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| {{REVIEWEDPLS | reviewer = [https://www.southcoastlaw.ca/renee-aldana/ Renée Aldana], South Coast Law Group|date= October 2018}} {{Dial-A-Law TOC|expanded = relationships}}
| | ==Signing Up for a BCeID Account== |
| '''Family law''' deals with the legal issues that come up when family relationships begin and end. Marriage, separation, divorce, parenting, support, dividing property, adoption, and family violence — all fall within this area of law. Learn the basics of family law.
| | ===What is BCeID?=== |
| | BCeID is an online account that allows individuals to access a wide variety of online services provided by the government of British Columbia, including Societies Online. A BCeID account is required to incorporate a non-profit society. |
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| {| class="wikitable"
| | ===What is Societies Online?=== |
| |align="left"|'''Alert!'''
| | Societies Online is the online portal for directors to manage the non-profit’s incorporation status, access foundational documents, and file annual reports. All non-profits in British Columbia are incorporated and managed using Societies Online. A BCeID account is required to use Societies Online. To sign in to Societies Online, go to https://www.bcregistry.ca/societies/. |
| This information has been updated to reflect [https://dialalaw.peopleslawschool.ca/the-divorce-act-is-changing changes to the ''Divorce Act''] that took effect on March 1, 2021.
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| |}
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| ==What you should know== | | ===How does someone create a BCeID Account?=== |
| | Before a director can access the society dashboard on Societies Online, the director must create or sign into their own BCeID account. There are three types of BCeID accounts: basic, personal, and business. Directors can access Societies Online using a ''basic'' BCeID account. Since a BCeID account is tied to an individual, directors and senior staff who need to access Societies Online must have their own BCeID account. To sign up for a basic BCeID account, go to https://www.bceid.ca/. Alternatively, go to https://www.bcregistry.ca/societies/ and click ''Register for Basic BCeID.'' |
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| ===Family law deals with family issues=== | | ==Creating a New Non-profit Society== |
| Family law problems often come up when people who’ve been in a relationship separate. But family law problems can also come up for people who’ve never lived together or dated but have had a child together. They can also affect people who haven’t been in a relationship at all, like a grandparent who wants more time with their grandchild.
| | ===How does someone incorporate a new non-profit society?=== |
| | In British Columbia, all non-profits are incorporated using Societies Online. While there are several steps to incorporation, the first step is to create a Basic BCeID account and sign in to Societies Online at https://www.bcregistry.ca/societies/. Once signed in to Societies Online, start the incorporation process by clicking ''Incorporate a New Society.'' |
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| Family law applies to people in same-sex relationships the same way it does to people in opposite-sex relationships. There’s no legal difference between opposite-sex relationships and gay, lesbian, and other LGBTQ+ relationships.
| | ==Accessing an Existing Non-profit Society== |
| | ===How does a director access an existing non-profit society on Societies Online?=== |
| | Sign in to Societies Online at https://www.bcregistry.ca/societies/. Once signed in to Societies Online, access an existing non-profit by clicking ''Access an Existing Society.'' Type either the full or partial legal name or registration number of the non-profit you wish to access and click ''Lookup.'' Search shows only the top five results. If your non-profit does not show up, you may need to further refine your search. |
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| This information provides an introduction to family law and the courts that deal with family law issues. It also explains some of the legal words and phrases used in family law.
| | Select the non-profit from the search results and enter the non-profit’s registry key. |
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| ===Common family law problems=== | | ==Registry Keys== |
| When a couple separates, they must make many decisions. For example:
| | ===How does a director get a registry key?=== |
| | Anybody registering, incorporating, amalgamating or otherwise being formed under the ''Societies Act'' will be asked to set up a registry key. |
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| * Does one person need financial help from the other? Can the other person afford to pay it? If so, how much can they afford to pay and for how long? This problem is about '''spousal support'''.
| | Non-profits incorporated under the old ''Society Act'' were sent an onboarding letter containing a temporary registry key. This letter was sent out prior to 28 November 2016. |
| * Who will stay in the family home? Can everybody still live there or does someone need to move out? This problem is about the '''use of family property'''.
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| * How will property be divided? How will debts be shared? This problem is about '''property and debt division'''.
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| * If there are children, where will they live? How will decisions about their care be made? How will the parents share the children’s time? This problem is about '''parenting after separation'''.
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| * Does child support need to be paid? If so, which parent should pay child support and how much? This problem is about '''child support'''.
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| * After parents separate, can one parent move away to another town or province, with or without the children? This problem is about '''relocation'''.
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| ===Different rules for different relationships=== | | ===What if the directors can't find or have lost the registry key?=== |
| Family law deals with all of these common family law problems and more. But not all family law problems are important to all families. It really depends on the type of relationship.
| | If the registry key has been lost, a new registry key can be requested from the Registrar. The Registrar can be contacted by [http://mailto:bcolhelp@gov.bc.ca emailing the registry] or by calling 1-877-526-1526 (8:30am to 4:30pm PST, except weekends and holidays). |
| | | __NOGLOSSARY__ |
| Family law is about four types of relationships:
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| * '''Married spouses'''. Married spouses are legally married and have to get '''divorced''' to end their legal relationship.
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| * '''Unmarried spouses'''. Unmarried spouses, also known as '''common-law partners''', have lived together in a “marriage-like relationship” for at least two years. Except when it comes to property and debt division, the term also includes people who’ve lived together for ''less than two years'' but have had a child together. Unmarried spouses ''don’t'' need a divorce to end their legal relationship. It ends when they separate.
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| * '''Parents'''. Parents are people who have had a child together, regardless of the nature of their relationship with each other. Parents can be married spouses, unmarried spouses, in a dating relationship, or not in a relationship with each other at all. Parents can also have had a child by adoption or assisted reproduction. Or they might have helped a family to have a child by assisted reproduction, by donating eggs or sperm, or by being a surrogate mother.
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| * '''Child’s caregivers'''. People who have a significant role in a child’s life but aren’t the child’s parents.
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| *
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| ===Family law legislation===
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| Two different family laws may apply, depending on the type of relationship.
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| ====Divorce Act====
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| The federal [http://Divorce%20Acthttps://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html ''Divorce Act''] applies throughout Canada. This law only applies to people who are married to each other or who used to be married to each other. It talks about: | |
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| * divorce
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| * parenting after separation, including how children’s time is shared between married spouses
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| * child support
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| * spousal support
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| * relocation
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| ====Family Law Act====
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| The [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/laws/stat/sbc-2011-c-25/latest/sbc-2011-c-25.html ''Family Law Act''] is a BC law that applies to married spouses, unmarried spouses, parents, and children’s caregivers. It talks about:
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| * parenting after separation, including how children’s time is shared between guardians and people who are not guardians
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| * child support
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| * spousal support
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| * dividing property and debt
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| * relocation
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| * court orders that might be needed to protect people
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| * court orders that might be needed to protect property
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| But, different parts of this law apply to different people, depending on the type of relationship:
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| * The parts that talk about child support and the care of children apply to everyone who is a parent or a guardian.
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| * The parts that talk about spousal support apply only to married and unmarried spouses.
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| * The parts that talk about dividing property and debt apply to married spouses as well as unmarried spouses, but only to those who’ve lived together in a marriage-like relationship ''for at least two years''.
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| ====Understanding the legislation====
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| This chart shows which law applies to whom and for what purpose:
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| {| class="wikitable"
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| ! !! '''Married spouses''' !! '''Unmarried spouses''' !! '''Parents''' !! '''Child’s caregivers'''
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| | ''Divorce Act'' || Yes || No || No || No
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| | Divorce || Yes || No || No || No
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| | ''Family Law Act'' || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes
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| | Guardianship of children || Yes || Yes || Yes || No
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| | Making decisions about children || Yes || Yes || Yes || No
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| | Parenting time and contact with children || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes
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| | Child support || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes
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| | Spousal support || Yes || Yes || No || No
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| | Dividing property and debt || Yes || Yes, for some* || No || No
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| | Orders protecting people || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes
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| | Orders protecting property || Yes || Yes, for some* || No || No
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| |}
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| <sup>*</sup>Orders about dividing property and debt and protecting property can come into play for unmarried spouses, but only if they've lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years.
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| ===Resolving family law problems===
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| You can deal with family law problems in ways that don’t involve going to court. Options include:
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| * '''Negotiation'''. You and your ex talk about your legal problems and try to agree on as many of those problems as possible.
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| * '''Mediation'''. You and your ex meet with a trained, neutral person (called a mediator) who helps you talk to each other and agree on as many of your legal problems as possible.
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| * '''Collaborative negotiation'''. You and your ex hire specially-trained lawyers and agree to do everything you can to resolve your legal problems without going to court.
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| * '''Arbitration'''. You and your ex hire a trained, neutral person (called an arbitrator) to make a decision resolving your legal problems. Hiring an arbitrator is like hiring a private judge.
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| * '''Parenting coordination'''. If you and your ex already have a plan about parenting, you can hire a parenting coordinator to help resolve continuing problems about parenting. A parenting coordinator is a neutral person who tries to help you agree on a resolution, like a mediator, but they can make a decision, like an arbitrator, if you can’t agree.
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| For more on resolving family law issues outside of court, [[Mediation and Collaborative Practice|see our information on mediation, collaborative negotiation, and arbitration]].
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| If you can’t resolve your problems using these processes, you may have to go to court to have a judge make a decision.
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| ==Going to court==
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| There are two courts that deal with family law issues, Family Court and Supreme Court.
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| '''Family Court''' is a division of the BC Provincial Court. It doesn’t charge court filing fees and its rules and forms are simplified for people who use the court. Family Court can deal only with issues under the ''Family Law Act'', such as guardianship, child care, child support, and spousal support. For more on this court, [[Family Court|see our information on Family Court]].
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| '''Supreme Court''' rules are more complicated and the court charges fees to file certain documents and schedule certain hearings. But Supreme Court can deal with issues under both the ''Divorce Act'' and the ''Family Law Act''. So Supreme Court can deal with all the same issues as Family Court, plus divorce and the division of property and debt.
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| {| class="wikitable"
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| !style="width: 25%" align="center"|
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| !style="width: 10%" align="center"|Supreme Court
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| !style="width: 10%" align="center"|Family Court
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| |-
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| |align="left"|''Family Law Act''||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |align="left"|''Divorce Act''||align="center"| X ||align="center"|
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| |align="left"|Divorce||align="center"| X ||align="center"|
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| |align="left"|Custody (''Divorce Act'')||align="center"| X ||align="center"|
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| |align="left"|Guardianship (''Family Law Act'')||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |align="left"|Access (''Divorce Act'')||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |align="left"|Parental responsibilitis and parenting time (''Family Law Act'')||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |align="left"|Contact with a child (''Family Law Act'')||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |align="left"|Child support||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |align="left"|Spousal support||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |align="left"|Property and debt||align="center"| X ||align="center"|
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| |align="left"|Protection orders||align="center"| X ||align="center"| X
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| |}
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| ===Key words and phrases in family law===
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| Here are definitions of some key words and phrases used in family law.
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| '''Separation''' is the breakdown of a romantic relationship. Separation usually means a couple have moved out and are living apart from each other, but it is possible to be separated while continuing to live under the same roof. [[Separation and Separation Agreements|See our information on separation and separation agreements]] and [[Deciding Who Will Move Out When You Separate|deciding who will move out]].
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| '''Divorce''' is the legal end of a marriage by a court order. [[Requirements for Divorce and Annulment|We explain the requirements for divorce]].
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| '''Child''' is any person under the age of 19, the age of majority in British Columbia. It may include an adult child for the purposes of child support. The ''Divorce Act'' uses the term “child of the marriage.”
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| '''Parent''' is someone who is the birth parent of a child, the adopted parent of a child, a parent by assisted reproduction, or, in some cases, a donor of eggs or sperm and a surrogate mother.
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| Several terms are involved when talking of who the children should live with and how decisions about their care will be made. Under the ''Divorce Act'', this is called '''custody'''. Under the ''Family Law Act'', this is called '''parenting arrangements''', which includes guardianship, parental responsibilities, and parenting time.
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| '''Guardianship''' is the right of a parent (or a person appointed by the court) to care for a child and have parental responsibilities. '''Parental responsibilities''' are decisions about the upbringing and care of a child made by the child’s guardians. '''Parenting time''' is a guardian’s time with a child, usually fixed by a schedule.
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| The time a person who is not a guardian has with a child is called '''contact''' under ''Family Law Act'' and '''access''' under the ''Divorce Act''.
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| For more on these concepts involving care of the children, [[Custody and Access, Guardianship, Parenting Arrangements, and Contact|see our information on custody and access, guardianship, parenting arrangements, and contact]].
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| '''Child support''' is money paid by one parent to the other for the financial support of their child. [[Child Support (No. 117)|We explain child support]].
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| '''Spousal support''' is money one spouse pays to the other to help with expenses. [[Spousal Support (No. 123)|We explain spousal support]].
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| ==Get help==
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| ===Who can help===
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| The wikibook ''JP Boyd on Family Law'', hosted by Courthouse Libraries BC, provides comprehensive information on family law, including sample court forms and how-to information.
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| * [https://wiki.clicklaw.bc.ca/index.php/JP_Boyd_on_Family_Law Visit website]
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| Legal Aid BC’s '''Family Law in BC website''' features self-help information for people in family disputes.
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| * [http://familylaw.lss.bc.ca/ Visit website]
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| {{Dial-A-Law_Navbox|type=families}}
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| {{Dial-A-Law Copyright}}
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| [[Category:Dial-A-Law]]
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