Family Law Blog

A lot of people in Edmonton hear the phrase "independent legal advice" for the first time at the worst possible moment: right before they're expected to sign something. A separation agreement is ready. A prenuptial agreement needs signing before the wedding. A spouse is asked to co-sign a mortgage or go on title for a property. Then someone — often the other side's lawyer — says the document can't be signed until each person gets independent legal advice.

Many people arrive in Alberta already having signed a prenuptial agreement, marriage contract, or family property agreement in another country. At the time, the document may have seemed final. It may have been signed before a wedding, required by family expectation, prepared under a different legal system, or written in another language.

Many separating couples in Edmonton write a separation agreement between themselves — sometimes with a lawyer's help, sometimes at the kitchen table — and assume a signature is what makes it final. It isn't quite that simple.