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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J U L Y 2 0 1 5 49 "I want more lawyers to do them and I want these contracts to be exactly what people intend them to be," says Siegel. "They should be something they can rely on, but in order to do that people have to put in a bit of work." The problem, he says, springs from the fact that in the past lawyers have treated cohab agreements like a will. They try to do it in a week and nothing financial is disclosed by any of the parties. "In the past lawyers have been guilty, in large measure, of saying 'no problem' because they want the money. The Compact tries to set up a protocol that everyone follow so we have a procedure we can rely on." Siegel's Compact has some mandatory clauses that try to ensure if someone does try to attack the contract they will fail, and quickly fail. The seven steps are designed to avoid the problem of people claiming they signed the document in a hurry and didn't know what they were signing. Siegel says in the instances he has done an agreement using the Compact steps, it has taken about seven to 10 hours of time. "I have always done a full reporting letter. I had to testify years ago at a case where I was one of the drafters and I did a full reporting let- ter. It was ordered to be produced and the judge commented on it in her decision saying the woman knew XYZ," he says. There are also a collection of mandatory clauses he includes to make it "bulletproof " such as a clause about summary judgments. "By following these steps it will insulate the lawyers from negligence claims and increase the number of lawyers who do them and far fewer attacks on marriage and cohab agreements," says Siegel. "In order for these to be upheld, and to be worth something other than toilet paper, you need to put your back into it — a little time and money into it." Essential Tools for Family Law Professionals For more information, visit www.divorcemate.com 1.800.653.0925 x407 | sales@divorcemate.com NOW AVAILABLE! ADD FREEDOM & FLEXIBILITY TO YOUR PRACTICE DM Tools Cloud Work anywhere, anytime, on any device. For child and spousal support calculations. Available for PC, Mac, tablets and smartphones. ntitled-5 1 2015-02-09 10:22 AM Priority Service Code: 15-99CL Upcoming Learning Opportunities for Family Law Practitioners 5th Annual Recent Developments and Complex Issues in Child and Spousal Support October 5, 2015 Live & Onlline 2015 Guide to Advising the Elderly Client November 4 - 5, 2015 Live & Onlline 12th Annual Intensive Wills and Estates Workshop November 12, 19 & 26, 2015 Live & Onlline OsgoodePD Summer School is back! Catch up online on some of the great family law programs you missed at special summer prices. Enjoy unlimited access until August 31. 4th Annual Recent Developments and Complex Issues in Property and Equalization Online Replay: July 29, 2015 | On Demand available to August 31 3HQVLRQ %HQHoW(QWLWOHPHQWV8SRQ0DUULDJH Breakdown: The Legal Guide Online Replay: August 14, 2015 | On Demand available to August 31 The 6th Annual Guide to Negotiating, Challenging and Drafting Domestic Contracts Online Replay: August 25, 2015 | On Demand available to August 31 To Register: www.osgoodepd.ca Or Call: 416.597.9724 or 1.888.923.3394 Or E-mail: OsgoodePD@osgoode.yorku.ca Untitled-2 1 2015-06-17 1:56 PM

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