Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Family Law"

Family law is the area of the law that deals with family issues. Most of the time, these issues involve couples that have been in a married or unmarried relationship and have now separated. Family issues can also involve people who have never been in a long-term relationship, like a couple who never dated but have a child together, and people who have never been in a romantic relationship at all, like a grandparent who would like to have time with or care for a grandchild.

It's important to know that in British Columbia, family law applies to people in same-sex relationships exactly as it does to people in opposite-sex relationships. There is no legal difference between heterosexual relationships and gay and lesbian relationships.

This script provides an introduction to family law, the courts that deal with family law issues and the laws about family law issues. It ends with definitions for some common legal words and phrases used in family law.

When a couple separates they have a lot of decisions to make:

* Where will the child live? How will decisions about their care be made? How will the parents share the children’s time?

* Whether the child is entitled to ongoing financial support from a parent? If so, which parent should pay child support and in what amount?

* Does a spouse need financial support from the other spouse? Can the other spouse afford to pay it, and if so, in what amount and for how long?  

* Who will stay in the family home? Can everybody still live together, or does someone need to move out?

* How will property divided? How will responsibility for debts be shared?

Family law deals with all of these decisions and more. However, not every couple needs to deal with all of these issues. The decisions a couple has to make and the law that applies changes depending on the type of relationship the couple is in. Family law talks about four types of relationship:

 

* '''Married Spouses:''' Married couples are legally married and require a divorce to end their legal relationship.

* '''Unmarried Spouses:''' Unmarried spouses, also called common-law spouses, have lived together in a “marriage-like relationship” for at least two years for claims about property, or for less than two years if the couple has had a child together, for claims about spousal support. Unmarried spouses don’t require a divorce to end their legal relationship. Their relationship ends is over when they separate.

* '''Parents:''' Parents have had a child together and can be married spouses, unmarried spouses, in a dating relationship or not in a relationship with each other at all. Parents can also be people who have had a child by adoption or assisted reproduction, or people who have helped a couple to have a child by assisted reproduction, by donating eggs or sperm, or by being a surrogate mother.

* '''Child’s Caregivers:''' People who have a significant role in a child’s life but aren’t the child’s parents.

 

*'''''Divorce Act''''': The ''Divorce Act'' is a law of the government of Canada and applies throughout Canada. The ''Divorce Act'' only applies to people who are married to each other or who used to be married to each other.

*'''''Family Law Act''''': The ''Family Law Act'' is a law of British Columbia and applies to married spouses, unmarried spouses, parents and child’s caregivers. Not all of the ''Family Law Act'' applies to all of these relationships. The parts that talk about child support and the care of the child apply to everyone. The parts that talk about spousal support only apply to married spouses and all unmarried spouses. The parts that talk about dividing property and debt only apply to married spouses and to unmarried spouses who have lived together for at least two years.

|align="center"|Child Support (''Family Law Act'')||align="center"| √ ||align="center"| √ ||align="center"| √ ||align="center"|