Resource
Separation checklist
You do not need any of this for the free consultation. Gathering it before your private intake is what lets most families finish in a few sessions. Print this page or save it, and bring copies, never originals.
1. Identity and the relationship
- Government photo ID
- Marriage certificate if married, the date you began living together, and the date of separation
- Any existing agreement: marriage contract, cohabitation agreement, separation or parenting agreement
- Any court order, or any order or condition that restricts contact between you
2. Children
- Each child's full name and date of birth
- Current schedule, school, daycare, activities and medical needs
- Your proposed schedule, even in rough form, including holidays and religious occasions
- Costs you pay for the children: childcare, activities, medical and dental, tuition
3. Income, needed for child and spousal support
- Last three years of tax returns and Notices of Assessment
- Recent pay stubs, or if self-employed, financial statements and corporate returns
- Employment Insurance, disability, pension or benefit statements
- Any other income: rental, investment or a side business
4. Property and savings
- The family home: ownership record, mortgage statement and a recent estimate of value
- Other real estate anywhere, including abroad
- Bank statements at the date of marriage, if available, and today
- RRSPs, TFSAs, pensions, investments and life insurance with cash value
- Vehicles, business interests and valuable contents
- Gifts or inheritances received during the marriage, with dates
5. Debts
- Mortgage, lines of credit, credit cards, car and student loans, tax owing, loans from family
- Whose name each debt is in, and the balance at separation and today
6. For yourself
- The three outcomes that matter most to you, in order
- What you think the other person's three are
- A lawyer you might use for independent legal advice, or ask us for referrals