4. Show no reason for the court to refuse a divorce
Question & Answer
Do I have to get a divorce?Even if you can prove a breakdown in your marriage, the court might refuse to give you a for a few reasons. Some of these reasons are:
Provide for your children
The court might not give you a divorce if it thinks that you and your partner have not made reasonable arrangements for your children. This means the court checks to see if there is or other support arrangements made for the children.
The court compares the amount of child support that is being paid to what is required under the and the Government of Canada's child support tables.
The tables show basic monthly amounts of child support that a parent is supposed to pay. It is based on the amount of money the parent paying support makes and the number of children they have to support.
This doesn't mean that you and your partner have to agree on the exact amount of child support that the court would order. But, it should be close.
There is an online calculator at the Child Support Table Look-up that can help you figure out the table amount of child support.
Show there is no chance of getting back together
The court might not give you a divorce if there is a “reasonable chance” that you and your partner might reconcile and get back together. The court can put your case on hold or recommend counselling, to give you a chance to get back together.
You can live with your partner again for up to 90 days if you're trying to get back together. If you and your partner are not able to get back together, it won't affect the one year separation period.
Other reasons
The court might not give you a divorce if there is:
- Collusion: This means you and your partner tried to commit a fraud against the court. For example, you lie about your date of separation to get a divorce before being separated for one year.
- Condonation and connivance: This means the partner who made an application for divorce based on adultery or cruelty forgives the other partner.
The courts don't use these reasons often.
