Law360 Canada (July 23, 2026, 10:21 AM EDT) --

Julie Gill

Is it time to acknowledge and address the gap in practical education, practical readiness and practical understanding for the public in family law matters?

The 2021 Divorce Act changes set expectations for parties to protect children from conflict and try to resolve matters through family dispute resolution processes rather than court proceedings, which was a positive step. It also confirmed that legal advisers have a duty to encourage individuals to attempt to resolve matters through a family dispute resolution process (unless inappropriate) and to inform individuals of the expectations that have been set for them, also a positive step.

What these changes didn’t do was assess the readiness of the public to take on these responsibilities or create a standardized manner for legal advisers to deliver this information.

There has been a lack of neutral, practical, quality, non-legal and non-emotional information for the public. Non-legal education still primarily comes from one-on-one relationships with professionals, and those who can’t afford to write a blank cheque are getting left behind.

Access to justice includes access to information, and not just the legal variety. All of the legal information in the world is not enough to help people through “why” certain things matter, especially when the law feels unfair; “how” to make decisions and apply information to their situation; “what” topics are most important and how they are tied together; “where” to start; and “who” can provide support and help manage the person sitting across the table.

We know good-quality legal information is put out by governments and legal education providers, but it isn’t meeting people where they’re at. Influencers are finding people where they are but often with emotionally driven content. Professionals are making content that is, while good, specific to the services they offer and not neutral.

With the types of information streams currently out there, what I believe is missing is cost-effective, quality, practical and neutral information that ties things together. How do we frame the legal information with the practical realities of how people make decisions? How do we address the emotions without reinforcing them in the decision-making process? How do we help people feel empowered to make the decisions we expect them to make?

Separation Preparation was created to be the practical overlay for information currently available. A self-paced, online education program for individuals that addresses what we are missing and creates a new formula where:


All three components are needed for people to move towards decision-making. Knowing what the law states and having feelings about (un)fairness, doesn’t create an environment for people to feel secure in making decisions; it often creates more conflict.

We know individuals don’t make decisions on facts alone. Factors such as perceived urgency, emotions, abuse/control, incomplete information, lack of options, influence, an inability to identify consequences, exhaustion and/or conflict can all impact decision-making. Separation Preparation addresses these factors.

The vision for Separation Preparation is to be the first choice before someone’s next step and to be the world’s most complete online program to educate individuals about the practical aspects of separation. The program includes a wide variety of learning materials, including modules, videos, self-reflections and capturing the information most people never think they’ll need when starting the process of separation. At the end of the program, a learner has a collection of materials they can use with whatever professional they chose to work with as their next step.

This idea is the culmination of the last 17 years of my work in this space. I started Families First Mediation in 2009, and then I started SeparationCoach.com in 2011, because I recognized the gap in support that people faced when experiencing separation.

I think we would all agree that most people facing separation want reasonable results, not battles, and not long-drawn-out litigation. I understand that reasonability is subjective but, overall, most want financial stability, shared care/support/responsibility of children, agreements that feel fair to them in the context of their relationship, and to move on. What has become clear to me is that we don’t provide information to support people through the practical parts of meeting these goals. Separation and divorce coaching is starting to build a bridge in providing this type of support and information to people and why I co-founded the Breakforward Divorce Coach Institute. To provide quality training for professionals in how to address these gaps and prepare clients to better participate in processes. The natural evolution was to take the approach of training coaches and bring that to the public by educating them directly.

Practical aspects of separation people need to be prepared for include how to:

• Live together while coordinating a separation.
• Determine their needs, wants and priorities.
• Consider the future impact of their decisions.
• Tell family, friends and children about their separation.
• Communicate and make decisions with someone at the end of a relationship.
• Identify abuse and power imbalances.
• Select the right support and process for their situation.
• Assess the cost of a battle.
• Work with professionals.
• Increase their financial awareness.

So, what’s the value to you as a professional? I want to be clear that the intention of Separation Preparation is not to be a replacement for any professional. As the title of the program states, it is preparation only. I believe the value of having access to this program is clients who are not starting at zero but are prepared with solid education about practical topics. The program takes the learner through completing self-assessments that identify how they can participate in difficult conversations about power and control, their needs, their financial awareness, and their decision-making and communication styles.

We know separation is not a problem just looking for a legal solution. There are very real emotional and practical considerations that are equally if not more important to many people.

The Divorce Act changes were a step in the right direction; however, they require providing the public with the right support to be successful. For individuals to actively participate, they need to be informed, feel empowered and be prepared to own their role in family dispute resolution processes and in reducing conflict.

To answer the initial question, now is the time to address the gap in practical education, readiness and understanding and Separation Preparation is the first step.

Julie Gill is the founder of Families First Mediation and co-founder of Separation Preparation. She is an accredited family mediator, accredited professional divorce coach, certified specialist in separation finances, parenting coordinator, family law arbitrator, trainer and holds a certified advanced elder mediator designation. She can be reached at julie@familiesfirstmediation.com.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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