Our Services
We Are Experts In
Separation Agreement Uncontested Divorce Support Negotiation Custody Agreement Simple Procedure
We’re here to help you move gently into your next chapter.
Our services are straightforward
So you can focus on moving forward into your next chapter.
1. Uncontested Divorce
High conflict and heavy stress in divorce can be avoided — but doing it right still takes care. An uncontested divorce requires meeting the Divorce Act‘s grounds, usually a year of separation, plus residency requirements and a paperwork process where small errors — an unclear separation date, incomplete financial disclosure, a missing clause — are the most common reason applications get sent back. What sets Emerald Simple Divorce apart: we built our entire practice around this one process, not as one service among many. That focus means fewer surprises, faster turnaround, and a flat, transparent approach to fees. Serving Vancouver and clients across BC, we ensure your information is accurate and apply for your divorce order, cleanly, the first time.
2. Custody
Parenting arrangements — legally, parenting time and decision-making responsibility — are decided based on the best interests of the child, a legal test covering school stability, each parent’s ability to meet a child’s needs, and their relationships with each parent. For parents who were never married, BC’s Family Law Act uses guardianship instead, with its own best-interests test. Where many firms default to a template schedule, we don’t. Our approach starts with transparent communication between both parents before we draft anything, because an arrangement built on genuine understanding holds up better than one built on legal minimums alone. We negotiate parenting time and decision-making responsibility, in full compliance with BC and federal law, into a plan both parents can actually live with — not just sign.
3. Support (for Children & Spouse)
Child support follows the Federal Child Support Guidelines, based on income and number of children — but real cases involve real complexity: self-employment income often needs adjustment, shared parenting arrangements change the formula, and courts can impute income to a parent who is intentionally underemployed. Spousal support has no fixed formula at all — only a range, under the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines, depending on the length of the relationship and each spouse’s circumstances. Full financial disclosure matters most here, and it’s non-negotiable in our process, because a support agreement built on incomplete numbers is one that eventually breaks down. We calculate child support accurately, negotiate spousal support within the Advisory range, and make sure both numbers are ones you can trust and defend.
4. Property Division in BC
BC’s Family Law Act generally divides family property equally, but “family property” is rarely a simple category — pre-relationship assets, increases in value, pensions, and businesses often require valuation, and sometimes a court exception to the standard 50/50 split. Rather than treating property division as an afterthought to the divorce itself, we treat it as its own careful process — identifying what’s actually shareable, valuing what’s changed since the relationship began, and negotiating a division that’s fair, not just fast. We handle everything from straightforward asset splits to pensions and business valuations, always in compliance with the law, so nothing important gets overlooked, and no one carries more than their fair share.
5. Separation Agreement in BC
A separation agreement covering guardianship, support, and property only holds up later if it’s built correctly now — independent legal advice for both spouses, full financial disclosure, and language that anticipates future changes. Many couples come to us with an agreement they wrote themselves, only to find it’s missing exactly these pieces, sometimes years after signing. We draft agreements engineered to last, with full disclosure and independent advice built in from the start — and, where appropriate, we help you file it so it supports your uncontested divorce application, not just your intentions. A well-built agreement protects you long after the ink has dried.
6. Variation of Orders in BC
Life changes — a new job, a move, a shift in a child’s needs — and the Divorce Act allows your support or parenting order to change with it, but only once a genuine material change in circumstances is shown. Some child support updates can go through the annual recalculation process without returning to court; others need a formal application, with updated financial disclosure from both sides. We don’t just process variation requests — we assess whether you actually meet the legal threshold first, so you’re not paying for an application that was never going to succeed. Where it qualifies, we negotiate updated terms and file to formally vary your order.
How It Works
Emerald Simple Divorce walks with you every step of the way
From asking ‘Can you and your partner agree?’ to reaching your divorce order — as long as you’re both willing to work together.
Step 1
Assessment
We start by understanding where things stand — is there a willingness to work together on custody, support, and property division? Working together requires both partners to be willing and able to approach things with transparency and equity; without that foundation, a collaborative process becomes a suboptimal fit. This first step helps us honestly assess where you stand, and map out the clearest path forward for your family.
Step 2
Reaching Agreement
Once we’ve confirmed collaboration is the right fit, we move to negotiation. Together, we work through every term that matters — custody, Child support, Spousal Support and property division — making sure each one complies with the law and follows equity guidelines. This isn’t a rushed process; it’s a careful one, giving both sides the space to be heard, so what you agree on is something you both genuinely feel is fair, not just something you settled for.
Step 3
Filing With the Court
With your terms in place, we put them into writing. Your negotiated agreement is built into a formal separation agreement, and, in appropriate cases, we may file it alongside your divorce application. From there, the key terms you’ve already worked out carry through into your final divorce order — so nothing gets renegotiated or re-litigated at the last stage, and your family moves forward on solid, already-settled ground.
Ask Us
Emerald Simple Divorce isn’t a general family law practice that happens to offer divorce services — it’s built entirely around one focus: uncontested, amicable divorce, done right. With 19 years of family law experience in Vancouver and across BC, Katrina brings a transparent, non-adversarial approach — full financial disclosure, clear communication, and a flat, upfront approach to fees — so you know what to expect from day one, not after the invoice arrives.
It depends on your situation, but most cases start with the basics: your original marriage certificate, and, if support or property division is involved, financial information including three years of your Notices of Assessment (NOAs). You’ll also want proof of what you and your partner own — property title or appraisal documents, RRSP and investment statements, bank statements, and records for stocks or cryptocurrency. If either of you received any gifts during the relationship, documentation of that matters too. Basically, anything you claim needs to be supported by documents. Once we understand your situation, we’ll give you a clear, specific checklist so there’s no guesswork on your end.
We accept primarily e-transfer, and secondarily online bank transfer, debit or credit card, cheque, or money order. As a matter of firm policy, we keep cash payments to under $1,000 per matter — well below the Law Society’s $7,500 limit — to keep your file simple and fully traceable from day one.
You can reach Katrina directly at katrina@lawyerkatrina.com.
We help you
simplify and clarify
your separation or uncontested divorce
in Vancouver & across BC.
From your first question to your final agreement, we walk every step with you.