Helping you navigate family transitions with clarity and dignity.
Our skilled and dedicated family law team can help you with a variety of in-court and out-of-court legal services, on topics including:
Often family law files require help in other areas of law, such as estate planning, tax, real estate, trusts, and corporate law. Cook Roberts LLP is a full-service law firm, and our clients have seamless access to other lawyers at our firm who specialize in these and other areas of law.
Marriage and cohabitation agreements can help avoid the uncertainty and acrimony regarding finances that can arise during a relationship or in the event of a future separation.
In British Columbia, if you are married (or living together in a marriage-like relationship with someone for two years) and subsequently separate, then you and your former spouse could claim against each other for things like property and debt division, and spousal support.
Our lawyers can advise you on the potential claims that may arise from a separation – and how to avoid those claims with a clear and enforceable marriage/cohabitation agreement.
Our family law team at Cook Roberts LLP routinely assists clients with negotiating and drafting separation agreements.
Separation agreements resolve the legal issues arising from your separation without the need to attend court.
Our comprehensive and detailed separation agreements address a wide variety of family law topics, including property/debt division, child support, spousal support, parenting time, and responsibilities regarding children.
Our family law team can help you secure an out-of-court settlement, such as through negotiations between lawyers or at a mediation.
We can help you reach finality by proposing, drafting and negotiating separation agreements. In addition to representing clients at mediations, our lawyers are also experienced in the arbitration process.
We understand and respect your decision to avoid court, given the increased costs, stress, and delays that can come with proceeding through court. However, if litigation is ever required on your file then our accomplished family lawyers can help you advance or defend your case in court.
Divorce orders are typically the final step in your family law file after you and your former spouse have resolved all other legal issues arising from your separation, such as through a separation agreement or in court.
Our lawyers are experienced in obtaining divorce orders for our clients. Our family law team can help you receive a divorce order either as a separate service, or as part of helping you resolve all outstanding family law issues.
Our lawyers are accomplished litigators in family court. If you and your former spouse are unable to resolve your issues by agreement, then our family law team can help you advance or defend your case in court. There are many different types of court appearances that occur in family court. Our family law team will ensure that you know what to expect prior to your appearance.
We are highly skilled and detail-oriented at preparing cases for litigation. Once inside the courtroom, our lawyers will argue your case with clarity and confidence.
Our litigators have a respectable reputation in the Victoria legal community.
Our lawyers provide clear and trusted advice about issues such as parenting time (custody), guardianship, parental responsibilities, and contact time with children for non-guardians.
We can negotiate on your behalf to help you reach the ideal parenting schedule for your child.
If it becomes apparent that you and your former spouse are unlikely to agree on certain topics, our family law team can skillfully represent you in court, mediation, and arbitration to help you and your family reach finality.
Our lawyers are experts in the law of child support and spousal support. We can advise you about the determination of income and calculation of the amount of child support.
Our lawyers can also advise you about your entitlement to receive or obligation to pay spousal support (also called alimony), as well as the amount and duration of spousal support.
We can assist you with obtaining an agreement or court order about child or spousal support, or with negotiating new terms of a support agreement.
In British Columbia, spouses are entitled to a 50/50 division of family property (assets) and debt upon a separation – but there are many exceptions.
Our lawyers routinely assist and advise clients on property and debt division in family law. We are experienced with the division of complex family assets including corporate holdings and pensions.
Our lawyers provide trauma-informed, compassionate, and results-driven legal services to clients suffering from family violence. We can apply for orders on your behalf to help protect you from family violence.
Family violence is broadly defined in our Family Law Act, and includes physical and sexual abuse of a family member (and attempts to physically or sexually abuse a family member), as well as psychological and emotional abuse of a family member. The term can also include intimidation, harassment, stalking, intentional damage to property, and unreasonable restrictions on a family member’s personal and financial autonomy. In the case of children, family violence includes direct or indirect exposure to family violence.
Our family law team understands the deeply personal nature of issues concerning family violence. We care about your wellness. We are experienced in representing victims of family violence and can help you understand and receive the legal protections available to you.
