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Difference between revisions of "The Law for Family Matters"
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Because statutes and regulations have such a big impact on how we live our lives, they are relatively easy to find and relatively easy to understand. Unlike the common law, legislation is written down and organized. All of the current federal statutes can be found on the [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/ website of the Department of Justice]. All of the current provincial statutes can be found on the [http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/content?xsl=/templates/toc.xsl/group=A/lastsearch=/ BC Laws website] of the Queen's Printer. | Because statutes and regulations have such a big impact on how we live our lives, they are relatively easy to find and relatively easy to understand. Unlike the common law, legislation is written down and organized. All of the current federal statutes can be found on the [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/ website of the Department of Justice]. All of the current provincial statutes can be found on the [http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/content?xsl=/templates/toc.xsl/group=A/lastsearch=/ BC Laws website] of the Queen's Printer. | ||
[http://www.canlii.org CanLII's website] also posts all current federal and provincial laws | [http://www.canlii.org CanLII's website] also posts all current federal and provincial laws. It has the advantage of letting you see older versions of some laws, and you can search for cases that refer to specific statutes or regulations. | ||
===The division of powers=== | ===The division of powers=== | ||
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The governments' different areas of legislative authority are set out in [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-4.html#h-18 ss. 91] and [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-4.html#h-19 92] of the ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-1.html Constitution Act, 1867]''. The federal government can only make laws about the subjects set out in s. 91 and the provincial governments can only make laws about the subjects set out in s. 92. | The governments' different areas of legislative authority are set out in [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-4.html#h-18 ss. 91] and [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-4.html#h-19 92] of the ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-1.html Constitution Act, 1867]''. The federal government can only make laws about the subjects set out in s. 91 and the provincial governments can only make laws about the subjects set out in s. 92. | ||
From a family law perspective, this means that only the federal government has the authority to make laws about marriage and divorce, while the provincial governments have the exclusive authority to make laws about marriage ceremonies, the division of property and civil rights. As a result, the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]'' talks about divorce and issues that are related to divorce, like the care of children, child support and spousal support. The provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' talks about the care of children, child support and spousal support as well, but also talks about the division of family property and family debt, the management of children's property and determining the parentage of children. | From a family law perspective, this means that only the federal government has the authority to make laws about marriage and divorce, while the provincial governments have the exclusive authority to make laws about marriage ceremonies, the division of property, and civil rights. As a result, the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]'' talks about divorce and issues that are related to divorce, like the care of children, child support and spousal support. The provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' talks about the care of children, child support and spousal support as well, but also talks about the division of family property and family debt, the management of children's property, and determining the parentage of children. | ||
===The doctrine of paramountcy=== | ===The doctrine of paramountcy=== | ||
| Line 91: | Line 91: | ||
===Family law legislation=== | ===Family law legislation=== | ||
The two most important pieces of legislation relating to family are, as you <span class="noglossary">will</span> 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: | The two most important pieces of legislation relating to family matters are, as you <span class="noglossary">will</span> 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: | |||
#divorce, | #divorce, | ||
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#determining the parentage of children, | #determining the parentage of children, | ||
#guardianship, parental responsibilities and parenting time, | #guardianship, parental responsibilities, and parenting time, | ||
#contact with a child, | #contact with a child, | ||
#child support, | #child support, | ||
#spousal support, | #spousal support, | ||
#family property, family debt and excluded property, | #family property, family debt, and excluded property, | ||
#children's property, | #children's property, | ||
#protection orders, and | #protection orders, and | ||
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#disclosure of financial information. | #disclosure of financial information. | ||
Because family law issues can be very broad and touch on other areas of law, such as contract law or company law, other pieces of legislation may also apply to a problem. For example, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/8481 Name Act]'' allows a spouse to change her name following a divorce, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84g5 Adoption Act]'' deals with adoption, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/8456 Land Title Act]'' deals with real property, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/848q Partition of Property Act]'' allows a co-owner of real property to force the sale of the property, and the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84ld Business Corporations Act]'' deals with the incorporation of companies, shareholders' loans and other things that may be important if a spouse owns or controls a company. | Because family law issues can be very broad and touch on other areas of law, such as contract law or company law, other pieces of legislation may also apply to a problem. For example, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/8481 Name Act]'' allows a spouse to change her name following a divorce, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84g5 Adoption Act]'' deals with adoption, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/8456 Land Title Act]'' deals with real property, the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/848q Partition of Property Act]'' allows a co-owner of real property to force the sale of the property, and the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84ld Business Corporations Act]'' deals with the incorporation of companies, shareholders' loans, and other things that may be important if a spouse owns or controls a company. | ||
==Choosing the law and the court== | ==Choosing the law and the court== | ||
