Family Law | Goldfried Law

I focus on assisting individuals who are experiencing family related difficulties to resolve their problems in a manner that is least disruptive to their lives. I help clients to develop innovative and practical solutions for a variety of family related issues.

I confine my practice to Collaborative Family Law which is a cooperative approach to negotiating and settling family related issues and disputes. There are some important differences between the collaborative and traditional approach:

Everyone agrees to stay out of court and to voluntarily exchange information.
There is a commitment to co-operate and be respectful.
The focus is on crafting solutions that consider everyone.
The sole objective is to reach an efficient, fair and comprehensive settlement of all issues.

The Collaborative approach has many benefits:

Everyone works together to find viable solutions that are situation specific.
The process is less stressful for the children because there is less animosity between the parents.
People have control of the process and the outcome.
The process is generally less costly and more efficient than litigation

Marriage Contract:

This is a contract that people who are about to be married or who are already married enter into to define their rights and obligations regarding property ownership and debts during their marriage and in the event of a marital separation or death. These contracts also often deal with the issue of spousal support in the event of a marital separation.

Cohabitation Agreement :

This is a contract between two people who are not married and living together in a common-law relationship. This contract outlines property rights and obligations while the couple live together and in the event of a separation or death. For example, in the event of a separation, you may want to divide your property according to whose name is on title for the specific property. You may want to consider how you will handle your finances during the relationship, or you may want to outline whether or not you would want to pay out spousal support should the relationship end. Cohabitation Agreements convert to Marriage Contracts if the common-law couple enter into a marriage.

Separation Agreement:

When a couple decide that they want to end their relationship, a variety of decisions need to be made. This is true whether the couple were married or residing in a common-law relationship. They will have to consider and ultimately decide where and with whom their children will live, the amount of monetary support for the children, whether or not spousal support will be paid, and if so, how much, and finally, how their property will be divided. This process often involves the creation of a Parenting Plan. Parenting Plans provide a detailed account about where the children will reside, how holidays and vacations will be handled and how the parents will communicate with each other about their children.

Divorce:

I help clients apply for an uncontested divorce.