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Enforcing Agreements
I have a separation agreement that is signed by me, my ex and both of our lawyers. But I do not have consent filing which is required because of the date of the agreement. How can I do this? I have still not received any child support because my agreement needs consent filing. (by K of Surrey, BC) I suspect the easiest way for you to proceed would be to forget filing the order and simply ask a judge to make an order for the payment of support based on the terms of the order. You can make your application in provincial court, which will be cheapest as there are no filing fees; they'll even take care of serving your ex for you! It will be difficult for your ex to defend your application, so you should have a fairly easy time of it. Click here to go to the top of this page. The divorce between my former wife and myself was finalized in May 2001. There was a preexisting seperation agreement. Is the seperation agreement in anyway legally binding after the divorce was finalized? (by E of Delta, BC) The separation agreement you and your wife executed is just as binding now as when you signed it. The only thing that would change how binding the agreement is would be a term of the divorce order which said something to the contrary of the separation agreement. If the divorce order just said "you are divorced," and there are no other terms of the order, your separation agreement is fine. Click here to go to the top of this page. My former spouse now lives in a small country in Africa. He refuses to sign over title of our former residence. In our divorce agreement, title of residence was to be in my name. My spouse has been out of Canada for two years and has since remarried. What are my options? (by H of Vancouver, BC) Your situation isn't as bad as you think, but you will have to jump through a few hoops to get what you want. Essentially, what you're saying is that you have a separation agreement that gives you the family home, and the family home is registered in your name and in your spouse's name. Assuming that the family home is here in BC, what you need to do is sue your spouse for the "specific performance" of the agreement, in other words, for an order on the terms of the agreement to the effect that the house be transferred into your name alone. You'll have to start an action for this relief in the supreme court, although you can simply make an application in the action which got you your divorce if a claim was made for the division of property in that action. If you have to start a new action, you'll then have to serve your spouse (or apply for an order for substitutional service), and then wait for the time for your spouse's Statement of Defence to come and go. Once that happens, and it seems unlikely that your spouse will file a defence, you can apply for a default judgement on the terms set out in your claim. This process is going to be a bit cumbersome, but there's not much you can do about that. Unfortunately, you need a court order to effect the transfer without your spouse's cooperation. Click here to go to the top of this page. My (Canadian) friend was divorced in the US, and part of the divorce settlement stated that land she inherited in Canada from her uncle remain with her. But the BC Land Title office says they can't recognize divorce papers that are not from Canada. The problem is that her ex refuses to sign papers the Land Title office needs to transfer the ownership from joint ownership. How do you get Canadian recognition of US divorce papers? (by C of Victoria, BC) Actually, what is probably going on is that the Land Title Office is saying that the US order isn't binding on it. And it's right. While the US divorce order is valid in Canada, the problem is that the courts of other jurisdictions (including other Canadian jurisdictions) do not have the authority to deal with real property located in this province. What your friend should do is start an action here for an order that the property be transferred as per the US order. She would do so on the basis that she and her ex came to an agreement that she seeks to enforce. Your friend's situation isn't all that complicated. What it comes down to is this: if she can't secure her ex's agreement to transfer the property according to the settlement, she's got no choice but to apply for an order that the property be transferred. She'll probably be successful, since her ex will have to argue that the divorce settlement was somehow unfair, which begs the question of why he agreed to it in the first place or failed to appeal it after the order was made. Tell your friend that the simple act of filing the action (which should include a claim for her costs of the matter) might suffice to get her ex's consent to the transfer. Click here to go to the top of this page. My ex and I have a seperation which we both agreed to and has been filed with the provincial courts. In the agreement he agreed that upon execution of this agreement the he shall transfer to myself all interest right and title to and in the matriomonial home for zero consideration. As I would be assuming a family debt not a family asset as the home is well below the outstanding mortgage balance. I am now selling the home does he need to sign any other papers when the house is sold. I do not know where he is living or where to get a hold of him. (by R of Prince Rupert, BC) Well if you have a proper separation agreement but can't find your ex to complete the property transfer, you'll have to apply to the Supreme Court for an order requiring the Land Title Office to transfer the property as per your agreement. All you want to go to court for is an order that has the effect of enforcing or putting into effect a term of the agreement. Your position is not terribly simple, since on top of this you'll also have to apply for an order that you be at liberty to serve your ex with your application substitutionally (in a way other than physically handing them to him), before you can apply for the order relating to the property. I strongly suggest that you hire a lawyer to take care of this for you. This is not something I would encourage you to do on your own. However, the lawyer shouldn't be too expensive since your ex won't exactly be disputing the application! There is a way you can find your ex if that becomes necessary. The provincial government, through the Provincial Court, offers a search service that can help find people when there is a family law dispute. Have a look at the "How do I ?" section of my website for more information. Click here to go to the top of this page. Site Navigation
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