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FAMILY RELATIONS ACT..................
1
Part
1 — Definitions and Jurisdiction......
5
Definitions...
5
Family
advocate......
5
Family
court counsellor....
5
Legal
capacity
6
Supreme
Court jurisdiction...
6
Provincial
Court jurisdiction...
6
Concurrent
proceedings.
7
Joining
proceedings.
7
Interim
orders
7
Consent
orders.......................
7
Incorporation
of terms of agreements in court orders.
7
Enforcement
of Supreme Court orders by Provincial Court........
7
Order
need not be served to be enforced.......
8
Order
under appeal remains in force.........
8
Expert
witnesses in family matters
8
Appeals
and commencement of other proceedings.
8
Order
for relief on behalf of child..............
8
Intervention
by Attorney General or other person
8
Spouse
compellable as witness.........
9
Variation
or rescission of order.............
9
Part
2 — Child Custody, Access and Guardianship...........................
9
Definitions
for Part..
9
Who
is entitled to notice of proceeding...
9
Roles
of Public Trustee and director as guardians.....
9
Best
interests of child are paramount....
9
Authority
of guardian.....
10
Extended
references..
10
Parental
guardianship
10
Guardianship
agreement..
10
Loss
of guardian.....
11
Jurisdiction
of courts to make or give effect to guardianship
11
Security......
11
Referral
of questions to court...........
12
Resignation
of guardian.....
12
Persons
who may exercise custody......
12
Jurisdiction
to make custody or access orders.........
12
Civil
enforcement of custody rights.....................
12
Order
restraining harassment
12
Order
prohibiting interference with child...
13
Access
to information
13
Order
of court for access to information
14
Confidentiality.....................
14
Part
3 — Extraprovincial Custody and Access Orders
14
Definitions
for Part
14
Jurisdiction
15
Jurisdiction
— serious harm
15
Declining
jurisdiction.
15
Interim
powers of court.......
15
Enforcement
of extraprovincial orders.........
16
Superseding
order — material change in circumstances.....................
16
Superseding
order — serious harm
16
Further
evidence.....
16
Referral
to court...........
17
True
copy of extraprovincial order...........
17
Court
may take notice of foreign law.
17
Part
4 — International Child Abduction.........................
17
International
Child Abduction.
17
Part
5 — Matrimonial Property..........
18
Equality
of entitlement to family assets on marriage breakup......
18
Declaratory
judgment....
18
Family
asset defined.......
18
Excluded
business assets.........
18
Onus
of proof.....................
18
Marriage
agreements
19
Canada
Pension Plan
19
Filing
in land title office...
19
Enforceability
of interest in property.....
20
Judicial
reapportionment on basis of fairness.......
20
Determination
of ownership, possession or division......
21
Interim
orders.....................
21
Variation
of marriage settlements
21
Application
of this Part......
22
Part
6 — Division of Pension Entitlement.....
22
Application
of Part..............
23
Local
plans: limited members.....
23
Local
plans: division of an unmatured defined contribution plan.............
23
Local
plans: division of an unmatured defined benefit plan.............
23
Local
plans: division of an unmatured hybrid plan
24
Supreme
Court retains a discretion...
24
Local
plans: benefit split of a matured pension......
24
Division
of an extraprovincial plan.............
24
Death
of a member or limited member.....................
25
Transfer
of the commuted value of a separate pension or a share of a pension......
25
Agreements
25
Administrative
costs...........
26
Information
from plan....
26
Trust
of survivor benefits......
26
Adjustment
of member’s pension......
26
Plan
and administrator not liable....
26
Power
to make regulations.
27
Part
7 — Maintenance and Support Obligations....
27
Obligation
to support child
27
Obligation
to support spouse........
27
Obligation
to support parent.....................
28
Application
for an order......
28
Failing
to comply with rules respecting disclosure of information
28
Order
for support and maintenance
28
Consent
orders.....................
29
Priority........
29
Parentage...
29
Presumptions
of paternity
29
Variation
proceedings
30
Enforcement
powers of Provincial Court and Supreme Court.....................
31
Enforcement
officers.......
31
Powers
of enforcement officer.........
31
Order
of court for access to information
31
Part
8 — Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders.............
32
Final
orders of reciprocating state............
33
Provisional
orders.........
33
Parentage...
34
Confirmation
orders.........
34
Choice
of law and proof of foreign enactment..
34
Variation
or rescission of registered orders or final orders.........
35
Effect
of variation or rescission of orders of British Columbia....
36
Enforcement
36
Remedies
of state............
36
Duties
of the Attorney General.......
36
Documents
from reciprocating states..........
36
Conversion
to Canadian currency.....
37
Translation
37
Appeals......
37
Evidentiary
matters........
37
Transmission
of documents if respondent leaves British Columbia....
37
Reciprocating
states..........
38
Saving........
38
Part
9 — Procedure and Agreements...
38
Proceedings
to be heard summarily...
38
Property
agreements
38
Enforcement
of agreement as court order.
38
Enforcement
of agreements filed in Supreme Court.....................
39
Part
10 — General.........................
39
Remedies....
39
Temporary
property relief.....................
39
Postponement
of sale.........
40
Restriction
of contact.......
40
Responsibility
for debts of former spouse.....................
40
Offences.....
40
Power
to make regulations.
40
1 (1) In this Act:
“child” means a person who is under
the age of 19 years;
“child support guidelines” means the
child support guidelines established by regulation under section 129 for the
calculation of maintenance awards;
“court” means the Provincial Court
exercising the jurisdiction referred to in section 6, or the Supreme Court;
“guardian” means the person who has
all the powers and duties under section 25 respecting a child;
“guardian of the estate of a child”
means the person who has all the powers and duties under section 25 respecting
the estate of a child;
“guardian of the person of a child”
means the person who has all the powers and duties under section 25 respecting
the person of a child;
“parent” includes
(a)
a guardian or guardian of the person of a child, or
a stepparent of a child if
(i) the stepparent contributed to the
support and maintenance of the child for at least one year, and
(ii)the proceeding under this Act by or
against the stepparent is commenced within one year after the date the
stepparent last contributed to the support and maintenance of the child;
“spouse” means a person who
(a)
is married to another person,
(b)
except under Parts 5 and 6, lived with another person in a marriage-like
relationship for a period of at least 2 years if the application under this Act
is made within one year after they ceased to live together and, for the purposes
of this Act, the marriage-like relationship may be between persons of the same
gender,
(c)
applies for an order under this Act within 2 years of the making of an
order
(i)
for dissolution of the person’s marriage,
(ii)
for judicial separation, or
(iii)
declaring the person’s marriage to be null and void, or
(d)
is a former spouse for the purpose of proceedings to enforce or vary an
order.
(2) For the purpose of paragraph (b) of
the definition of “parent” in subsection (1), a person is the stepparent of
a child if the person and a parent of the child are or were married, or lived
together in a marriage-like relationship for a period of at least 2 years and,
for the purposes of this Act, the marriage-like relationship may be between
persons of the same gender.
2 (1) The Attorney General may appoint a
person who is a member in good standing of the Law Society of British Columbia
to be a family advocate.
(2) Despite any other Act and subject to
the law of Canada, a family advocate may attend a proceeding under this Act or
respecting the
(a)
adoption of a child,
(b)
guardianship of a child, guardianship of the person of a child or
guardianship of the estate of a child,
(c)
custody of, maintenance for or access to a child,
(d)
alleged commission by a child of a Provincial or federal offence, or
(e)
Child, Family and Community Service Act, and may intervene at any stage
in the proceeding to act as counsel for the interests and welfare of the child.
3 (1) The Attorney General may appoint a
person to be a family court counsellor.
(2)
A family court counsellor
(a)
if he or she has knowledge of a dispute that has given or may give rise
to a proceeding described in section 2 or respecting a similar family matter,
may offer the parties to the dispute any advice and guidance that, in the
opinion of the family court counsellor, will assist in resolving the dispute,
and
(b)
may offer to refer parties involved in those disputes to a public or
private family counselling service or agency if, in the opinion of the family
court counsellor, the service or agency is qualified to assist in resolving the
dispute.
(3)
Subject to the law of Canada, if
(a)
a family court counsellor receives under subsection (2) evidence,
information or a communication in confidence from a person who is a party to the
proceeding, or from a child, and the person who gave the evidence, information
or communication to the family court counsellor under subsection (2) does not
consent to the family court counsellor disclosing the evidence, information or
communication, the family court counsellor must not disclose the evidence,
information or communication in a proceeding in a court or tribunal, and a
person must not examine the family court counsellor for the purpose of
compelling him or her to disclose that evidence, information or communication.
(4)
Despite the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other
than section 44 (2) and (3) of that Act, no person may disclose information
received by a family court counsellor in the course of providing services under
subsection (2) of this section unless the person who provided the information
first consents to the disclosure of the information.
(5)
Subsection (4) does not apply to
(a)
personal information, as defined in the Freedom of Informati | 
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