TrishP

Ouch - think I've been lucky then getting mine to go through so quickly - applied on April 25th, got the documents through last week to say one month countdown/now's your last chance to change your mind .... erm, like NO!!!

dbd33

No malice in our case, all very amicable and we never went as far as court but still $160,000 in legal and accounting fees would knock a hole in anyone's budget. Moving to the country kind of made a virtue of a necessity.

TrishP

Yikes! I completed my own forms and did the whole thing without the money-grabber, aka lawyer! I had a relatively easy divorce - told the ex how it was gonna be and went through with it!

Souvenir

It's only money at the end of the day, mate. I think you are now in a situation that makes you happy.

Contrary to what some say, money can buy happiness.

dbd33

Sure, it's all come out quite well, broke but having fun.

The one thing I think we did right was to wait until the children's university fees were paid before starting litigation. I would have hated to see the lawyers take that money.

surviving-gal

AC: I live in Canada, not in Turkey, thus the need to have divorce registered here.

dbd: I agree with most of your comments, especially the one about lawyers, however, in all fairness, a divorce can only be dragged if the parties in question allow it. $160,000 in lawyer's fees?!.

I did consult/hire a Canadian lawyer, who charged me $9K in 2 months for merely "strategizing" my case and achieving NOTHING. I am the injured party, there is a child involved and as I have grounds that have no possible defense, I am hoping for an out-of-court settlement, I want to avoid as much of the expense, time & ugliness as possible.

Out of curiosity, if you lived apart for 20 years, why was the alimony so high? Was it because you were legally married and as such considered married and not separated?.

Almost Canadian

If you were married in Canada and you want to get divorced in Canada - what is the issue ?

Service upon your ex in Turkey (if s/he is in Turkey) will be an inconvenience but is not insurmountable.

You will need to begin proceedings in Canada and they are likely to be resolved in Canada - unless you want to forum shop and you are entitled to commence proceedings in Turkey (which will depend upon what the law says about that and whether it would be more beneficial for you to do that). The only way you will get an appropriate answer is to speak to a Canadian and a Turkish lawyer and see which route is best for you.

Is the divorce going to be contested ? If not, then as I have said before, the firm that I work for charge $1,000.00 for such a divorce, so I would question why you paid $9,000 for a lawyer that did nothing.

HTH

dbd33

I don't think so. In Ontario a divorced woman can claim support based on the husands income years after the fact so although we had an agreed seperation date of 1989 it was the income and assets as of 2007 that counted. As it happens my ex has recently discovered that my current partner is now working and I have a letter from her lawyer (cost $800) requesting a renegotiation.

$9,000 sounds about the right fee for considering whether or not to take the case.

Almost Canadian

Once I've jumped through the re-qualification hoops I may consider relocating to Ont to practice - $800 for a single letter - that's got to be a job worth having !!!

snowbunny

In general, you will need an English or French-language translation of the Turkish divorce decree and an apostille to certify it. The Turkish government should be able to issue the apostille.

http://www.cbs.gov.on.ca/MCBS/english/52KSPH.htm

and etc

dbd33

Oh no, filing is the good one. You get to charge taxi fare to and from the court house, $400 for the time (one hour) but you actually send a clerk on the subway to file ten sets of papers at once. 10*$400+10*$40 less $20 for the clerk's time and 2*$2.25 for the tokens. Preparing a form letter is much less profitable.

Almost Canadian

That's it - I'm off - anyone want to buy a house in Calgary

dbd33

$800 is a bargain, btw. Very few lawyers will ever provide any sort of documentation for their bills but those who do charge along these lines:

paper - $10
typist - $30
ink and sundries $10
consideration of content, lawyer 1.5 hours $600
dictation lawyer 1/2 hour, stenographer 1/2 hr $250

Total : $900

There's no way the client can dispute "thinking 1.5 hours $600".

Souvenir

Oh FFS!!!!!!!!

Does the word "absolute" mean something different in Canada than in other parts of the English-speaking world?

dbd33

Yes. Finances are negotiable indefinitely in Ontario.

Gotta go and meet Novo. May expand on this tomorrow.