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Difference between revisions of "Family Law Act Basics"
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*parenting time and contact with a child, | *parenting time and contact with a child, | ||
*child support, | *child support, | ||
*spousal support | *spousal support, | ||
*orders about ownership of companion animals (pets), and | |||
*orders for the protection of people. | *orders for the protection of people. | ||
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Most importantly, family property also includes the increase in value of excluded property during the spouses’ relationship, beginning either at the date the spouses began to live together or the date of their marriage, whichever is first. Say, for example, that a house had equity of $100,000 when a relationship started, and equity of $150,000 when it ended. The spouse who owns the house would keep the $100,000 the house was worth at the beginning of the relationship as excluded property, and each of them would share the $50,000 in growth as family property. | Most importantly, family property also includes the increase in value of excluded property during the spouses’ relationship, beginning either at the date the spouses began to live together or the date of their marriage, whichever is first. Say, for example, that a house had equity of $100,000 when a relationship started, and equity of $150,000 when it ended. The spouse who owns the house would keep the $100,000 the house was worth at the beginning of the relationship as excluded property, and each of them would share the $50,000 in growth as family property. | ||
===What about pets?=== | |||
The ''Family Law Act'' introduced special laws around pets, defined as ''companion animals'', in January 2024. Prior to this, pets were not treated differently by legislation. | |||
A judge of either the Supreme Court or the Provincial Court can decide which party will own the pet in question. Interestingly, the court does not have discretion to order shared ownership of a pet. People can make their own family law agreements to accommodate shared ownership of a pet, but if the court is to make a decision, it must be for one or the other party to be the owner. Section 97 sets out the factors which determine who should be the owner of a family pet, and it is not just about who owned the pet before the relationship. See the section on [[Dividing Property and Debt in Family Law Matters]] under the Property and Debt chapter for more. | |||
===What is family debt?=== | ===What is family debt?=== | ||
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===How are property and debt divided?=== | ===How are property and debt divided?=== | ||
Spouses can make agreements and the court can make orders about how property and debt should be divided. Only the Supreme Court can make orders about the division of property and debt. | Spouses can make agreements and the court can make orders about how property and debt should be divided. Only the Supreme Court can make orders about the division of property and debt, with the exception of pets which are called ''companion animals''. | ||
Note that agreements and orders about debt made under the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' are only binding between spouses. They don’t affect the rights of creditors or the steps creditors can take to collect on a debt. | Note that agreements and orders about debt made under the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' are only binding between spouses. They don’t affect the rights of creditors or the steps creditors can take to collect on a debt. | ||
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* [https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/enews/enews-27-04-2021 "What you need to know about the new Provincial Court Family Rules"] from the Provincial Court of British Columbia | * [https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/enews/enews-27-04-2021 "What you need to know about the new Provincial Court Family Rules"] from the Provincial Court of British Columbia | ||
{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[JP Boyd]], 17 | {{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[JP Boyd]], 17 November 2023}} | ||
{{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox|type=started}} | {{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox|type=started}} | ||
{{Creative Commons for JP Boyd}} | {{Creative Commons for JP Boyd}} | ||
[[Category:JP Boyd on Family Law]] | [[Category:JP Boyd on Family Law]] | ||
