MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY: FAMILY LAW LAWYERS IN DELTA
Separation and divorce can affect many of the things that are so important to us: our children, our financial security, our happiness, and our well-being. That’s why you need to know and understand your options and receive sound advice from experts. At Severide Law, our legal team puts more than 30 years of collective family law experience to work for clients in Metro Vancouver and South Delta with a team that’s second to none.
Our family law lawyers in Delta, Deirdre Prestage Severide and Lindy Mathesius cover the spectrum of dispute resolution options – from non-adversarial, no-court options to litigation.
We’re a caring and compassionate team that understands how stressful and overwhelming separation and divorce can be, and that each client’s circumstances and needs are unique. We can help you determine which of the following options will be most suitable:
Our family law team can also help you with:
FIRST, WE LISTEN
At Severide Law, we’re not just lawyers – we are compassionate, committed people with relationships and families of our own. That means that we believe in proceeding with care – in fully identifying your needs and goals before we discuss your options.
With our extensive experience we can quickly identify potential problems and issues. We won’t just tell you what you want to hear – we will tell you what you need to know. Whether you choose a no-court option or litigation, you can trust us to listen to your needs with care, to explain your options with clarity, to offer sound advice, and to advocate for you with passion.
COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE: A NON-ADVERSARIAL, NO-COURT, FAMILY-CENTRED APPROACH
Collaborative divorce is quickly becoming a popular option for couples who do not want to go to court, who want to resolve matters reasonably and who want to maintain control over the process and the outcome. In the collaborative process, the couple is directly involved in the discussions and decision-making for all of the important issues so that the end result is a respectful and workable solution for the entire family.
Deirdre Prestage Severide and Lindy Mathesius are trained in this non-adversarial approach in which the spouses and their lawyers agree not to go to court and commit to seeking a solution that takes into account some of the important needs of each of the spouses and their children.
In the collaborative process, each spouse retains a collaboratively trained family lawyer who acts as a negotiation coach, information resource and advocate within a collaborative team. Most often a divorce involves not just legal issues but significant emotional issues as well. Divorce coaches are often involved in the process to help with communication and overcome any emotional barriers that might prevent the couple from moving forward. Depending on the needs of the family we may bring in a financial neutral or child specialist. The objective is to bring together professionals, depending on the needs of the couple, with the expertise to help the couple or family reach a resolution in a respectful manner. Instead of lawyers dealing with all issues in divorce, as is the traditional approach, in the collaborative process we know that the emotional issues, the parenting plan, and specific children issues are more effectively and efficiently resolved by the coaches.
The collaborative process offers several important benefits, such as:
For more information on the collaborative divorce process, please explore the links below:
MEDIATION: A NON-ADVERSARIAL, NO-COURT NEGOTIATION
Mediation is another out of court process that can work well for low-conflict couples who can negotiate with each other in the presence of a neutral facilitator. Deirdre Prestage Severide is a qualified and experienced family mediator and will assess your situation at the outset to determine if mediation is likely to be a good process for you.
In mediation, the spouses meet together with a qualified mediator who helps them discuss and reach a resolution of their issues. If the spouses are successful in reaching an agreement, the mediator will prepare a draft memorandum of agreement and recommend to each spouse to seek independent legal advice on the agreement prior to signing.
Some benefits of the mediation process are:
In mediation, there is less support available for each spouse in the process than in the collaborative process. If one or both of the spouses requires more support when negotiating the collaborative process can be more effective.
LITIGATION: WHEN COURT IS NECESSARY
Some family disputes need the court process. That’s when you require compassionate yet tenacious representation in court with sound advice throughout.
Our family law litigator, Lindy Mathesius, is skilled at achieving successful outcomes in difficult situations. Lindy is a passionate advocate and tireless negotiator who will fight for your best interests and the best interests of your children while providing calm support and reasoned advice so that you can move forward with your life.
WHERE DO YOU START?
Our experienced family law team can help you make an informed choice about the process that will work best for you. Please contact our office to arrange an appointment and then complete our initial consultation family form.