Legal Resources
Family law in Canada is a complex and constantly changing area. Federal legislation, provincial legislation, court decisions on multiple levels and a wide range of expert analysis affect the complexion of the field with each new day. Fortunately, resources do exist which make the job easier of finding out what the law is today.
We hope the following materials will provide you with a starting point to explore the current state of the law. This list is by no means exhaustive and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of what you will find. We have, however, reviewed the resources and have found them to be informative and useful.
Resources are also available to help people deal with the turbulence of family law difficulties. To this end, we include a list of Children’s Books. While we do not hold these books out as our own advice, we hope that they may provide a starting point for parents to help their children deal with issues such as divorce and access.
Legislation
B.C. Supreme Court Rules of Court
Link: http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/C/CourtRules/CourtRules221_90/221_90_00.htm
B.C. Provincial Court Rules of Court
Link: http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/C/CourtRules/CourtRules417_98/417_98_01.htm
CanLII - Canadian Legal Information Database
Link: http://www.canlii.org/en/index.php
Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985, c.3 (2nd Supp.)
Link: http://www.canlii.org/ca/sta/d-3.4/
The Divorce Act governs family relations upon marriage breakdown.
Family Relations Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c.128
Link: http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/F/96128_01.htm
Together with the federal Divorce Act, this provincial statute regulates the majority of family law issues in British Columbia.
Federal Child Support Guidelines
Link: http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=Child+Support+Guidelines&language=en&searchTitle=Search+all+CanLII+Databases&path=/ca/regu/sor97-175/
Federal Child Support Guidelines – British Columbia Support Tables
Link: http://www.canlii.org///ca/regu/sor97-175/part290574.html
Resource Websites
FinancialResources.ca
Link: http://www.financialresources.ca
CanLII.org
Link: http://www.canlii.org
Calculators
Child Support Guidelines - Support Calculator
Link: http://www.fmep.gov.bc.ca/resources/maintenance-calculator/
Canadian Financial Resources – Financial and Family Law Planning Calculators
Link: http://www.financialresources.ca/Sub%20Pages/Family%20Law/Tools_Refframe.html
Organizations
Family Maintenance Enforcement Program
Link: http://www.fmep.gov.bc.ca/
British Columbia Mediator Roster Society
Link: http://www.mediator-roster.bc.ca/
B.C. Vital Statistics
Link: http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca/marriage/
B.C. Parenting Coordination:
Link: http://www.bcparentingcoordinators.com/
Access Resources
Supervised Visitation Network
Link: http://www.svnetwork.net/
TIN Harbour Services
Link: http://www.tinharbour.com/
Elizabeth Fry Society
Link: http://www.elizabethfry.ca/directory/member.php?memberID=26
Articles
Advisory Spousal Support Guidelines
Link: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pad-rpad/res/ss-pae/proj/intro.html