Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Family Law in British Columbia"

*''parental responsibilities'' or ''custody'', which includes deciding how parents or guardians <span class="noglossary">will</span> make decisions about important things in the children's lives, about issues like health care and education, and

*''parenting time'', ''contact'' or ''access'', which are about deciding how much time each parent and sometimes other people <span class="noglossary">will</span> have with the children.

*''child support'', money that is paid to help with expenses for the children, like shelter, clothing, medical expenses and food, and

*''spousal support'', money that is paid to help with a spouse's day-to-day living expenses, like rent, the phone bill and the electricity <span class="noglossary">bill</span>, and sometimes money that is paid to compensate a spouse for effect of decisions about work and money made during the relationship.

When a couple have property, sometimes including when only one person has property, they have to decide if and how that property <span class="noglossary">will</span> be shared between them. In family law, the property married spouses and unmarried spouses share is called ''family property'', generally only the property that accumulated during a relationship. Family property can include things like houses, bank accounts, businesses and cars. It can also include RRSPs and pensions. Sometimes a couple also has to decide who <span class="noglossary">will</span> take responsibility for debts. Generally, only the debts that accumulated during a relationship <span class="noglossary">will</span> be shared between married spouses and unmarried spouses.

#'''Unmarried adults.''' Unmarried adults probably think of themselves as boyfriends and girlfriends. They may have lived together, but not for too long. Sometimes unmarried adults involved in a family law problem <span class="noglossary">will</span> have been together only for a very short while ― perhaps just long enough to make a baby.

#'''Unmarried spouses.''' Unmarried spouses are not legally married. Unmarried spouses have lived together in a loving relationship, and, for most purposes of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', must have lived together for at least two years or for less than two years if they have had a child together.

#'''Married spouses.''' Married spouses have been legally married, by a marriage commissioner or a religious official licensed to perform marriages, and their marriage has been registered with the government where they were married.

#'''Parents.''' Parents are people who have had a baby together, sometimes including people who helped as the donor of sperm, the donor of eggs or a surrogate mother. Parents may be unmarried adults, unmarried spouses, married spouses or complete strangers. What matters is that they have a child.   

'''Further reading:'''