Kerry is an Owen Sound family lawyer with years of experience helping clients through separation and divorce. She has practiced law for over twenty years, having been called to the Bar in 1983. She has had an office in Owen Sound since 1989.

As a lawyer, Kerry is enthusiastic about a new type of legal process that is available to couples dealing with the difficult journey of separation and divorce. The process is called Collaborative Family Law. It is much less stressful on the parents and it is better for the children because it is cooperative, not adversarial. It is less costly than going to court. It is also confidential, which is a huge benefit for anyone concerned about the privacy of their personal and financial information.

In Collaborative Family Law, the husband and the wife each retain a lawyer who has had specialized training. Then the husband and the wife and the two lawyers all meet together and talk about what is really important to their family situation and reach solutions together. The spouses and the lawyers agree that they will not go to court.

Sometimes the process is called Collaborative Practice. Two informative websites are:
www.greybrucecollablaw.com and www.oclf.ca.

Kerry also has extensive experience representing clients in court applications and negotiations for Separation Agreements, or changes to Separation Agreements.

Kerry can assist with the full range of family law issues such as:

custody and access parenting plans child support spousal support the matrimonial home

division of assets and debts separation agreements marriage contracts prenuptial agreements uncontested divorce

TESTIMONIAL:

"The Collaborative process is a phenomenal approach to consciously dissolving a marriage with kindness and respect!! It is set up so that everybody wins as long as the participants are willing to enter into it with fairness. To me it felt very supportive to be sitting at a table and collaborating."

"Kerry knows the letter of the law very well. She is very fair minded and a good adviser. She also brought to my attention several areas that I had no idea were important to the process. It gave me comfort to know that someone like Kerry was on my team taking care of the legal end of things. I found Kerry to be very respectful to my ex partner and that was important to me."Colette Ryder CPCC (Certified Professional Coactive Coach)

Kerry is also an Accredited Family Mediator with the Ontario Association for Family Mediation. A mediator is a neutral facilitator who sits down with the couple and helps them to communicate and negotiate the issues related to their marital separation. Mediation is especially beneficial for working out issues related to custody and access. For more information about mediation, the Ontario Association for family mediation has a website at:
www.oafm.on.ca.

Kerry's office is located in Owen Sound but she represents clients from all parts of Grey County & Bruce County.

For further information, or to schedule an initial consultation, call 519-371-0473 or e-mail kerry@owensoundadvice.com.