JP Boyd on Family Law

Cover of JP Boyd on Family Law
(print edition released July 2024)

Written in plain language, with rollover definitions for legal words and phrases, JP Boyd on Family Law provides practical, in-depth coverage of family law and divorce law in British Columbia. This trusted source for family law information is based on John-Paul Boyd's popular website, BC Family Law Resource, and is completely updated for the new Divorce Act and the new Provincial Court Family Rules. To get started, read our Introduction to Family Law in British Columbia. Then dive into the main chapters of the wikibook, or see the Helpful Guides & Common Questions section for answers to many procedural questions.

Contents

Getting Started

• Introduction to JP Boyd on Family Law · Introduction to Family Law in British Columbia · Common Legal Words and Phrases · The Legislation on Family Law · Divorce Act Basics · Family Law Act Basics

Helpful Guides & Common Questions

• Marriage, Separation & Divorce
  • Get Married in British Columbia? · Prepare for Separation? · Separate from My Spouse? · Find Out if I'm Divorced? · Get Divorced? · Get my Certificate of Divorce?

• Avoiding an Obligation
  • Get Out of Paying Child Support? · Get Out of Paying Spousal Support? · Get Out of Sharing My Assets?

• Alternatives to Court
  • Start Negotiations with My Spouse? · Start Mediation with My Spouse? · Start a Collaborative Process with My Spouse? · Start Arbitration with My Spouse? · Hire a Parenting Coordinator?

More Helpful Guides & Common Questions topics...

Court Forms & Documents

• Supreme Court Forms & Examples · Provincial Court Forms & Examples · Other Family Law Forms & Documents

From the Author

• Editorial Manifesto · Rights and Responsibilities of Self-Represented Litigants

Editors

Many contributors and editors have contributed to JP Boyd on Family Law over the years. Up until 2020, most chapters were divided among pairs of subject editors. Since 2020, JP Boyd has taken on updates and rewrites to the wikibook to reflect substantial changes to key family law legislation and regulations.

Creative Commons

JP Boyd on Family Law © John-Paul Boyd and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.

The legal termination of a valid marriage by an order of a judge; the ending of a marital relationship and the conjugal obligations of each spouse to the other. See "conjugal rights," "marriage" and "marriage, validity of."

A court established and staffed by the provincial government, which includes Small Claims Court, Youth Court, and Family Court. The Provincial Court is the lowest level of court in British Columbia and is restricted in the sorts of matters it can deal with. It is, however, the most accessible of the two trial courts and no fees are charged to begin or defend a family law proceeding. The Family Court of the Provincial Court cannot deal with the division of family property or any claims under the Divorce Act. See "Divorce Act," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

An act; a statute; a written law made by a government. See "regulations."

A kind of legislation that provides supplemental rules for a particular act. Regulations are created and amended by the government, not by the legislature, and as a result the legislature has no say in how or what regulations are imposed by government. See "act."

Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."