Difference between revisions of "The Law for Family Matters"

These books are available in some public libraries (the website http://www.worldcat.org will tell you if a library near you has copies) or at a branch of [http://www.courthouselibraries.ca Courthouse Libraries BC].

Legal research can be terribly complex, partly because there are so many different reporters and partly because there are so many cases. In fact, legal research is the subject of a whole course at law school. You can get some help from the librarians at your local courthouse law library or university law library, all of whom are really quite helpful. In fact, the law library at UBC has a research desk that can help with certain limited matters. You might also consider hiring a law student to plough through the law for you, and the law schools at UBC, the University of Victoria and Thompson Rivers University will have job posting boards where you can put up a note about your needs and contact information. If all else fails, or your issue is really complex, try hiring a professional legal researcher.  

Sometimes the subjects over which each level of government has authority overlap and, according to a legal principle called the ''doctrine of paramountcy'', all laws are not created equal. Under this doctrine, federal legislation on a subject trumps any provincial legislation on the same subject. This is important because in family law both the ''Divorce Act'' and the ''Family Law Act'' deal with child support and spousal support. As a result, orders under ''Divorce Act'' will always be paramount to orders under the ''Family Law Act'' on the same subject.

The two most important pieces of legislation relating to family are, as you will have gathered, the federal ''Divorce Act'' and the provincial ''Family Law Act''. The most important regulation is the ''[[Child Support Guidelines]]'', a regulation to the ''Divorce Act'' that has also been adopted for the ''Family Law Act''. The ''Divorce Act'' talks about:

Finally, you may also want to think about the cost of proceeding in each court. The Provincial Court charges no filing fees and has a relatively streamlined procedure. The Supreme Court charges filing fees, and the extra tools and remedies available under the Supreme Court Family Rules are helpful but will add to the cost of bringing a proceeding to trial.