My husband left me a little under a year ago because of an…

Thank you for your reply.

There are a number of issues relating to the breakdown of your marriage that give rise to rights that you have. The assertion that you have no rights because you did not take your husband to court prior to now is simply not true.

There can be an order for divorce after one year of separation, but that is a very separate issue from the corollary relief available to you. You should be filing a counterclaim in the divorce proceeding in order to assert your rights.

Things like appropriate child maintenance, custody, guardianship, division of property, pension division and spousal maintenance all need to be dealt with. But you need to file documentation in the proceeding commenced by your husband in order to ensure that those rights are appropriately dealt with. That does not preclude you from settling the matter without the need for court hearings, but filing in the proceeding will ensure that your rights are at least preserved.

I would strongly suggest that you speak with a family lawyer in person regarding this as soon as possible.

Again, the contention of your husband's lawyer that you have lost all of your rights because you did not commence proceedings is not correct - but you need to act quickly at this stage to ensure that court pleadings are filed on your behalf.

If you wish, you can contact the Lawyer Referral Service in Alberta for the names of legal counsel that will provide an initial consultation free of charge or for a nominal fee. Their telephone contact information is as follows:

1-800-661-1095 (toll free) or(NNN) NNN-NNNNin Calgary

I hope that assists. If I can provide further clarification I would be pleased to do so.

The foster care payments are intended as maintenance for the children you are looking after, not as a wage. They ought not to be included as a calculation of income. As well, if your ex is earning more than you are through employment, you may well be entitled to spousal maintenance.

But you really do need a one-on-one meeting with a lawyer as soon as possible to make these kinds of determinations.

I hope that assists.