Difference between revisions of "Changing Family Law Orders and Agreements Involving Children"

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 Whenever the court is asked to make an order about guardianship, parenting arrangements, and contact, s. 37(1) requires the court to consider only the best interests of the child. The factors to be taken into <span class="noglossary">account</span> in considering the best interests of the child are set out at s. 37(2).
-Beyond this, it's difficult to say what the court will consider when changing orders about guardianship, parenting arrangements, or contact with a child. The ''Family Law Act'' is too new for us to know how the court will handle questions like these.
+In  [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2016/2016bcca87/2016bcca87.html ''Williamson v. Williamson''] the Court of Appeal confirmed that the test that applies to applications for variations in parenting time arrangements under the ''Family Law Act'' is the same test that applies to the variation of custody arrangements under the ''Divorce Act''. That test is the “material change in circumstances” test, which is as follows:
+# a change in the condition, means, needs or circumstances of the child and/or the ability of the parents to meet the needs of the child;
+# which materially affects the child; and
+# which was either not foreseen or could not have been reasonably contemplated by the judge who made the initial order.
 ====Setting aside agreements====

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