Alternatives to PLEA Agreement Maker Saskatchewan
If you are looking for PLEA Saskatchewan's Agreement Maker, it is currently offline for revision with no announced return date. The tool — hosted on familylaw.plea.org — was a free, interactive questionnaire that walked parents through creating separation agreements and parenting plans, and it was one of the most recommended resources for self-representing litigants in the province. Its absence leaves a meaningful gap, but several alternatives exist that cover different parts of what the Agreement Maker provided.
What the Agreement Maker Did
PLEA's Agreement Maker was a structured, interview-style tool. It asked parents questions about their parenting arrangement, financial situation, and property division, then generated a draft agreement based on the answers. Its value was in the guided process — parents who could not afford a lawyer and did not know how to structure a legal document could produce something workable by answering questions they understood.
No single alternative replicates this entire workflow. But the core needs the Agreement Maker served — structuring parenting proposals, understanding court requirements, and producing documents for filing in the Court of King's Bench — can be covered by combining the right resources.
Alternatives Compared
| Alternative | Cost | Parenting Plan | Financial Disclosure | Saskatchewan-Specific | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatchewan Gov Self-Help Kits | Free | Blank forms only | Forms 15-47, 15-49 (blank) | Yes | PDF download |
| PLEA Information Guides | Free | Explanatory only | Explanatory only | Yes | Web pages |
| LawDepot Separation Agreement | CAD 54/month after 7-day trial | Generic Canadian template | Basic financial sections | No | Online generator |
| Rocket Lawyer Separation Agreement | CAD 50–80/month | Generic Canadian template | Basic financial sections | No | Online generator |
| Family Lawyer Drafting | CAD 2,000+ | Bespoke | Complete | Yes | In-person / virtual |
| Saskatchewan Parenting Plan Guide | One-time, under $24 | Step-by-step worksheets + templates | Disclosure preparation walkthrough | Yes | Instant PDF download |
Option 1: Saskatchewan Government Self-Help Kits (Free)
The Ministry of Justice publishes free self-help kits for uncontested divorce, custody variations, and child support changes. These kits include key court forms for the relevant proceeding — the Petition (Form 15-16), Financial Statement (Form 15-47), Property Statement (Form 15-49), and others.
What they cover well: The kits are the authoritative source for Saskatchewan court forms. If you need the blank documents, this is where to get them.
What they don't cover: The kits provide forms, not guidance. Section 24C of the Petition asks for your custody proposals. Section 24D asks for your parenting time proposals. The kit does not tell you how to structure a parenting schedule, calculate your parenting time percentage for the 40% threshold, draft transition clauses, or design a holiday rotation. The Agreement Maker filled exactly this gap — and the kits alone do not replace it.
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Option 2: PLEA Saskatchewan Information Pages (Free)
PLEA's broader website (plea.org) still provides excellent plain-language legal education on Saskatchewan family law. Their guides explain the Children's Law Act 2020 terminology, the mandatory FDR process, child support calculations, and property division rules.
What they cover well: Understanding the law. If you need to know what decision-making responsibility means, how the 40% threshold works conceptually, or what happens at a Judicial Case Conference, PLEA's guides are clear and reliable.
What they don't cover: They are explanatory, not generative. They tell you what a parenting plan should address — they do not help you build one. Without the Agreement Maker, PLEA's educational content and the practical drafting step are disconnected.
Option 3: LawDepot or Rocket Lawyer (CAD 50–80/month)
These platforms offer online separation agreement generators with interview-style questionnaires — conceptually similar to the Agreement Maker but built for national Canadian (or North American) use.
What they cover well: Document generation. You answer questions and receive a formatted agreement. The interface is polished and the output looks professional.
What they don't cover: Saskatchewan specifics. These tools do not address the mandatory Parenting After Separation course, the FDR requirement under Section 7-4 of The King's Bench Act, 2023, Saskatchewan's court form numbering, or the 40% shared-parenting threshold calculations. The agreements they generate may need significant modification before filing in the Court of King's Bench. They also carry recurring subscription costs rather than a one-time purchase — CAD 54/month adds up if you take several months to finalize your agreement.
Option 4: Saskatchewan-Specific Parenting Plan Guide
The Saskatchewan Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide covers the parenting-plan side of what the Agreement Maker did: structured worksheets for parenting time calculation, decision-making responsibility frameworks, holiday rotation templates, transition protocol drafting, and financial disclosure preparation checklists — all built around the Children's Law Act 2020 and Saskatchewan's court requirements.
What it covers well: Parenting plan construction. Seven standalone worksheets — a Parenting Time Calculator, Decision-Making Responsibility Worksheet, Holiday and Vacation Planner, Financial Disclosure Preparation Checklist, Parenting Plan Drafting Template, and Exchange and Communication Logs — provide the step-by-step structure the Agreement Maker offered for the parenting arrangement portion of a separation.
What it doesn't cover: Full separation agreements. The guide focuses on parenting arrangements (custody, parenting time, decision-making, child support), not property division or spousal support. If you need a comprehensive separation agreement covering all three areas, you will need to supplement the parenting plan guide with a property division resource or legal advice.
Option 5: Family Lawyer (CAD 2,000+)
A Saskatchewan family lawyer can draft your entire parenting plan and separation agreement from scratch, tailored to your specific circumstances and formatted for the Court of King's Bench.
What they cover well: Everything. A lawyer drafts, advises, and advocates. For complex cases involving family violence, business valuations, or relocation disputes, professional advice and drafting are especially important.
What they don't cover at this price point: Affordability for the majority of self-representing parents. At CAD 250–400 per hour, basic parenting plan drafting alone can consume CAD 2,000–5,000. The Agreement Maker existed precisely because most parents cannot afford this.
The Combined Approach
The most practical replacement for the Agreement Maker is not a single tool but a layered strategy:
- Government self-help kits for the court forms (free)
- PLEA information guides for understanding the law (free)
- A Saskatchewan-specific parenting plan guide for the structured drafting the Agreement Maker provided (one-time purchase)
- Independent Legal Advice at the final stage for a lawyer to review and sign the completed agreement (CAD 850–1,500 flat fee)
This combination covers the full workflow — forms, education, drafting, and legal review — at a fraction of what full legal representation costs. It is not as seamless as a single integrated tool, but it gets the job done while PLEA's platform is unavailable.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will PLEA's Agreement Maker come back online?
No timeline has been announced. PLEA Saskatchewan has stated the tool is "under revision" but has not provided an expected return date. The rest of PLEA's educational content remains available at plea.org.
Can I use a template from another province for Saskatchewan?
Not directly. Saskatchewan has province-specific requirements — the Children's Law Act 2020 terminology, mandatory FDR under Section 7-4 of The King's Bench Act, 2023, specific court forms (15-16, 15-47, 15-49), and local Practice Directives (FAM-PD #2 for parent education, FAM-PD #7 for Judicial Case Conferences in Saskatoon and Regina). A template built for Ontario or British Columbia will use different terminology, reference different statutes, and may omit requirements that Saskatchewan courts enforce.
Do I need both a parenting plan guide and a lawyer?
It depends on complexity. For cooperative separations where both parents can negotiate through mediation, many parents build their own parenting plan using a guide and file a consent order without retaining a lawyer. For contested matters, or where family violence, relocation, or complex finances are involved, legal representation provides protection that no self-help tool can match. A common middle ground is building the plan yourself and paying a lawyer only for Independent Legal Advice at the signing stage.
Is there a free alternative that does everything the Agreement Maker did?
Not currently. The government kits and PLEA guides are free but do not generate documents. Online generators produce documents but are not Saskatchewan-specific and carry subscription costs. The Agreement Maker was unique in being free, Saskatchewan-specific, and document-generating — no available alternative combines all three.
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