toronto separation

Collaborative Family Law Series: Successfully Concluding a Case

Posted in: "All, Collaborative Practice, Family Law by Pei Wang | No Comments Thursday, November 1, 2012

Wrapping up a collaborative family law case can bring mixed feelings. (Photo courtesy of SXC, all rights reserved.)

Toronto Family Law Lawyer Pei-Shing B. Wang:

In previous postings, I’ve talked about starting and managing collaborative family law cases. Today’s discussion is about wrapping things up.

In my experience, “the end” in a collaborative family law case is almost always bittersweet. On the one hand, the spouses are relieved that they have sorted out their legal issues and don’t need to worry anymore about being sued. On the other hand, they realize that they are no longer spouses to each other and must move on with their lives.

In collaborative family law, most agreements are not binding until they’ve been formally executed. Therefore, once the spouses have agreed on a settlement, it’s important for the lawyers to act quickly to bring the matter to its formal conclusion.

Usually the final settlement agreement is written as a separation agreement with a few tweaks. Basic background information, such as the dates of marriage and separation, will of course be stated. The final agreement will confirm that both spouses have chosen the collaborative process and that each spouse has been aided by his or her own lawyer. Other professionals who have helped the couple during the process will also be specified along with the tasks they have performed.

If there are children involved, a separate parenting plan may be attached as an exhibit to the agreement. The parenting plan may be drafted by the child specialist or the divorce coach who has worked with the parents extensively as part of the collaborative process. Invariably, there will be clauses stating that the parents will remain flexible to accommodate special circumstances, such as illness and school events, and put the best interests of the children above their own.

Finally, there is almost always a special paragraph where the spouses acknowledge that they have been advised of the relevant laws and understand that their decisions as outlined in the settlement may differ from those adjudicated by the court system.

This blog is provided for educational purposes and for your reference. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be regarded as such. The law may have changed since the publication of this article.

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Fraud Alert Update: Collaborative Family Law Agreement Fraud Becomes More Convincing

Posted in: "All, Business Development, Family Law by Admin | No Comments Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Two weeks ago I posted a blog on collaborative family law agreement scams. In that blog I noted a few red flags that may be indicative of a scam, such as the use of generic or universal terms in the initial contact message.

According to the latest bulletin from the Lawyer’s Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO), the fraudsters are becoming more convincing.

For example, the fraudsters are now sending out personalized email messages with the lawyer’s first and last name at the beginning of the email. The fraudsters even send out follow-up emails inquiring whether the lawyer is willing to assist on the file.

Besides the apparent eagerness to retain the lawyer, the fraudsters are now able to provide colour scans of foreign IDs, including Chinese passports and U.S. driver’s licences. The fraudsters sometimes provide detailed background information and make phone calls that appear to be from local number by using spoof technologies.

In two instances the initial email was drafted to appear as if it were coming from a U.K. lawyer.

To make things worse, two Ontario lawyers who don’t practise family law thought that the emails were legitimate and passed them onto family law lawyers as referrals.

Here’s what LawPRO suggests to avoid becoming a victim of fraud: (emphasis is mine.)

Trust your instincts. If things don’t add up, ask more questions and dig deeper. Get the client on the phone and ask them to provide further background and explanation for anything that is inconsistent or that doesn’t make sense. Have them confirm details in the information they already provided to you and be especially wary if the client is hesitant or unclear on background facts. Don’t be naïve. In reply to our Alert last week, one lawyer said, “I’m relieved to hear you say that because I’m feeling sheepish for not having recognized that this was a scam from the get-go.”

If you have suspicions, carefully check and verify any background details provided to you. Ask for documentation from the client that will confirm details of any information provided to you. You can do a reverse lookup of phone numbers provided to you or that appear on call display; Google any addresses provided to you. Get the names of lawyers who previously acted for the client or ex-spouse, check online databases to verify they are real lawyers and ask for permission to contact them.

Ultimately, getting the retainer funds or payments from the ex-spouse irrevocably wired to your bank account is the only way to really protect yourself from this type of fraud. If these wires are coming from another Canadian financial institution, they should come via the Large Value Transaction System (“LVTS”).  If they are coming from a financial entity outside of Canada, the client or ex-spouse’s bank should make arrangements with your bank to wire the funds to your account.

As an alternative to getting funds wired into your account, tell your client that your firm’s policy is that all funds deposited by cheque or bank draft will be held for 30 days or until your firm is able to get confirmation that the funds have cleared.

Finally, you should terminate the retainer if you remain suspicious that the matter is a fraud.

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