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→Time limits
(There are no time limits for claims about parenting children and the payment of child support in section 198. However, for claims about parenting, the child must be under the age of 19, and for claims about child support, the child must still be qualified to benefit from the payment support. See the [[Child Support]] chapter for more information.)
However, the two-year time limit is ''suspended '' — it ''stops running'' — while you are working with a qualified "family dispute resolution professional" in one of the "family dispute resolution" processes the ''Family Law Act'' names. Under section 1 of the act, "family dispute resolution professional" includes:
#family justice counsellors;
#collaborative negotiation.
There are two things to knowabout the suspension of time limits under section 198(5). First, the court won't let you get away with starting mediation, for example, and then walking away from the table for a couple of months or a couple of years. You can do that if you want, of course, but it's not going to suspend the running of the two-year time limit. You need to be ''actively participating'' in one of the identified family dispute resolution processes if you're going to count on the time limit being suspended.
Second, the "family dispute resolution professional" you're working with needs to be a ''qualified'' family dispute resolution professional. If your family dispute resolution professional doesn't meet the requirements, the time limit won't be suspended. Those requirements are set out in sections 4, 5 and 6 of the [http://canlii.ca/t/8rdx Family Law Act Regulation]. It is really important that you ask the family dispute resolution professional you are working with whether they meet the requirements of the Family Law Act Regulation! However, if your family dispute resolution professional is a lawyer, you can easily check their status through the Law Society of British Columbia's [https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/lsbc/apps/lkup/mbr-search.cfm lawyer directory]. The directory
An unmarried spouse who has a child can face a claim for child support until the child reaches the age of 19, and possibly longer. Child support is mostly about being a parent, not being a spouse.