Family law is the area of law that deals with matters relating to the family and usually comes into play when intimate relationships break down. It covers topics such as separation, divorce, child custody, support payments, and more.
The BC government is planning changes to the Family Law Act, BC’s primary family law statute, with the aim of making the law work better for families. One change has already been brought into effect. As of Jan 15, 2024, companion animals (i.e. pets, not including service animals or livestock) are no longer treated as property when deciding who the pet will live with during separation or divorce. Instead, a variety of factors will be used to determine where a pet will live after separation or divorce, including:
-
Each person’s ability and willingness to care for the pet
-
The relationship the child has with the pet, and
-
If there are any risks or threats of violence or cruelty to the pet
Separating spouses are encouraged to make their own agreements about pets and can decide whether to jointly own the pet or give one spouse sole ownership. If spouses cannot make an agreement with regards to the pet’s care, they have the option to ask the court to decide, whether in Provincial or Supreme Court. You can read the news release for more information.
The government is also currently seeking feedback from the public to help shape proposed changes to the Family Law Act. There are multiple surveys available through which the public can give feedback, with an eye to gathering accounts of lived experience to better understand how the current law is working for British Columbians and how it can be changed to work better.
The Ministry of Attorney General has created four surveys to solicit feedback on the following aspects of the Family Law Act:
-
Family violence in relation to family law disputes and protection orders. Legal Aid’s website on Family Law can help you learn more about what family violence is and how protection orders work.
-
Obtaining assessments and reports to understand the view of the child in family law disputes. The JP Boyd on Family Law Clicklaw Wikibook has some information about how views of the child and their best interests are discussed by the Family Law Act and how assessment reports regarding needs of the child work
-
Feedback on Part 4 of the Family Law Act, which discusses who spends time with and cares for the children, including relocation, guardianship, parenting arrangements, and contact (i.e. the time a person who is not a guardian of the child has with the child)
-
Experiences of Indigenous people involved in family law disputes under the Act, specifically regarding the aspects listed above.
All the surveys can be found on the Ministry’s engagement page, along with an explanation of the work done so far. Each survey will be open until March 31, 2024. This page also includes a technical discussion paper with information and questions that may be of interest to those who work in the family law justice system.
The BC Law Institute is also seeking feedback on Part 3 of the Family Law Act, which deals with parentage. Their Parentage Law Reform Project Committee has put together a consultation paper with recommendations which take into account families with more than two parents, surrogacy, donors, and conception via assisted reproduction, along with other topics. Feedback for this aspect of the Act can be given via the Response Booklet or survey available on their website.
Please share these survey links with your patrons! Gathering feedback from the public will be helpful in shaping proposed changes to the Family Law Act and can help the law better serve families in BC.