Fees - Costs Procedures and eligibility of an Uncontested Divorce
DEFINITION OF UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
An uncontested divorce is one in which no relief is being requested other than a divorce, or the terms of the relief have already been settled by a Separation Agreement or Court Order. There would also be no problem in locating and serving the other spouse.
If the parties have agreed to settlement terms but there are no written Separation Agreements or Court Orders, no issues as to property or financial disclosure, the case would be considered an uncontested divorce. In that case, however, there would be an extra charge to draft Minutes of Settlement setting out the terms of the agreement between the parties.
ELIGIBILITY
To be entitled to commence an uncontested Divorce Application a person must have a ground for a divorce under the Divorce Act. The main grounds are one (1) year separation, and adultery. An Application can be issued before the one year but the Application for the Divorce Order cannot be made until the one year is up, and then there is still a one month waiting period. The adultery must be the other party’s adultery, and must have occurred either after the separation, or before, but if before the adultery cannot be forgiven. The law also allows for a 90 day reconciliation period during the one year separation, which would not affect the starting point of the one year.
SOLICITOR'S FEE:
$900.00 plus HST of $117.00 This fee includes:
- Drafting, signing, issuing and serving the Application for divorce
- Preparing documentation to obtain the Divorce Order
- Preparing the documentation to obtain a Certificate of Divorce
- Reporting to the client
| Disbursements | Amount |
|---|---|
| Issue Application for divorce | $167.00 |
| Service of Application for divorce (if required) | $32.00 |
| File Continuing Record to obtain Divorce Order | $280.00 |
| Certificate of Divorce | $19.00 |
| Court filing | $37.00 |
| Photocopying and postage | $15.00 |
| Marriage Certificate (if original not available) | $22.00 |
| Sub-total | $572.00 |
Total fees, disbursements and HST (approx) $1,600.00
PAYMENT OF FEES AND DISBURSEMENTS:
A payment of $900.00 is required at the time of signing the Application for divorce. The balance of the fees and disbursements is required at the time of signing the Affidavit for the Divorce Order.
PROCEDURE & TIMING TO OBTAIN AN UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
- Client phones the lawyer with information to draft Application for divorce (day 1)
- Client signs the Application for divorce (day 4)
- Court issues the Application for divorce (day 6)
- Spouse is served with Application for divorce (day 8)
- Lawyer applies for Divorce Order (30 days after spouse is served if served in Ontario, 50 days if outside of Ontario)
- Client receives Divorce Order directly from Court (approximately 1-2 weeks after applying, provided there is a Central Divorce Registry Clearance Certificate). Lawyer applies for Certificate of Divorce (31 days after judge signs Divorce Order which is approximately 1 week from the applying for Divorce Order)
- Client receives Certificate of Divorce from lawyer (approximately 1 week after lawyer's application for the Certificate of Divorce)
An uncontested divorce may therefore be obtained within three months after contacting the lawyer. This can be delayed if the Central Divorce Registry Clearance Certificate has not been received when applying for the divorce order. This search is controlled by the Court and not the lawyer.
Fees as of January 1st, 2011