Divorce only? Whole SA? Part SA?

[Berner_Faith]

So the time has come that bf FINALLY has a signed SA... he goes on Monday to do his signing, she went yesterday to finalize everything with her lawyer.

Now the question is... is it cheaper or the same to file a joint divorce?

Not sure if she will agree to this or not, but if she will, it will speed things up (I think)

Or is his best bet just to file an uncontested divorce?

His last correspondence with her regarding filing for divorce, she told him to do what he wanted as after the SA was signed she didn't care and had no plans to ever get married again so she didn't care if he filed or not...

Another question... on the forms it states:

"The details of the other order(s) that we jointly ask the court to make are as follows: (include any amounts of support and the names of the children for whom support, custody or access is to be ordered)

Is he allowed to say something along the lines of "Paragraphs 1-X as outlines in Schedule A (Separation Agreement)?

To make the SA a "Schedule A" is it as simple as writing this on the top of the agreement or is there a process to do this?

Do the courts require the actual copy? Or will a photocopied copy suffice?

Under "Important Facts Supporting Our Claim", what exactly is to go in this section? If everything is settled via SA, what other important facts would be required?

Sorry for all the questions... he would like to get this done as soon as possible, and our nearest FLIC office is 40 min away... hopefully all you knowledgeable people will be able to help out...

(It may or may not be useful to know that after the SA is signed, he will not be using a lawyer for filing for divorce)

[May_May]

BF-I can't answer any of your questions but wanted to say congrats. The end is in sight...what a long road it has been !

[Fed-UP!]

cheaper for separate. Because guaranteed...something will be challenged. spend the extra $500

[Tayken]

So the time has come that bf FINALLY has a signed SA... he goes on Monday to do his signing, she went yesterday to finalize everything with her lawyer.

Hopefully it is the end of things for them.

Now the question is... is it cheaper or the same to file a joint divorce?

It all depends if the SA settles all outstanding matters and agreed to be final. You can then file the divorce and attach the SA. Joint or seperate doesn't really matter. You have a grace period of 31 days after the signing of the agreement to filing for the divorce. So, after 31 days if they contest something it has to be demonstrated under the rules governing "change of circumstance".

So really, it doesn't matter in my opinion on the "cheaper" option. Generally the person who requested the divorce should pay for the divorce filing.

Not sure if she will agree to this or not, but if she will, it will speed things up (I think)

Or is his best bet just to file an uncontested divorce?

File uncontested. You will have to anyways. Divorce is no fault and it only takes longer if you file another way. (Say for an affair etc.) The ultimate goal of divorce is "no fault" and if you file uncontested it is much faster as the court will require a response for any contested issues.

His last correspondence with her regarding filing for divorce, she told him to do what he wanted as after the SA was signed she didn't care and had no plans to ever get married again so she didn't care if he filed or not...

Exactly right. The divorce order is really only good if you want to get married again (legal marriage before the court etc.). YOu don't need a divorce certificate or order to live in common law. You can be in common law while married. Happens all the time in long and heated disputes before the court. Many people move on before the "divorce" gets filed. With an average of things taking 2-4 years to get to trial... It isn't uncommon for either spouse of the "marriage" to have moved on and moved in with someone else.

Another question... on the forms it states:

"The details of the other order(s) that we jointly ask the court to make are as follows: (include any amounts of support and the names of the children for whom support, custody or access is to be ordered)

Is he allowed to say something along the lines of "Paragraphs 1-X as outlines in Schedule A (Separation Agreement)?

Just annex the whole SA agreement to the uncontested divorce. That is all they need. The judge doing the divorce will review it to make sure all I's are dotted and T's are crossed. If it is filed uncontested it is just a rubber stamp anyways.

To make the SA a "Schedule A" is it as simple as writing this on the top of the agreement or is there a process to do this?

Do the courts require the actual copy? Or will a photocopied copy suffice?

You can attach a notarized copy of the SA.

Under "Important Facts Supporting Our Claim", what exactly is to go in this section? If everything is settled via SA, what other important facts would be required?

If it is all in the SA you just reference the SA and say all matters are settled in accordance with schedule "A".

Sorry for all the questions... he would like to get this done as soon as possible, and our nearest FLIC office is 40 min away... hopefully all you knowledgeable people will be able to help out...

FLIC doesn't need a divorce. The just need the SA. But, you will need to file it with the court in accordance with FLIC's rules.

(It may or may not be useful to know that after the SA is signed, he will not be using a lawyer for filing for divorce)

Not required. The SA is the hard part. Divorce is easy to file for. There are really good template and guides out there for a few bucks (40-100) that will fill it all out for you even. Separating is hard. Divorce is easy.

It should be "Separation then Divorce" versus "Separation and Divorce" in my opinion.

Good Luck!
Tayken

[Berner_Faith]

Thanks Tayken...I appreciate all the information...

We too hope this is the end of it too... but only time will tell!