Difference between revisions of "Parenting Orders, Guardianship, and Contact (3:XI)"

{{REVIEWED LSLAP | date= July 18, 2019}}

A written agreement about custody or guardianship may be given the force of a court order under section 44 of the ''FLA''. Under the ''FRA'', the relevant sections were 121 and 122. Any orders made under the ''FRA'' are still in force. An order made under the ''DA'' can be registered for enforcement in any other province’s Supreme Court registry.

The Provincial Court has jurisdiction to deal with all matters relating to custody, guardianship and access to children, and the ''Child, Family and Community Service Act''. This includes restraining orders but does not include orders restraining entry to the matrimonial home. A written agreement about custody or guardianship may be given the force of a court order, or s 44 of the ''FLA'', if it is filed in court.  

* (f) the ability of each person who is a guardian or seeks guardianship of the child, or who has or seeks parental responsibilities, parenting time or contact with the child, to exercise his or her responsibilities;

* (h) whether the actions of a person responsible for family violence indicate that the person may be impaired in his or her ability to care for the child and meet the child's needs;

:'''NOTE:''' “Custody” is a term that only appears in the ''DA'' and so only applies to claims that are proceeding in Supreme Court under the ''DA''.  

“Split custody” is a term used by the ''Federal Child Support Guidelines'', and not by either the ''DA'' or the ''FLA''. On rare occasions, courts will order siblings to live with separate parents. This is usually a drastic solution, ordered only after a ''FLA'' section 211 report (a court-ordered report respecting the needs of a child, the views of a child, and the ability and willingness of one of the parents to satisfy the needs of a child) is submitted to the Court. A split custody order will affect child support.

Relocation is defined and explained under Division 6 of the ''FLA''. It considers relocation of a child that can reasonably be expected to have a significant impact on the child’s relationship with his/her guardian(s) or other adults with which the child has a significant relationship (s 65). The guardian intending to relocate with the child must provide 60 day written notice to all other guardians and persons having contact with the child (s 66). The notice must include the date of the relocation, and the name of the proposed location. Exemptions to these requirements can be granted by the Court if they are satisfied that the notice cannot be given without incurring a risk of family violence by another guardian or a person having contact with the child or there is no ongoing relationship between the child and the other guardian or the person having contact with the child (s 66(2)).   

"Access" is the term under the ''DA''. Under the ''FLA'', it is called "Parenting Time" for guardians, or "Contact" for non-guardians.  

Proceedings regarding parenting arrangements or contact that have been started, but not determined, before the ''FLA'' is in force, do not need special transition sections. Section 4 of the ''Interpretation Act'' provides a default rule that the Act will be used upon it becoming effective, so cases started under the ''FRA'' will be determined under the ''FLA''.  

Unless a parent poses a risk to the safety or well-being of the child, he or she will usually be allowed access or visiting rights. Courts can make an order for access and may view a custodial parent who denies access as acting against the best interests of the child.  

B.C. courts are required to enforce extra-provincial orders (s 75) with certain exceptions (s 76). Such exceptions include situations where the child would suffer serious harm if he/she was returned to the guardian or leaving British Columbia (s 76(1)(a)).   

*4. A criminal records check.

At the time of birth, the two parents of a child are presumed to be its birth mother and its biological father unless the child was born as a result of assisted reproduction (section 26, ''FLA''). Assisted reproduction has, at present, always included the use of one or more of donated eggs, donated sperm, and the cooperation of a woman who is willing to carry the baby to term. Section 24 of the FLA clarifies that a donor of eggs or sperm is not the parent of a child on the basis of their biological contribution alone – donors cannot be made to pay child support unless there is some other connection to the child which justifies holding that the person is a parent under the FLA. If a donor wishes to be regarded as a parent, written agreements can be drafted and signed before the child’s birth which would substantiate their parental claim under the FLA. Unlike donors, surrogate mothers are presumed to be a parent of the child under the FLA since they are the birth mother. However, this presumption can be overcome by the intended parents and the surrogate mother signing a written agreement before the child is conceived which states that the surrogate mother will not be a parent to that child. Without such an agreement, the surrogate mother and biological father would be the presumed parents.

*(a) making day-to-day decisions affecting the child and having day-to-day care, control and supervisionof the child;