Contractual Protections in Admission and Transfer

In a recently published Guidebook, the provincial government suggested that the admission agreements or contracts are future performance agreements and are regulated under British Columbia‘s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Contracts Regulation. This may give the public the impression they have certain legal protections in respect of residential care agreements.

In a strict legal sense, the admission agreements or contracts are future performance agreements: the service or final payment is not provided at the time of signing, but will be provided in the near future. However, these agreements have substantive differences from the typical future performance contracts in that the cluster of health and personal “services “ and “goods” provided in residential care are provided on an ongoing basis, may change as the person’s needs change, and can be essential to the person’s wellbeing. Some of the services are funded through government, others are not.

The agreements appear to share some characteristics with continuing services contract (a type of future performance contract), but at present they are not actually covered as such under the consumer protection law or regulations. There may be some consumer protection for the “optional services” in the contract. However, most concerns about care are expected to be brought to the attention of the Operator, and if that does not succeed to be taken to the local Patient Care Quality Office for resolution. There are important questions about the capacity of the Patient Care Quality Offices to resolve these types of matters that blend law and care. See Chapter 5 on Rights, Remedies and Problem Resolution.

No matter how the agreements are characterized, it is essential that people know in advance what they are contracting for in terms of services funded by the government or the Operator, and any costs for which are they are personally responsible to the Operator. In its public information, the government has identified that:

“contracts for residential care services must include a description of the range of services available at the facility. Care services (e.g., bathing and dressing) are provided to residents based on their individual care plans. Hospitality services (e.g., housekeeping, meals, recreational programming) are provided to all residents. The cost of services is based on a percentage of income for subsidized facilities, or an agreed upon amount in private pay facilities. All consumers are entitled to know, in advance, what they will be charged per month and must understand that they may refuse additional services if they do not wish to receive them [emphasis added]."

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by BC Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support, June 2014.

In law, the re-examination of a term of an order or agreement, usually to determine whether the term remains fair and appropriate in light of the circumstances prevailing at the time of the review. In family law, particularly the review of an order or agreement provided for the payment of spousal support. See "de novo," "family law agreements," "order" and "spousal support."

In contract law, the fulfillment of an obligation or duty arising from a contract.

In law, to formally deliver documents to a person in a manner that complies with the rules of court. Service may be ordinary (mailed or delivered to a litigant's address for service), personal (hand-delivered to a person), or substituted (performed in a way other than the rules normally require). See "address for delivery," "ordinary service," "personal service" and "substituted service."

You probably seeing this word used in terms like substantive law, substantive issues, or substantive orders, and it is used to identify aspects of these things (be they laws, legal issues, or court orders) that deal with the legal rights and duties of the parties involved in a case. Substantive law defines and regulates the rights and obligations of individuals, as opposed to procedural law, which outlines the methods and means by which substantive law is made and administered. In family law, substantive issues often involve matters such as guardianship and parenting arrangements relating to children, support, and the division of property. A substantive order from a judge will be a decision about a substantive issue, versus a procedural order which will be about how steps in the litigation should.

An agreement between two or more people, giving them obligations towards each other that can be enforced in court. A valid contract must be offered by one person and accepted by the other, and some form of payment or other thing of value must generally be exchanged between the parties to the contract.

A kind of legislation that provides supplemental rules for a particular act. Regulations are created and amended by the government, not by the legislature, and as a result the legislature has no say in how or what regulations are imposed by government. See "act."

In family law, this usually refers to one party obtaining a part of any property at issue before the property has been finally divided by court order or the parties' agreement, usually in order to help pay for that person's legal fees.

In law, a calculation of the allowable legal expenses of a party to a court proceeding, as determined by the Supreme Court Family Rules. The party who is most successful in a court proceeding is usually awarded their "costs" of the proceeding. See "account," "bill of costs," "Certificate of Costs or Expenses" and "lawyer's fees."