BC Family Law Resource Blog

You people want it both ways...criminal implicatio...

2012-05-21T22:31:00.336-07:00

You people want it both ways...criminal implications for an order that does not have evidence that meets the criminal court standards before the order or after the protection order is issued.
I think it`s none of your business being in the criminal court for civil matter!!...have too much power then!!
When the original action was not criminal and if the same action or behavior that brought the order in the first place is now criminal.Either you break the criminal code or you don`t...way to much control!!
What is the standard for imposing a protection order,does the court have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt concerning evidence before issuing an order??

I think that the protection orders under the FLA a...

2012-05-21T20:35:48.320-07:00

I think that the protection orders under the FLA aren't too different than restraining orders under the FRA in terms of the sort of evidence required to make the order. The difference is that there is no way to enforce FLA protection orders except under a provision of the Criminal Code, s. 127, that makes it an offence to disobey a court order.

I have a concern with respect to protection orders...

2012-05-21T20:27:18.258-07:00

I have a concern with respect to protection orders:if the actions or behavior caused a protection to be issued by FAMILY LAW COURTS because the behavior was not criminal.
So I ask how is it that the same behavior is now criminally enforced after a protection order is issued based on NO criminal evidence or proper use of in the criminal courts.
Protection are more about judgement(in my opinion)of the court than evidence needed in the criminal court.
When the original actions or behavior are not prosecuted or order issued under the criminal code,but may have criminal implications in the future based on what original evidence?
So more caution about issuing a protection order needed to be taken compared to now enforced restraining orders(FRA)to protect the rights of citizen under the Charter of Canada!!
Maybe protection orders should be only issued by criminal court and have the proper evidence need under the criminal code,not some politician(s) or career civil servant(s)idea of justice!!

Law nerd here. Always wondered, "Why 19 Nov. ...

2012-05-16T14:16:06.646-07:00

Law nerd here. Always wondered, "Why 19 Nov. 1858?" Thanks!

Fantastic! Quite literally.

2012-05-16T10:10:36.671-07:00

Fantastic! Quite literally.

You are entirely correct; I meant two years from t...

2012-05-15T18:35:53.615-07:00

You are entirely correct; I meant two years from the date the bill became law in November 2011, and that'd be November 2013. Math is obviously not my strong suit. I've made the change, thank you for pointing out the error.

Thanks for clarifying this, Jean-Paul, though I th...

2012-05-15T15:10:17.684-07:00

Thanks for clarifying this, Jean-Paul, though I think you mean to say that as long as the act comes into force on or before 24 November 2013, not 2014 (which is 2 1/2 years from now).

You can find the answer on my website, in first ch...

2012-05-12T17:29:33.838-07:00

You can find the answer on my website, in first chapter in the Family Agreements section, under the heading "Elements of a Family Law Agreement":

http://www.bcfamilylawresource.com/07/0700body.htm#elements

In a nutshell, the parties' signatures just need to be witnessed by any sane adult who isn't a party to the agreement. It needn't be a lawyer or notary public; anyone will do.

Dear Mr. Boyd, I can't seem to find, at quick...

2012-05-12T16:13:45.749-07:00

Dear Mr. Boyd,

I can't seem to find, at quick reference, the requirements for a cohab. agreement to be legally binding.
I know they have to be signed by a witness, but though highly recommended that lawyer review the agreement, does the document need to be signed by a lawyer or notarized?
Thanks

My understanding is that child support is determin...

2012-05-10T09:23:37.566-07:00

My understanding is that child support is determined based on the income of the paying parent, not the combined income of the household as suggested by Dalou. I'm sure there are some exceptions to this (as I have seen with imputed incomes, hardship claims, etc...) however my understanding is that only the income of the biological parent is normally taken into account

I filed an Amended Notice of Family Claim last wee...

2012-05-09T09:48:54.678-07:00

I filed an Amended Notice of Family Claim last week and just notice that I put the wrong month for the date of marriage on one of the pages. On the original from I filed it was correct and on another page of the amended form it was correct, but on one section it isn't, not is it underlined as being ameneded because I didnt know I had changed it. It is filed, but not yet served. Should I go ahead and serve it as the meat and potatoes was child custody and support issues, and we both agree to the divorce part.

Unfortunately, you cannot get a parenting capacity...

2012-05-07T19:09:48.808-07:00

Unfortunately, you cannot get a parenting capacity assessment "dismissed." In general, all you can do is try to persuade the judge that the assessment is faulty in some way. Perhaps the assessor didn't interview all the people she should have; perhaps the assessor misinterpreted the test results; perhaps the assessor was biased is her assessment. It is also possible to get another assessor to critique the first assessor's report, however the court rarely finds critique reports to be of much help.

How Can I get a parenting capitcy assement dissmis...

2012-05-07T19:05:13.724-07:00

How Can I get a parenting capitcy assement dissmissed in court todays Date is May 7 2012 please let me no as soon as posible my e-Mail is ______________@yahoo.com please thank You Very Much My court date is in June 1 2012

As to the first question, I'm sorry, but I can...

2012-05-05T15:23:17.007-07:00

As to the first question, I'm sorry, but I can't give legal advice through my blog.

As to the second question, however, I've written about the issue in my post at http://bcfamilylawresource.blogspot.ca/2012/03/unmarried-spouses-cant-escape-family.html.

This kind of injustice is bad enough when you are ...

2012-05-03T20:52:57.782-07:00

This kind of injustice is bad enough when you are actually married, but for the govt to IMPOSE this on a person simply because they shacked up for a couple years unthinkable. No wonder marriage is a failing institution, people opted OUT of getting married to avoid this kind of situation. Now the govt has taken the next step in destroying the family by making men and women AVOID even living together over the fear of legal action or financial ruin.

I can see the future of single women raising children on child support payments. If a man wants children, it's cheaper to simply find a suitable woman, knock her up, and start paying child support! At least that way he gets to have kids, see them regularly, and his only obligation is a monthly payment of $500 or $600. If he wants to spend more, he can, and will avoid spousal support as well as the vivisection of his property, investments, pension, and hope for a decent standard of living!!!

Hi John, thanks for the great info. I have two qu...

2012-05-03T20:31:44.726-07:00

Hi John, thanks for the great info. I have two questions for you.

The first is in regards to pensions. I have been contributing to a defined benefit plan for 6 years now, my common law partner and I have a child and have been living together for a year. The relationship is now ending. Is she entitled to half of the total pension I have accrued so far in the 6 years? Or the amount accrued during the past year? Or will she get to start withdrawing half of the total monthly payout in 20 years when I retire? The prospect of this is terrifying to me.

The other question is in regard to the overlap between the two sets of legislation. When I read through the details, it mentions a 2 year period, specifically that if a common law relationship ended, let's say 12 months ago, it would still be considered under the NEW law. Is this true?

Thanks again!

I am a Canadian and wish to give my two cents for ...

2012-04-24T21:04:11.356-07:00

I am a Canadian and wish to give my two cents for what they are worth. The only justifiable use for "without Prejudice" is where you are protecting yourself from hidden contracts. Take your Drivers license as an example. The ministry requires you to sign your DL but the name is in capital letters. It resembles your name but it is not you. It is your STRAWMAN. It is a fictional PERSON created with your Birth Certificate. Anything that has to do with a Capitalization of your name should be signed with "With Prejudice" under your signature. This clarifies that you do not give up any rights under Common Law. This also means that you do not knowingly, intentionally and and voluntarily participate in any contract. There is much more to this that you will have to investigate.

And to add the UCC 1-207 has been changed to UCC1-308 for our american friends down south.

Hello: I lived in an a conflict ridden relationshi...

2012-04-24T07:59:30.452-07:00

Hello: I lived in an a conflict ridden relationship for 6 years. We separated for 7 months during that time and then he moved back in for he had no where to go. We drew up an agreement that stated we were not living together as husband and wife he contributed to this document (his writing) but did not actually sign it(it is dated) but his writing is on it with him stating he agreed. He refused to move out and it was my house. He refused to move out for a year. Can I use that document to prove we were separated but living in the same house for that last year? He is applying for spousal support so it will become an issue. Thanks

From a payee perspective, I am outraged that your ...

2012-04-19T14:53:45.067-07:00

From a payee perspective, I am outraged that your ex would take you to the cleaners like that. Something is really wrong indeed. It is high time the payers band together to do something about this. I get table rate from my ex, no more. I only take table rate because we live 4 hours apart and I usually bring our daughter to him, if not half way. I probably see a bit more than half to use for my daughter's needs. More than enough.

New legislation does not affect court decisions ma...

2012-04-19T11:44:12.529-07:00

New legislation does not affect court decisions made before the legislation comes into force unless the legislation says that it is meant to have that effect. In my quick review of Bill 34, I did not notice any provisions to that effect.

Will this overturn previous decisions on arrears, ...

2012-04-19T09:24:50.306-07:00

Will this overturn previous decisions on arrears, ie if they say only going back two years will prior years be open to collection

It appears to me any other conclusion suggests thi...

2012-04-18T00:09:13.835-07:00

It appears to me any other conclusion suggests thinking which encourages separation in the interest of fully supporting the child. I commend the progressive decisions as is intended with the introduction of the new legislation.

I don't think you're missing anything, or ...

2012-04-14T12:47:03.460-07:00

I don't think you're missing anything, or at least not much at any rate.

When I wrote this post, it seemed to me that by entering into a cohabitation agreement after the repeal of s. 120.1 of the Family Relations Act, unmarried couples could take advantage of the regulatory vacuum existing between the repeal of s. 120.1 and the coming-into-force of the new act. It seemed to me that during this period, unmarried couples could potentially enter into more creative agreements than would otherwise be the case, on the basis that at the time of the making of the agrement they were beholden to no particular statutory regime.

It still seems reasonable to me that the court might hold property agreements executed before the coming-into-force of the Family Law Act to a different standard on the basis that the standards of a particular statutory regime shouldn't be applied with the same rigour to agreements made before the statutory regime existed. This is why, for example, buildings put up under old, outdated building codes aren't held to the standards of current building codes. Except for the fact that the FLA is more friendly to marriage and cohabitation agreements than the FRA, wouldn't it be unfair to hold an agreement compliant with the FRA to the standards of a regulatory regime that didn't exist when the agreement was negotiated?

In any event, it's not clear to me that it will be necessary to extend much special consideration to pre-FLA agreements when you consider the provisions of s. 92, which says that parties can make property agreements that divide things that under the statute aren't to be divided, that divide unequally what is supposed to be divided equally, and that don't divide what is supposed to be divided. In other words, it's not mandatory that the regulatory regime set out in the FLA be observed when negotiating a property agreement. If that's the case, then there's probably no significant advantage to be gained by unmarried parties entering into a property agreement now.

Thank you for providing such an informative blog. ...

2012-04-14T11:17:28.910-07:00

Thank you for providing such an informative blog.

I'm confused. What is the actual benefit of entering into a cohabitation agreement before the relevant provisions of the FLA come into force? Once it does come into force, won't Division 4 apply to an agreement regardless of when it was entered into? The only advantage I can see is if the partners separate before Division 4 comes into force. Their agreement won't be treated as a marriage agreement and the SCBC won't be able to vary the agreement.

I can see why you would want to enter the agreement before the two year period ends, so that in the worst case scenario the partners can separate before being subject to the FLA (assuming thay don't have a child together) but if a couple have already been cohabitating for more than two years and will still be cohabitating when the FLA is, in its entirety, in force, what's the advantage of signing an agreement today?

What am I missing?

In my view the case is significant because steppar...

2012-04-14T06:55:48.524-07:00

In my view the case is significant because stepparents are not normally called upon to pay child support until the stepparent and parent have separated, and when that happens the person asking for support is the person who was the spouse of the stepparent. The case's significance doesn't lie in the calculation of the amount of child support but the fact that the parent with custody was asking for child support from the spouse of the other parent.