Calgary divorce lawyers — built around your family.

Stokes Law divorce lawyer rates start at $275 + GST per hour. A simple uncontested desk divorce typically runs $1,500–$3,500 all-in. We offer a free 30-minute consultation so you can scope cost on your divorce matter.

An uncontested divorce in Alberta is usually finalized in 4–6 months after the one-year separation requirement is met. Contested divorce matters involving parenting disputes, family violence, or complex property can take 12–24 months.

Child support follows the Federal Child Support Guidelines, based on the payor parent's Guideline income and the parenting arrangement. Section 7 expenses are shared in proportion to income. Self-employment income, corporate distributions, and pre-tax corporate income are scrutinized under sections 17–19 to determine a fair Guideline income.

Spousal support follows the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG). The With-Child and Without-Child formulas use the parties' incomes, length of cohabitation, ages, and child support payable to produce a low–mid–high monthly range and a duration range.

Parenting disputes and guardianship are resolved under Alberta's Family Law Act and the federal Divorce Act. We help establish guardianship, decision-making responsibility, parenting time, and relocation arrangements — through negotiation, mediation, or court where needed.

Coercive control and family violence are explicitly recognized in the federal Divorce Act. They affect best-interests-of-the-child analysis, parenting orders, exclusive possession of the home, and Emergency Protection Orders. We build a safety-first strategy and coordinate with police and shelters where appropriate.

For self-employed payors, Guideline income often differs from line 15000. We analyze T1, T2, financial statements, and shareholder loans, add back personal expenses run through the business, and consider corporate pre-tax income under section 18 to determine fair child and spousal support figures.

Alberta's Family Property Act governs division of property — including the matrimonial home, RRSPs, pensions, business interests, shareholder loans, and digital assets. We work with valuators and accountants to identify, value, and divide corporate assets and family property fairly, including tracing exemptions.

The Family Focused Protocol is the case management track adopted by the Alberta Court of King's Bench for family law files. It front-loads early intervention — Early Intervention Case Conferences (EICCs), Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR), and Family Docket Court — so parenting disputes, interim child and spousal support, and exclusive possession applications are triaged by a justice within weeks rather than months. The Protocol favours mediation, parenting experts, and binding JDR over contested chambers wherever the file allows, and Stokes Law Family runs every Calgary family file through it where appropriate to reduce cost and conflict.

Alberta family law mediation is a confidential, without-prejudice process where a neutral mediator helps both spouses negotiate parenting, child and spousal support, and property division. Options include private mediation, Alberta Justice's free Family Mediation Program (for families with at least one child under 18 and combined income under $135,000), and judicial mediation through JDR under the Family Focused Protocol. Mediated agreements are documented in a separation agreement or consent order, each party first receiving Independent Legal Advice. Mediation is strongly preferred over litigation unless coercive control or family violence makes it unsafe.

Parenting matters are decided under the best-interests-of-the-child test in s. 16 of the Divorce Act and s. 18 of Alberta's Family Law Act. Courts weigh the child's needs, each parent's willingness to support the relationship with the other, history of caregiving, any family violence or coercive control, and — where age-appropriate — the child's views. Outcomes include guardianship, decision-making responsibility (formerly custody), parenting time (formerly access), and contact orders for non-guardians. Most parenting plans are settled through negotiation, mediation, or JDR rather than trial.

Cunningham v Seveny, 2017 ABCA 4, and Sweezey v Sweezey, 2016 ABQB 131, are the leading Alberta authorities on imputing Guideline income to self-employed and incorporated payors. Cunningham confirms that pre-tax corporate income under s. 18 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines is presumptively attributed to the shareholder-payor unless they prove the retained earnings are reasonably required for the business. Sweezey applies the s. 19 add-back framework to personal benefits run through a corporation — vehicles, meals, travel, home office, salaries to family members — and requires the payor to disclose T2s, GIFI schedules, shareholder loan accounts, and corporate financial statements. Together they mean self-employed Alberta payors cannot rely on line 15000 alone; we reconstruct Guideline income using Cunningham and Sweezey to produce a defensible child and spousal support number.