experts and lawyers strategically may seem overwhelming but it’s a “game changer,” says Stibbard, who became a divorce coach after she learned to do this and spent a third of the amount her former spouse did on their 2018 divorce.

“This process is not a win or lose situation,” Isaac says. It’s about being “reasonable, fair and equitable.”

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