Difference between revisions of "Parents"

Under section 40(1) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', only people who are the guardians of a child have ''parental responsibilities'' and ''parenting time'' in relation to that child. People who are not the guardians of a child may have ''contact'' with the child but do not have the right to participate in making decisions about the raising of the child or the right to get information from the important people involved in the child's life, such as doctors, teachers, counsellors, coaches, and so on.

Under section 39, the people who are presumed to be the guardians of a child are:

*the child's parents, as long as they lived together,

*a person who is a parent of a child under an assisted reproduction agreement, and

*a parent who "regularly cares" for the child.

In other words, if a couple has had a child but never lived together, the parent who does not live with the child is not presumed to be a guardian of the child unless they ''regularly care'' for the child.  

A parent who isn't a guardian can become a guardian if the child's other guardians, who may be just the other parent, agree that the parent should be a guardian. If the parents can't agree on this, then the parent who isn't a guardian has three choices. They:

*must settle for having contact with the child and not being able to participate in parenting the child,

*must prove that they ''regularly care'' for the child, in  <span class="noglossary">order</span> to be recognized as a guardian of the child who is entitled to participate in parenting the child, or

*must apply to be appointed as the guardian of a child under section 51 of the ''Family Law Act''.

Applications for appointment as guardian are difficult, as the person who is making the application must provide a special kind of affidavit that talks about the children who are and have been in the person's care, any civil or criminal court proceedings that might impact on the safety of a child, and any history of involvement with the Ministry for Children and Family Development. The person must also provide recent MCFD and police records checks. Applications for appointment as a guardian are discussed in more detail in the [[Guardianship,_Parenting_Arrangements_and_Contact|Guardianship, Parenting Arrangements and Contact]] section of the [[Children]] chapter, under the heading "[[Guardianship,_Parenting_Arrangements_and_Contact#Being_a_guardian_and_becoming_a_guardian|Being a guardian and becoming a guardian]]."

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most important thing to know about government benefits is that most federal legislation defines a ''spouse'' as someone who has been in a cohabiting relationship for at least one year, as opposed to British Columbia's legislation which generally requires a two-year cohabiting relationship to qualify. As a result, someone in a relationship of at least one year may qualify for any federal benefits that depend on a spousal relationship, although they probably won't qualify for provincial benefits. People in a relationship of less than one year will not usually qualify for any benefits at all.