Separation checklist
What to gather, what to do and what to avoid in the first thirty days. Free to use, no sign-up, and it costs you nothing if you never call us.
Documents to gather
Nothing meaningful can be negotiated before financial disclosure is exchanged, and delay here is the single largest driver of legal fees. Start collecting now, quietly and without drama.
- Three years of tax returns and notices of assessment, for both of you if available
- Recent pay stubs, or the last two years of financial statements if self-employed
- Statements for every bank, credit card, line of credit and investment account
- Mortgage statements and the most recent property assessment or appraisal
- RRSP, TFSA and pension statements, including any pension plan booklet
- Corporate financial statements, shareholder registers and any shareholder agreement
- Life and disability insurance policies with beneficiary designations
- A record of what each of you owned or owed on the day the relationship began
- Any inheritance or gift received during the relationship, with the paper trail
- Marriage certificate, any prior agreement, and immigration documents if relevant
Do this in the first week
Small administrative steps taken calmly now prevent much larger arguments later.
- Note the date of separation. It fixes limitation periods and the valuation date
- Open a personal bank account and redirect your own income into it
- Change passwords on personal email, cloud storage and any device backups
- Speak to the bank about freezing joint credit facilities and lines of credit
- Move communication with your ex to a single written channel
- Agree a rough written parenting schedule, even a temporary one
- Take photographs of the contents of the home for the record
- Update the beneficiary on anything you are entitled to change unilaterally
- Tell your employer’s HR only what is necessary for benefits and payroll
- Write down the chronology while you still remember it clearly
Do not do this
Every item below is something we routinely spend client money undoing.
- Do not sign anything in the first month, including a “just so we know where we stand” note
- Do not empty a joint account, or take more than roughly half of it
- Do not sell, transfer or hide an asset
- Do not stop paying the mortgage, rent or insurance out of principle
- Do not discuss the case with the children, or use them to carry messages
- Do not post about the separation on social media
- Do not record conversations without advice on whether it is admissible or lawful
- Do not move out without a parenting schedule already agreed in writing
- Do not agree to a number before you have both disclosed your finances
- Do not rely on what a friend’s divorce produced — the facts are never the same
Deadlines that actually matter
These are hard limitation periods in British Columbia. Missing one can end a claim entirely.
- Married spouses: two years from the date of the divorce order or an order of nullity to claim property division or spousal support
- Unmarried spouses (marriage-like relationship of two years or more): two years from the date of separation
- Divorce itself: available after one year of separation
- Wills variation claim: 180 days from the grant of probate, plus 30 days to serve
- Child support: no limitation period, but retroactive claims are usually limited to about three years of arrears absent blameworthy conduct
If safety is an issue
If you or the children are at risk, none of the sequencing above applies. Safety comes first and the legal position can be repaired afterwards.
- In an emergency, call 911
- VictimLink BC is available 24 hours a day, toll-free, in many languages: 1-800-563-0808
- A protection order can be obtained under Part 9 of the Family Law Act, in some cases without notice to the other party
- A protection order can be sought whether or not any other family proceeding has been started
- Tell your lawyer immediately — it changes the strategy, the venue and the urgency
A clear path forward
Tell Alex what you are dealing with. You will get a straight read on your options and what a sensible next step looks like.
Contacting the firm does not create a solicitor–client relationship. Please do not send confidential information until we have confirmed there is no conflict of interest.