The primary objective is to ensure, so far as practicable, that the children will enjoy a reasonably consistent, and reasonably adequate, standard of living, unaffected, so far as is practicable, by changes in the relationships among their parents and step-parents (See ''B (C) v B (M)'', [2014] CarswellBC 1212 (BCPC)). It is also important to note that any term purporting to exclude support obligations is likely to be found invalid on public policy grounds. The Court will seldom uphold an amount lower than the guidelines, even if the parties agree on it, unless there is an appropriate reason to approve it, such as some other arrangement that directly benefits the child. It is important to note that the Court may refuse an application for a Divorce Order if the Court is not satisfied that appropriate arrangements have been made for the support of the parties’ children. See [[Spousal and Child Support (3:VIII) | Section VIII: Spousal and Child Support]]. ==== c) Spousal Support ==== The law relating to contracting out of spousal support is complex. Clients should seek professional legal advice before entering into an agreement for spousal support. Under the ''FLA'', spousal support agreements that are filed with a Court registry will be treated as if an order of the Court (''FLA'', s 163), but can be set aside for lack of procedural fairness, such as failure to disclose, where one party has taken advantage of the other, or where one spouse did not appreciate the consequences of the agreement; they can also be set aside if the Court finds that the agreement is significantly unfair (see s 164 of the ''FLA'').See [[Spousal and Child Support (3:VIII) | Section VIII: Spousal and Child Support]]. ==== d) Void Conditions ==== Marriage contracts sometimes incorporate terms that are not enforceable at law. For example, a clause stating, “the husband shall do all the cooking” is a contract for personal services and is therefore not enforceable. A breach of such an agreement cannot be grounds for divorce.  '''NOTE:''' Consider whether a marriage agreement should contain a clause stating: “Anything held to be void/voidable will be severed from the agreement leaving the rest of the agreement intact”. This prevents the whole of a marriage agreement being voided by the inclusion of void conditions or clauses. See ''Clarke v Clarke'' (1991), 31 R.F.L. (3d) 383 (BCCA).  '''NOTE:''' Consider whether any agreement should contain a clause stating that the greater detail in the Agreement does not merge with any later Order. This ensures that if a Divorce Order is granted at a later date, the terms of the Agreement continue to apply unless expressly stated otherwise. This is more applicable to Separation Agreements.