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*The act of delivering a document such as a Notice of Family Claim to a person is known as personal service. There is a distinction between personal service and ordinary service in the ''Supreme Court Family Rules''; see Part 6 for details. In the ''Provincial Court (Family) Rules'', see Rule 3. | *The act of delivering a document such as a Notice of Family Claim to a person is known as personal service. There is a distinction between personal service and ordinary service in the ''Supreme Court Family Rules''; see Part 6 for details. In the ''Provincial Court (Family) Rules'', see Rule 3. | ||
'''SPOUSE''' | '''SPOUSE''' | ||
*''Family Law Act'': 3(1): a person is a spouse for the purposes of this Act if the person(a) is married to another person, or (b) has lived with another person in a marriage-like relationship, and: (i) has done so for a continuous period of at least 2 years, (ii) except in Parts 5 [''Property Division''] and 6 [''Pension Division''], has a child with the other person. | *''Family Law Act'': 3(1): a person is a spouse for the purposes of this Act if the person(a) is married to another person, or (b) has lived with another person in a marriage-like relationship, and: (i) has done so for a continuous period of at least 2 years, (ii) except in Parts 5 [''Property Division''] and 6 [''Pension Division''], has a child with the other person. | ||
*''Divorce Act'': “either of a man or woman who are married to each other”. | *''Divorce Act'': “either of a man or woman who are married to each other”. | ||
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**a) a person who is united to another person by a marriage that, although not a legal marriage, is valid by common law, or, | **a) a person who is united to another person by a marriage that, although not a legal marriage, is valid by common law, or, | ||
**b) a person who has lived and cohabited with another person, for a period of at least two years immediately before the other person’s death, in a marriage-like relationship, including a marriage-like relationship between persons of the same gender. | **b) a person who has lived and cohabited with another person, for a period of at least two years immediately before the other person’s death, in a marriage-like relationship, including a marriage-like relationship between persons of the same gender. | ||
*In British Columbia, the common law definition of a spouse evolves alongside the definition of a “marriage-like relationship”. The following are considerations from Richardson Estate (Re), 2014 BCSC 2162 which arose as guiding questions in the determination of whether a couple is engaged in a marriage-like relationship, though the approach of the courts has been to treat these as considerations in a holistic determination of marriage-like relationships rather than a comprehensive checklist: | |||
**(1) Shelter: | |||
***a. Did the parties live under the same roof? | |||
***b. What were the sleeping arrangements? | |||
***c. Did anyone else occupy or share the available accommodation? | |||
**(2) Sexual and Personal Behaviour: | |||
***a. Did the parties have sexual relations? If not, why not? | |||
***b. Did they maintain an attitude of fidelity to each other? | |||
***c. What were their feelings towards each other? | |||
***d. Did they communicate on a personal level? | |||
***e. Did they eat their meals together? | |||
***f. What, if anything, did they do to assist each other with problems or during illness? | |||
***g. Did they buy gifts for each other on special occasions? | |||
**(3) Services: what was the conduct and habit of the parties in relation to | |||
***a. Preparation of meals, | |||
***b. Washing and mending clothes, | |||
***c. Shopping, | |||
***d. Household maintenance, | |||
***e. Any other domestic services? | |||
**(4) Social: | |||
***a. Did they participate together or separately in neighbourhood and community activities? | |||
***b. What was the relationship and conduct of each of them towards members of their respective families and how did such families behave towards the parties? | |||
**(5) Societal: | |||
***a. What was the attitude and conduct of the community towards each of them and as a couple? | |||
**(6) Support (economic): | |||
***a. What were the financial arrangements between the parties regarding the provision of or contribution towards the necessities of life (food, clothing, shelter, recreation, etc.)? | |||
***b. What were the arrangements concerning the acquisition and ownership of property? | |||
***c. Was there any special financial arrangement between them which both agreed would be determinant of their overall relationship? | |||
**(7) Children: | |||
***a. What was the attitude and conduct of the parties concerning children? | |||
'''SUBSTITUTE SERVICE''' | '''SUBSTITUTE SERVICE''' |
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