Difference between revisions of "The Law for Family Matters"

The governments' different areas of legislative authority are set out in [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-4.html#h-18 ss. 91] and [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-4.html#h-19 92] of the ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-1.html Constitution Act, 1867]''. The federal government can only make laws about the subjects set out in s. 91 and the provincial governments can only make laws about the subjects set out in s. 92.  

From a family law perspective, this means that only the federal government has the authority to make laws about marriage and divorce, while the provincial governments have the exclusive authority to make laws about marriage ceremonies, the division of property, and civil rights. As a result, the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]'' talks about divorce and issues that are related to divorce, like the care of children, child support and spousal support. The provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' talks about the care of children, child support and spousal support as well, but also talks about the division of family property and family debt, the management of children's property, and determining the parentage of children.