Ministry of Justice
Family Relations Act
In February 2006, the Ministry of Attorney General announced a review of the Family Relations Act. The goal of the review is to modernize the law and support co-operative approaches to resolving disputes, in a statute that is easy to read. The first year of the review was devoted to research. A three-phase consultation stage began in 2007. Discussion papers from the consultation stage are posted below.
Phase I: Feb. - May 2007 |
Phase II: May - Sept. 2007 |
Phase III: Aug. - Dec. 2007 |
Please Note: The review does not address child welfare, adoption, child support, and divorce under the federal Divorce Act.
View the consultation responses
Chapter 1 - Background and Context for the Family Relations Act Review
The goals of the review are to modernize the Family Relations Act so it reflects current social values and to make the law easy to understand. The review will consider family law research and policy development over the last 25 years, including the observations of the Family Justice Reform Working Group.
For more information please see Chapter 1 ~ Background and Context for the Family Relations Act Review.
For links to laws referred to in the discussion papers please see Law Links.
Phase I: February 8 - May 31 , 2007
Chapter 2: Division of Family Property
The Family Relations Act rules for dividing family property on marriage break-up have been debated and studied ever since they were introduced in 1979. Between 1985 and 1998, the British Columbia Law Reform Commission and its successor, the British Columbia Law Institute, published several papers recommending changes. Most recently, the British Columbia Family Justice Reform Working Group suggested changes to the Act to support a shift away from using court to settle disputes. Everyone wants rules for dividing property that are simple, fair and certain. The challenge is in finding the right balance between flexibility and certainty. This paper discusses the why, who, what, how and when of family property division.
For more information please see Chapter 2 ~ Division of Family Property.
This consultation has now ended.
Chapter 3: Division of Pensions
In 1995, British Columbia enacted pension division legislation. This law is contained in Part 6 of the Family Relations Act. On its 10th anniversary, the Attorney General asked the British Columbia Law Institute to review how Part 6 is working. The Law Institute concluded the legislation works well, but that some amendments are required. This paper looks at some of the most important changes the Law Institute proposed in its report, Pension Division on Marriage Breakdown: A Ten Year Review of Part 6 of the Family Relations Act.
For more information please see Chapter 3 ~ Division of Pensions.
This consultation ended December 15 , 2007.
Chapter 4: Judicial Separation
Judicial separation is a court order confirming that a marriage has broken down. It does not change the spouses' marital status; they are still married and are not free to marry anyone else. Judicial separation has its roots in England in the days when people could not get a divorce from the courts, but they could get a release from the obligation to live together and an order for property division and spousal support. Eventually, this process became part of our law in British Columbia. These days, when divorces are much easier to obtain, law reform bodies and provincial governments have looked at whether it makes sense to continue the concept of judicial separation. This paper asks whether judicial separation should continue to be available in British Columbia.
For more information please see Chapter 4 ~ Judicial Separation.
This consultation has now ended.
Phase II: May 1 - September 7, 2007
Chapter 5: Programs and Services
Legislation and programs and services are essential components of the family justice system. The Ministry of Attorney General is reviewing the Family Relations Act as part of its justice reform and law reform strategy. At the same time, but separately, the Ministry of Attorney General is also examining its family justice programs and services. This paper is a background information piece intended to outline current programs and services and new directions arising from recommendations of the Family Justice Reform Working Group and other initiatives.
For more information please see Chapter 5 ~ Family Justice Reform and Family Justice Services.
This consultation has now ended.
When parents separate, they have to decide how they will parent their children when they are living in separate households. Most parents are able to agree on these arrangements, often with the help of a lawyer or mediator. If they can't agree, they may go to court and ask a judge to make decisions about custody, access and guardianship. The Family Relations Act allows judges to make these orders and sets out what they must take into account. Some people feel that these words - "custody," "access," and "guardianship"-are not helpful to parents because they tend to foster notions of winning and losing. This discussion paper looks for ways that the Family Relations Act could promote child-focused decision-making that would help parents to meet their children's needs after separation.
For more information please see Chapter 6 ~ Parenting Apart.
This consultation has now ended.
Chapter 7: Meeting Access Responsibilities
When parents do not comply with the access responsibilities set out in their agreements or court orders, there can be many consequences. Children and parents lose the chance to spend time together. Conflict between parents over access issues takes a toll on children. Costs mount, as plans have to be changed and changed again. Parents may continue to feel stuck in ongoing conflict with one another, and quality of relationships may suffer.
Meeting access responsibilities has two sides:
- the parent with whom the child primarily resides may prevent the child from spending scheduled access time with the other parent, or frustrate access, for example, by deliberately scheduling appointments only during access visits; or
- the non-resident parent may fail to turn up for scheduled access, always arrive late, or show up only some of the time.
Where problems over access arrangements do arise, they pose a significant hardship not only on individual families, who often find themselves without effective legal recourse, but also on the family justice system since ongoing access disputes may consume significant public resources. This discussion paper invites feedback on prevention of access disputes; legal remedies for access denial or failure to exercise access; complex cases; and preventing the wrongful removal of children from B.C.
For more information please see Chapter 7 ~ Meeting Access Responsibilities.
Please Note: The Ministry has also summarized the background research conducted into this topic in a lengthier background research paper. If you are interested in looking at this paper, please click here.
This consultation has now ended.
Chapter 8: Children's Participation
When parents separate, decisions have to be made that will have significant impacts on their children: this paper is a search for ways to involve children and young people in those decisions. This is sometimes called "voice of the child" although this paper calls it "children's participation". Both expressions simply mean giving children a say. The discussion paper invites feedback on voice of the child in relation to: general reforms of the Family Relations Act; consensual dispute resolution; family litigation; and parenting disputes after an order has been made.
For more information please see Chapter 8 ~ Children's Participation.
Please Note: The Ministry has also summarized the background research conducted into this topic in a lengthier background research paper. If you are interested in looking at this paper, please click here.
This consultation has now ended.
Violence is an issue for some families in B.C. Both men and women report having experienced family violence, although the nature and consequences are typically more severe for women. Children are also profoundly affected by direct or indirect exposure to family violence. Programs and services have an integral role in addressing this complex issue. The Family Justice Reform Working Group took a broad view of the family justice system, looking particularly at policies, programs and services and addressed violence throughout its paper. Although this paper on family violence draws upon that work, its focus is on law reform. This paper invites feedback on threshold policy issues, such as how or whether to define family violence, and how to deal with false allegations of violence. The paper also invites feedback on family violence as it intersects with other family law issues such as who is permitted to stay in the family home immediately after the separation, protection orders, decisions about children, and collaborative decision-making.
For more information please see Chapter 9 ~ Family Violence.
Please note: Chapter 9, Discussion Point (3), on page 5 was modified on May 29.
This consultation has now ended.
Phase 3: August 22 - December 15 , 2007
Legal parentage is not the same as guardianship. Legal parentage is fundamental to establishing a person's identity, including family name; nationality and cultural heritage; family relationships; and inheritance rights. The legal rights and responsibilities flowing from guardianship are less extensive.
Family laws in most provinces and territories have more comprehensive provisions for determining a child's legal parentage than British Columbia's law does.
Assisted reproduction, which includes artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, complicates the matter. Now it is possible for more than two people to be involved in the conception and birth of a child. This raises the potential for competing claims of legal parentage based on biology (by the woman who gives birth); genetics (by the person who contributes egg or sperm); and intention (by the person who intends to raise the child). British Columbia's current laws do not address these issues. This is a problem not only in B.C., but to varying degrees across Canada and in other countries.
This paper looks at general rules for determining who a child's legal parents are at birth; some issues related specifically to surrogacy arrangements; and access to information.
For more information, please see Chapter 10 ~ Legal Parenthood
This consultation has now ended.
Chapter 11: Spousal and Parental Support
Family trends emerging over the last several decades have led to changes in the interpretation of the purpose of financial support in our family law. These changes include our increased life expectancy; the growing percentage of couples who are not legally married; equal treatment of same-sex couples; and the trend away from single-earner families. The resulting shifts in interpretation of the law have led to some uncertainty in how the law should be applied.
Everyone wants rules that are simple, fair, and certain. The challenge is to find a way to achieve each of these goals without sacrificing the others. Certainty is important, because people are encouraged to make their own agreements when they know what the result will be if they go to court. But most people agree that some flexibility is also important, because a set of rules, without exceptions, may be unfair in certain situations. The goal of this review is to find the right balance between flexibility and certainty.
This paper looks at the principles of spousal support and parental support; the uncertainty about continuing support obligations under the Family Relations Act when a paying spouse dies; and the circumstances in which spousal support orders can be changed, arrears can be reduced or cancelled.
For more information, please see Chapter 11 ~ Spousal and Parental Support
This consultation has now ended.
Chapter 12: Co-operative Approaches to Resolving Disputes
In its 2005 report, the Family Justice Reform Working Group recommended making British Columbia's family justice system less adversarial. The Working Group noted that in some respects the Family Relations Act and the Divorce Act stand in the way of reform because they:- imply that the courtroom is the primary forum for resolving family law disputes;
- are built on an adversarial foundation that can escalate conflict and cause emotional harm by encouraging an "attack and defend" approach;
- frame parenting issues in language that tends to pit parents against each other; and<
- do not go far enough to encourage people to work towards agreement through consensual dispute resolution processes, such as mediation or collaborative law
The Working Group recommended some changes to the Family Relations Act to promote a more co-operative approach to resolving family law issues. Some of these changes are discussed in other Chapters of this Review.
This paper looks at some other ways that the Family Relations Act could reflect co-operative values and principles.
For more information, please see Chapter 12 ~ Co-operative Approaches
This consultation has now ended.
Chapter 13: Time Limits and Definitions
Time limits play a role in the definitions of "parent" and "spouse" that are contained in the Family Relations Act. These time limits serve two purposes:
- they establish when certain rights and obligations arise; and
- they set deadlines for bringing certain claims.
This discussion paper looks at ways these time limits-often called "limitation periods"-might be changed to make the legislation simpler, fairer and more certain. It invites feedback on time limits for claiming spousal support, division of family property and child support and on ways those time limits can be extended.
For more information, please see Chapter 13 ~ Time Limits and Definitions.
This consultation has now ended.
Chapter 14: Relocating Children
Disputes between separated or divorced parents over relocating children often go to court. Because guidance for resolving cases is unclear, outcomes in individual cases may seem unpredictable and uncertain.
This paper looks at the ways the Family Relations Act could be amended to make it easier to resolve relocation disputes, including defining "relocation," settling relocation disputes out of court, making the law more certain and predictable, and covering the costs of maintaining contact between the child and the parent who stays behind.
For more information, please see Chapter 14 ~ Relocating Children.
This consultation has now ended.
For information on consultations that have ended, please see our archive.
This document reports on the results of the Family Relations Act public consultation.