Our Services
We specialize in all areas of family law including property claims, child/spousal support matters, custody/access issues, negotiations toward binding agreements, litigation in difficult cases as well as contested/uncontested divorce proceedings. Our extensive knowledge of family law matters combined with our ongoing practice and expertise allows us to help clients resolve cases quickly and in their best interests.
Parenting Decisions and Care Schedule
Our privately owned family law office will adapt to your current situation and ensure the most appropriate method to resolve your family law issues, including negotiations at settlement meetings and/or court litigation. We are always mindful that this is an emotionally difficult time for both you and your family and we can ensure that you will be kept fully informed with regard to all the legal proceedings throughout the process. When you and your spouse separate, you must arrange whether one parent or both parents will have decision making power on behalf of the children and arrange for the care schedule of the children. We ensure that you are well informed of the rights, obligations and entitlements to your children, and with the other parent. Throughout our child custody consultations, we assist clients from voluminous checklists to extensive discussions on legal topics and work with clients, when appropriate, to evolve a parenting plan that is suitable for each individual situation. We rely on our lawyers’ extensive knowledge of family law to anticipate and advise our clients on issues that arise between parents. Although each situation is unique, there are certain steps that may be evoked to deal with potential problematic situations and ensure that your best interests are consistently maintained in a professional manner. Our London, Ontario based law firm is regularly called upon to accept complex family law cases in the middle of an ongoing case due to a previous lawyer-client relationship breakdown. Given our firm’s exclusive practice of family law since 2005, we are highly capable of doing so.
Child/Spousal Support
We have advised and strongly advocated on behalf of self-employed people, corporations, professionals and their spouses. Child support is not always as straightforward as thought by many of our clients. The Child Support Guidelines are the law, and the use of income information and application of the Guidelines to each situation is necessary. Child support is the most common family law issue that our firm faces. We have extensive knowledge and can confidently navigate you through the Guidelines, identify relevant sections, ensure that all necessary information is obtained and any child support issues are resolved effectively, cost efficiently and with success. Spousal support issues of entitlement are not dealt with in the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. There are many forms and reasons for spousal support, and whether it is granted, for how long and how much. At Simpson Law, we have extensive knowledge of applying the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. We are an impressive law firm and will professionally guide you through the process of hiring an attorney for spousal and child support whether it is for a support recipient or a support payor.
Property Division/Equalization
You should trust Simpson Law Professional Corporation to assist you with any family law challenge that you face in Ontario. We have a team of highly experienced, highly compassionate professionals who will strive to achieve the best results for your specific case. Our staff has compiled several legal resources that you may find useful. The Family Law Act in Ontario recognizes that when a marriage ends and divorce proceedings begin, the equal contribution from each spouse is recognized through valuations, and then this contribution is divided between the spouses. There are some possible exceptions to the rules of equalization of net family properties. We have extensive knowledge of the exceptions to the rules, and all unique situations. The most common assets are pensions and the matrimonial home. We also have helped many clients navigate situations related to common law rules of Ontario. Our law firm has explained these complicated laws with precision, tenacity and clarity.
Court / Arbitration / Mediation
As a family law firm that has been servicing Southwestern Ontario since 2005, the legal services we provide are comprehensive. They include contested and uncontested negotiations to obtain a binding family law agreement, mediations, arbitrations as well as litigation in court with extensive evidentiary issues relating to highly important family law matters. We discourage litigation unless it is necessary to protect our clients’ interests. Mediation involves an impartial individual voluntarily agreed upon by both parties to reach a mutually acceptable settlement. In family law cases, mediation is always recommended initially. Mediation may be the first step in addressing a family law case and it is typically more favorable as it involves a faster, potentially less expensive and private approach to a final settlement. Mediation-arbitration or arbitration is an alternative to court litigation proceedings. Arbitration is the process by which the parties mutually submit their claims and evidence to an appointed or agreed upon independent third-party arbitrator. This arbitrator is tasked to resolve the dispute and grant an arbitration award. Arbitration will require you to have counsel who must be skilled and experienced with the presentation of evidence and application of the legal principles relating to the issues in dispute.