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This seems to be an unusual situation but hopefully someone may have some insight/answers. Long story as short as possible, STBX ran up a bunch of debts without my knowledge - big part of why we're going separate ways. He moved out of family home may 1 and I am/will be keeping the house with kids to stay with me. Applied for refinancing on mortgage to cover debts. Bank approved me solo without a signed separation agreement as long as spouse signs statutory declaration with solicitor, stating no support to be paid and buyout amount in order to get him off title. Lawyer was made aware that this was the case and had noted at the beginning of this process that whatever the bank needed was the important thing. So...after a month got all paperwork signed and mortgage in place - now lawyer is stating they absolutely won't transfer title unless they have a signed separation agreement with independent legal advice for both parties. In the meantime, STBX and I are quite amicable and completed a "DIY" separation agreement and have no issues - basically we've made sure all aspects are covered (pension, kids, etc all to guidelines, etc.) however, uneven split of family home (I get it with minor payoff to him in exchange for clearing debt - without going into details we both feel this is more than fair). So...for the question. This "statutory declaration" required by the bank seems like a foreign concept to the lawyers I've talked to (2 of them) - they both want a separation agreement before proceeding which is signed off with independent legal advice. If the bank is okay with it and we're okay with it, why is this necessary for them to transfer title? Second, I cannot find a lawyer who will provide independent legal advice on the "diy" that we have - everyone wants to do it from scratch and charge for it. While I understand a diy isn't perfect, if we're in full agreement with what we want to happen (and we're pretty aware of rights on both ends) isn't that the point of having the legal advice to let us know what we have/haven't considered? I'm in Ontario - any advice appreciated and/or whether there is a lawyer out there who will review a diy in a timely manner - we really want to avoid lawyers as much as possible - yes make sure we both are fully apprised but there is no animosity, we want the best for the kids and it just needs to get done.
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