Many of my readers and clients with ICBC claims have a keen interest in issues in Family Law. I am happy to introduce a guest blogger Monique Shebbeare, to provide some important insight into the upcoming changes to the BC Family Law Act.
My followers know that I have already recommended Monique as a great option if you are separating, want to split the family assets and sort out custody/access issues reasonably but are running into a few glitches.
Basically, if you think you are trying to be reasonable and think your former spouse is trying to be reasonable, but you are still having trouble getting things sorted out - then Monique is the person you should call to protect your rights without turning the divorce into an all out war.
By Monique Shebbeare, Heritage Law
Bill 16, the new BC Family Law Act, which will bring broad changes to BC’s family law
landscape, has been passed by the BC government. The government estimates it
will take 12 to 18 months to implement the law.
Some of the highlights of new Family Law Act are:
·
Children: The best interests of the
child will be the only consideration in cases involving children. The divisive language
of “custody and access” is abandoned in favour of more neutral language of “parenting
time”, “parenting arrangements” and “parental responsibilities”. Parents who
lived with the child after he or she was born are the child’s guardians unless
the court orders or the parties agree otherwise. A court can appoint a person
other than a parent as guardian. Only a guardian can have parenting time and
parenting responsibilities, but a person who is not a guardian can have
“contact”. Remedies and tools are provided to make sure that parents actually
receive and follow through on parenting time they are granted. A process and
guidelines are created to deal with a parent’s desire to relocate with
children.
·
Out of court dispute resolution:
Mediation, agreements, parenting coordination and arbitration are favoured over
the courts. Complete disclosure will be required in all cases. Courts will have
the power to refer parties to counseling and mediation and to appoint a
parenting coordinator to work with the family on implementation of agreements
and orders.
·
Child and spousal support: Parents will
have the primary duty to pay child support, followed by stepparents and then
also by other guardians. Children who have voluntarily left parental care under
age 19 may not be entitled to child support. The definition of spouse for
spousal support is expanded to included unmarried couples who have lived
together for less than two years if they have a child together. For spousal
support, a court can consider conduct which causes or prolongs need or affects
the ability to pay.
·
Property division: Property brought by a
spouse into the relationship, inheritances, gifts and certain kinds of court
awards will be excluded from property division (as is the case in many other
provinces) – but the parties will share the increase in value of these during
the relationship. Family property, which is assets acquired during the relationship
and owned at separation, are presumed to be divided equally. The court can
divide excluded assets or change the division of family assets only if it is
significantly unfair not to.
·
Debts: The courts will be able to divide
family debts (incurred during the relationship or after separation to maintain
family property), and the presumption is equal sharing.
·
Common law couples: Unmarried couples
who have lived together for more than two years will have access to the same
property division regime as married couples. (Note: effectively immediately,
section 120.1 of the existing Family Relations Act, which operated as a
disincentive for common law couples to make cohabitation agreements, has been
immediately repealed).
·
Family violence: A new “protection
order” is created which will be enforceable by the police. Courts can take
family violence into account as part of the best interests of the child when
determining parenting arrangements.
·
Assisted Reproduction: For the first
time in BC, the law will provide rules for determining parentage of children
born with the assistance of sperm, egg and embryo donors and with surrogates.
