7,367
edits
Difference between revisions of "Family Relationships"
From Clicklaw Wikibooks
→Introduction
Nate Russell (talk | contribs) |
|||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
Being in a family relationship can create legal obligations in addition to the moral and social obligations that we usually associate with a family relationship. Under the old common law, for example, a husband had the legal duty to provide his wife and children with shelter, food and the other basic necessities of life. Although this obligation still exists under the federal ''Criminal Code'', it has been a part of the legislation on family law since the English ''Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act'' was passed in 1857. As society has evolved, so have the obligations triggered by different kinds of family relationships. Family law in British Columbia presently deals with four kinds of family relationship. | Being in a family relationship can create legal obligations in addition to the moral and social obligations that we usually associate with a family relationship. Under the old common law, for example, a husband had the legal duty to provide his wife and children with shelter, food and the other basic necessities of life. Although this obligation still exists under the federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vf2 | ||
Criminal Code]'', it has been a part of the legislation on family law since the English ''Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act'' was passed in 1857. As society has evolved, so have the obligations triggered by different kinds of family relationships. Family law in British Columbia presently deals with four kinds of family relationship. | |||
*'''Married spouses:''' People who are married spouses have been wed at a ceremony conducted by someone licenced by the province to perform marriages. Married relationships end when a court makes an order for the spouses’ divorce. | *'''Married spouses:''' People who are married spouses have been wed at a ceremony conducted by someone licenced by the province to perform marriages. Married relationships end when a court makes an order for the spouses’ divorce. | ||
*'''Unmarried spouses:''' People who are unmarried spouses have lived with each other in a | *'''Unmarried spouses:''' People who are unmarried spouses have lived with each other in a ''marriage-like relationship'' for a certain minimum amount of time; this is the sort of relationship people mean when they talk about "common-law spouses". The relationships of unmarried spouses end when they separate. Unmarried spouses do not need to get a divorce. | ||
*'''Unmarried parents:''' Unmarried parents are people who have had a child together but never lived together. Unmarried parents might include people who have helped someone have a child through assisted reproduction, like being an egg donor, a sperm donor or a surrogate mother, depending on what an assisted reproduction agreement might say about who’s a parent and who’s not. Unmarried parents also include people who were in a dating or casual relationship and have had a child. | *'''Unmarried parents:''' Unmarried parents are people who have had a child together but never lived together. Unmarried parents might include people who have helped someone have a child through assisted reproduction, like being an egg donor, a sperm donor or a surrogate mother, depending on what an assisted reproduction agreement might say about who’s a parent and who’s not. Unmarried parents also include people who were in a dating or casual relationship and have had a child. | ||
