Useful Tips

I read an article the other day that offered some sage advice to people taking their matrimonial property disputes to court.  Straight up:

Ontario leads the way with healthier options for divorcing couples:

Divorce is bad for business.  It’s a well known fact.  Businesses can suffer significant losses because of divorce litigation.  Here are a few reasons why:

Tip #2 - Before you go to Family Court . . . avoid emotional reasoning.  The emotional trauma that often follows separation can distort how you view the world.  For some, their perceptions are skewed only temporarily.  For others, it is long lasting.  Those extreme emotions can cause us to jump to conclusions, take things too personally, fill in 'the facts' that are not there, or project our own behaviours onto others.  The risk of such over reactions in the courtroom is that they turn into accusations about 'lying'.  What is really going on is not an intention to lie, but a highly emotional response to a situation.  Avoid these pitfalls by checking out your perceptions with someone you trust, before you go to court.

Tip #1 - Before you go to Family or Supreme Court . . . make sure you have realistic expectations.  Chances are that you have been living and breathing the issues in your case for weeks, months or years.  The issues are important to you and likely take up a lot of your physical and emotional energy.  There is a natural expectation that court will be a big deal.

“Why is mediation a good choice?" Fair question.  People are becoming increasingly interested in looking at mediation as an alternative to the traditional 'duke em out' approach through lawyers.  So they read some websites describing how mediation works, but they still want to know 'why' it is better. 

Don't miss our free public seminar: "Finding the Best Legal Options for Me: from do-it-yourself divorce kits to going to court" presented by Leisa MacIntosh, family lawyer & mediator.  Leisa will explain the different legal options available to separating couples and provide tips on how to choose the right service for you.  Topics covered will include online divorce-kits, family mediation, collaborative divorce and family court.  Leisa will also talk about how and when to include children's voices into the divorce process.  Psychologist Susan Hartley will also be present to provide information to parents about co-parenting and how to protect children from adult conflict and loyalty binds.  Come out and learn about what services and resources are available to Pictou County families going through the separation process.