Your Future
If you have not already read the sections on this site devoted to the primary issues (Your children, Your Income, Your home and investments) then go back and do so. You cannot effectively move forward until you know where you are. Understanding what you may have to deal with in the present is a critical first step in getting to your future.
When working through your current needs and obligations and those of your children you should also be laying the groundwork for next year and the year after. 
- What do you see happening in the near future?
- Will you be changing your job?
- Will you be returning to school?
- Will you need to change where you live?
- Are you in a new relationship?
- Are you in a new relationship?
- Does your new partner have children?
- Will your children be attending college or university?
- Have you considered how the costs of that future schooling are going to be paid?
- Do you have a will?
- Have you considered granting someone a power of attorney for your affairs in case of disability?
We all plan for our future. Until recently, those plans included your partner. That has changed. You may have been married or together a short while and have no children. If so, moving on with your life should not prove very complex or difficult. If, however, you have been together for a long while or have children with your partner or both, disentangling yourself from your marriage or relationship and starting a new life is always complex and sometimes difficult.
If you are dependent on your spouse or your spouse is dependent on you it will be necessary to plan how that can be changed. Financial spousal support arrangements may be necessary but unless you have been married a very long time there will be a need to move toward financial independence. How that is to be achieved forms an important part of your discussions.
A future crisis is seldom expected however some thought must be given to how it will be addressed. Unexpected illness, accident, job loss and many other negative events can all impact your current agreement or court order. You can of course simply hope for the best and deal with any problem when it arises but do you really want to go through all of this again at that time. It is often better to at least agree now on how you will deal with it then.
Achieving some predictability on how future events will be dealt with is one of the more difficult aspects of negotiating an agreement. It is one area where the court is of little assistance. A judge is simply not equipped to deal with such matters. The legislation and common law principles the court uses to make determinations leaves the issue of future changes to be dealt with at the time the change occurs.
However when a court is asked to make a change it carefully considers what the circumstances were at the time of the original agreement or court order. An application to change an existing agreement or order is a complex process that involves a number of legal principles on which you will need professional advice. Making certain that the current agreement or order provides sufficient background to allow meaningful consideration by a future court is a critically important aspect of what you will be doing in your current process.
