Last week the Ontario government announced changes to the divorce process “to make it faster, less expensive, and less combative,” according to the Canadian Press. I’m always skeptical when the government tries to “improve” anything.
They’re promising more access to legal advice and options such as mediation, arbitration, and collaborative law. They’re also promising to free up court time for cases that must be argued, and less paperwork and fewer steps so that people can get to a judge and a decision sooner. And, all of this will be achieved without any new funds. They’re going to take money from the legal aid system to pay for it. They call that “re-distribution of current resources.”
This is all very laudable and overdue. However, forgive me for being just a tiny bit skeptical. In my 30 years of practive, every time the government has intervened to “simplify” the Family Court system, it has resulted in additional administrative process and expense for the consumer. Let’s hope that what the government delivers is truly cheaper and faster access to justice and not yet another layer of process and cost at the expense of an already woefully under-funded Legal Aid service.
In the meantime, if what you really want is a faster and cheaper divorce, check out our Divorce Advantage System at MyOntarioDivorce.com. It already does everything the government is only promising.
Helping you help yourself,
