Visit our Website
- Alternative dispute resolution
- Artificial insemination
- Child Adoption
- child custody
- Child Custody in Ontario
- Child Support
- Child Visitation
- Cohabitation Agreements
- Collaborative Law
- Common Law Marriage
- Current trends
- Divorce
- Divorce Lawyer
- Enforcement
- Family Law Changes Ontario
- Family Property Division
- Family Responsibility Office
- Family structure
- Marriage Contracts
- Mediation
- Motion to Change
- Polygamy
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Process server
- Provincial legislation
- Questions and Answers
- Religious ceremony
- Same Sex Marriage
- separation
- Separation Agreements
- Service of documents
- Spousal Support
- Support Orders
- Surrogacy
- Toronto Divorce Lawyers
- Toronto Family Lawyers
- Variation
Categories
Archives
Related Blogs
Tag Cloud
Follow Us on Twitter
Find Us on Facebook
BC continues to improve its family law rules, will Ontario be next?
British Columbia recently announced that the province is set to propose additional rights for common-law couples, and is also continuing to announce different amendments it plans to enact pursuant to its Family Relations Act.
Property and asset division rules for common-law couples were part of the major changes in B.C. These changes are necessary as there have been a growing number of couples that are choosing not to marry but to remain common-law relationships and, upon separation, if not on title, may not have any rights to the family property.
Other changes to the Act include the introduction of “parenting co-ordinators” during heated child custody cases. In addition, it will now be possible for a child to have more than two legal parents, which will be the first change of its kind in the whole country. This would be the case, for example, when a same-sex male couple has used a surrogate female to have a child and all three would be legal parents if they’re in agreement. The same could be said for a same-sex female couple and a male sperm donor, if all three are active parents of a child.
Spousal support will be able to continue after a paying ex-spouse’s death, if applicable.
Restraining orders available through the court would now be protection orders that are enforceable under the Criminal Code.
As well, parties intending to go to court over property and child custody disputes will need to first show an attempt to negotiate a settlement through the use of out-of-court methods such as mediation.
It’s been 30 years since British Columbia has made any changes to its Family Relations Act. The recent changes will update the Act to deal with the evolving family structure to include common-law couples, same-sex couples as well as surrogacy and sperm donors.
