Difference between revisions of "Recent Changes to Family Law in British Columbia"
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Under the old Supreme Court forms used to make claims in family law disputes, the Notice of Family Claim and the Counterclaim, lawyers had to "certify" that they have complied with their duties under the ''Divorce Act''. "Certify" isn't as fancy as it sounds. Basically, lawyers put the date and their signature below a part of the form that looked like this: | Under the old Supreme Court forms used to make claims in family law disputes, the Notice of Family Claim and the Counterclaim, lawyers had to "certify" that they have complied with their duties under the ''Divorce Act''. "Certify" isn't as fancy as it sounds. Basically, lawyers put the date and their signature below a part of the form that looked like this: | ||
[[File:OldLawyerCertificate.png| | [[File:OldLawyerCertificate.png|600px|frameless|center]] | ||
Lawyers' duties are basically the same under the new ''Divorce Act'', but they're now found in section 7.7. The big change for the people asking for a divorce is the new duties they have under sections 7.1 to 7.5 of the ''Divorce Act''. Among other things, these sections say that: | |||
* people have to exercise entitlements to parenting time, decision-making responsibility and contact in a way that is consistent with the best interests of the child, | |||
* parties must protect the children from the conflict arising from their court case, | |||
* parties have to try to resolve their disagreements out of court if possible, and | |||
* parties have to give each complete, accurate and up-to-date information as necessary to resolve their disagreement. | |||
Under the new section 7.6, the parties to a course case under the ''Divorce Act'' have to certify that they are "aware" of these duties, and need to sign a certificate in their Notice of Family Claim or Counterclaim just like lawyers do. | |||
There's also a form that's brand new, Form F102, Statement of Information for Corollary Relief Proceedings. ''Corollary relief'' refers to claims made about parenting after separation, child support or spousal support under the ''Divorce Act'', but this form is only needed when someone is asking for orders about parenting after separation. The form requires you to describe any: | |||
* civil protection orders or cases about your spouse, yourself or your children, | |||
* child protection orders or cases about your children, and | |||
* criminal cases about your spouse or yourself, the nature of the charges, and any orders, peace bonds or undertakings that have been made. | |||
This form is necessary, because under section 7.8 of the new ''Divorce Act'', judges must take into account cases like these, and any orders made in those cases, when making decisions about parenting after separation. | |||
==The Provincial Court Pilot Project== | ==The Provincial Court Pilot Project== | ||