Centobin Law Office does not accept contested family law matters or family litigation. We do not represent parties in disputed divorce, parenting, custody, child support, spousal support, or family property proceedings where court litigation is required. Our family law services are intended for clients whose matters are uncontested, cooperative, or capable of being resolved by agreement without litigation. If a matter becomes contested and requires court proceedings, clients may need to retain separate family litigation counsel.
An uncontested divorce is one where both spouses agree on parenting, child support, spousal support, and the division of property and debt, and the divorce is granted on the filed documents without a court appearance. Centobin Law Office in Calgary prepares the separation agreement and the desk divorce package, and provides independent legal advice to a spouse who has been asked to sign an agreement prepared by someone else.
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For an urgent matter, call (403) 249-1733.
A divorce is uncontested when every issue is settled between you and both of you will sign. That is the test, and it is worth applying honestly before you start — a matter that looks agreed but is not will stall at the filing stage and cost more to unwind than it would have to litigate from the outset.
Centobin Law Office will tell you at the first consultation whether your matter is one the firm can take as an uncontested file. If it is not, you will be told then, not after a retainer has been signed.
An uncontested divorce runs on paperwork rather than hearings. Each step below has to be complete and correct before the next one is useful, which is why most delays are filing errors rather than court backlogs.
The usual ground is one year of living separate and apart. Spouses can file before the year is up, but the divorce is not granted until the year has run. One spouse must have lived in Alberta for 12 months before filing at the Court of King’s Bench.
Where there are children under 18, both parties complete this free online course of roughly three hours. The certificate is filed with the divorce package.
Both parties exchange sworn Financial Disclosure Statements (Form FL-17) setting out income, assets, liabilities, and monthly expenses. Support figures agreed without disclosure are the ones most likely to be challenged later.
Parenting, child support, spousal support, and property division are set out in a separation agreement, with each party receiving independent legal advice before signing.
The package includes the Statement of Claim (Form FL-1), Affidavit of Applicant (Form FL-23), Request for Divorce (Form FL-21), proposed Divorce Judgment (Form FL-25), proof of service, and the Desk Divorce Package Checklist. No courtroom appearance is required.
After the judgment is granted, a mandatory 31-day appeal period runs before the divorce is final. The Certificate of Divorce is issued after that period expires.
An uncontested divorce in Calgary generally runs between $1,800 and $8,000 all in, with the Court of King’s Bench filing fee set at $260. Because the firm accepts uncontested matters only, the cost of a file does not escalate the way a contested one does — and a matter that turns contested is referred out rather than billed through a dispute.
| Cost component | Uncontested divorce |
|---|---|
| Court filing fee | $260 |
| Legal fees — uncontested | $1,500–$3,000 |
| Mediation, if used to reach the agreement | $1,500–$5,000 |
| Parenting After Separation eCourse | Free |
| Typical total | $1,800–$8,000 |
Property division is governed by the Family Property Act, which presumes equal division of all family property — assets and debts — acquired during the marriage. The Act was formerly the Matrimonial Property Act and was renamed effective January 1, 2020. Family property includes the family home and other real estate, bank accounts, pensions and retirement savings, investments, vehicles, business interests, and debts accumulated during the relationship. The same rules extend to adult interdependent partners who separated on or after January 1, 2020.
Exempt property in Alberta includes:
Critical qualification: while exempt property itself is not divided, any growth in its value during the marriage is divisible family property. Exempt status can also be lost if the property is mixed with non-exempt assets or a spouse is added to title, and the burden of proving an exemption falls on the party claiming it. Each partner has up to two years from the date they knew — or should have known — that the relationship ended to bring a property claim. Missing that limitation period can permanently extinguish property rights. Where both of you agree on how property is to be divided, Centobin Law Office records that division in a separation agreement that holds.
If your spouse’s lawyer has prepared an agreement and asked you to sign it, you are entitled to your own lawyer’s advice first — and the agreement is stronger for it.
Your lawyer explains what the agreement says, what you are giving up, what the law would otherwise entitle you to, and the consequences of signing.
Alberta courts give far greater weight to family agreements where both parties received independent advice, because it shows each person understood the bargain.
A certificate of independent legal advice, which is attached to the agreement as evidence that the advice was given before signing.
Spouses have differing interests even in an amicable separation, so a single lawyer cannot advise both. Each party needs their own.
A divorce is uncontested when both spouses agree on every issue — parenting, child support, spousal support, and the division of property and debt — and both are willing to sign. It is decided on the filed documents, so there is normally no court appearance. If any one of those issues is in dispute, the matter is contested.
Three to six months from filing is typical, provided the one-year separation period has run and the package is complete. The most common cause of delay is incomplete paperwork — a missing PAS certificate, unsworn disclosure, or defective proof of service. A mandatory 31-day appeal period then runs after judgment before the divorce is final.
One lawyer cannot act for both spouses, because your interests differ even when you agree. The usual arrangement is that one spouse retains a lawyer to prepare the agreement and the other obtains independent legal advice (ILA) from their own lawyer before signing. Alberta courts give far greater weight to agreements where both parties had ILA.
Alberta does not legally require one. A family lawyer’s value in an uncontested divorce is making sure the agreement is enforceable, covers every issue that has to be dealt with, and does not contain terms a court would later set aside. Errors in the paperwork or an incomplete agreement are expensive to fix afterwards.
Partial agreement is common and it is often workable: the issues you have settled can be recorded, and the remaining one narrowed through mediation. If it stays in dispute and needs a court application, the matter is contested and Centobin Law Office will refer you to family litigation counsel rather than take it on.
Family property acquired during the relationship is presumed to be divided equally under the Family Property Act. Exempt property — what you brought in, gifts, inheritances, and personal injury compensation — is not divided, though the growth in its value during the relationship is. A claim must be brought within two years of when you knew the relationship had ended.
If you and your spouse have settled the terms, or are close to it, Centobin Law Office can draft the agreement, prepare the desk divorce package, and advise you on what you are signing.
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