Talk:Basic Principles of Property and Debt in Family Law

The question of whether or not property, once determined to be excluded, can nevertheless be divided is dealt with in s.96 which has been reworded to set out a test considering the court's ability to order division of family proerty or debt outside of British Columbia, sacrifices that may have been made by parties during the relationship, and whether or not it would be significantly unfair to divide the excluded property.

The amendment also deals with an area of law that had not previously been dealt with before: the ownership of family pets, which the law refers to as companion animals. Companion animals are defined as animals that are not guide dogs or service dogs, animals kept as part of a business; or animals kept for agricultural purposes. The law now allows courts to make orders saying who gets to keep the pet or pets but cannot order the parties to share ownership or to own them jointly. When making the order, the court must consider factors such as the history of how the animal was acquired and who cared for the animal. If parties are able to make an agreement about the pet, they may agree to jointly own or share possession of a companion animal, or give exclusive ownership or possession of a companion animal to one of them.