Note: Since May 2020, conferences in family and small claims matters are being conducted by telephone, audio- or video-conference. See Virtual conferences and hearings (by phone or video) for more information.
Resolving disputes out of court
Early Resolution and Case Management Procedures (used in Victoria and Surrey Provincial Court Registries)
Getting a lawyer or legal advice
Guided pathways (online planning, dispute resolution and case preparation)
Family Law Act Matters
Choosing a court for Family Law Act matters
Adult Guardianship
Child protection matters
Child and spousal support
Court forms
Preparing for a family court trial
Picklists - Standard Wording of Family Court Orders
Laws (also called statutes or legislation)
Other pages on this website
Resolving disputes out of court
(also called “Alternate Dispute Resolution” or “ADR”)
- Family Justice Services during Covid-19 – March 25, 2020 eNews
- BC Collaborative Roster Society – maintains a list of lawyers, financial and mental health professionals trained to assist with collaborative, out-of-court separation or divorce
- Collaborative separation & divorce project - free service for people who qualify and want to resolve their issues co-operatively - check the website for financial criteria and where it's available
- Mediate BC – maintains a list of qualified mediators for civil and family disputes. See a Summary of their services on Clicklaw.
- Family Justice Counsellors – offer free mediation of family court issues including support, but not division of property or debt.
- Justice Access Centres – in Surrey, Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo offer free help with family and civil law issues. Find Family Justice Centre locations on Clicklaw.
- Family Justice and Justice Access Centres: Affordable access to justice for separating families - eNews article
Early Resolution and Case Management Procedures (used in Victoria and Surrey Provincial Court Registries)
- unofficial consolidation of the rules
- forms for Early Resolution and Case Management process in Surrey & Victoria
- infographic - chart shows steps in Early Resolution Process followed by Provincial Court process if necessary
- New approach to family disputes in Surrey & Victoria begins December 7, 2020 - eNews explaining the new procedures
- Surrey and Victoria Early Resolution Explained - a detailed explanation of the new rules
Getting a lawyer or legal advice
- Legal Aid BC - a non-profit organization providing legal information, advice and lawyers for people with low incomes.
- AC Friendship Society - offers free workshops to help people complete legal forms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they provide online workshops, with help by phone for victims of gendered violence and people who can’t use computers.
- Access Pro Bono - free legal advice and lawyers’ services
- Ask JES – free service from BC Justice Education Society providing answers to legal questions by live chat, phone or email Monday to Friday, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
- Family Court Duty Counsel - Legal Aid BC provides free legal advice and/or limited legal services to people with low incomes in many courthouses around the province
- Family LawLine – lawyers provide legal advice by telephone, help preparing documents and coaching for court appearances in this Legal Aid service for people with limited income and eligible family law problems
- How to apply for Legal Aid - Legal Aid BC provides free lawyers for some family issues to people who meet financial criteria
- Lawyer Referral Service - free 30 minute consultation with a lawyer
- Legal Aid BC - a non-profit organization providing legal information, advice and lawyers for people with low incomes.
- Legal Aid Call Centre - phone to find out if you qualify for Legal Aid services - telephone interpreters can be arranged for people who don’t speak English
- Rise Women’s Legal Centre – free legal services by law students supervised by lawyers, for people around BC who self-identify as women
- Roster of family lawyers & paralegals offering unbundled services - Some BC family lawyers are offering “unbundled” legal services. They will help you develop a plan to resolve your problems and divide the tasks as you wish, doing only the tasks you hire them for.
Guided pathways (online planning, dispute resolution and case preparation)
- MyLawBC – from Legal Aid BC, an interactive website about separation, divorce, family matters, and abuse & family violence. It asks you questions and uses your answers to give you a personalized action plan with steps you need to take, and services and resources to help. It includes Dialogue and Mediation Tools to help resolve disputed issues and/or create a separation agreement.
- Aboriginal Legal Aid in BC - webpage provides family law information and resources in BC for Indigenous families.
- Family Law in BC: Aboriginal People - this Legal Aid webpage lists services and resources to help Aboriginal people understand their rights.
- Where do I start for information on Family Court? - Summarizes a few of the most useful online resources
- What can I expect at a Family Case Conference? - what happens at a Case Conference and how to prepare
- Preparing for a Family Case Conference: a checklist – checklist to prepare for a Case Conference taking place after April 2020
- J.P. Boyd on Family Law Clicklaw Wikibook - wide-ranging information about family law and court, including resolving problems out of court (“ADR”), resolving problems in court, family law agreements, spousal and child support, “how-to” guides, examples of court documents and more
- Legal Aid BC Family Law - helpful information and resources including self-help guides for family court issues and Flowchart for Getting Parenting and Support Orders
- Justice BC - Family Law - information on issues like parenting arrangements, child and spousal support, keeping your family safe, and how to get help from family justice counsellors, mediators, parenting coordinators, Family Maintenance Enforcement Program and more
- Justice Education Society Family Law and Separation Information - links to resources about parenting, attending and preparing for court, and more including resources for Aboriginal families
- Justice Education Society - Families Change - age-appropriate guides to the emotional aspects of separation and divorce for kids, teens and parents - Online Parenting After Separation courses
- How To Separate – Justice Education Society’s online courses, both audio and written, on working out family problems, with detailed instructions on taking them to court, including training to build and present your case. There’s also a great list of resources.
- CBABC script on Family Court – articles on many family court topics, see list on the right side of the page
Choosing a court for Family Law Act matters
- Do you need to go to Provincial Family Court or Supreme Court? - Family Law website, Legal Aid BC
- The Court system for family matters - making the choice - JP Boyd on Family Law, Clicklaw Wikibooks
- Adult Guardianship Fact Sheets - Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre
- Adult Guardianship - Seniors First web page with plain language introduction to Adult Guardianship and Committeeship, links to other info, resources for professionals
- Parents’ Legal Centre - free lawyer can help parents address concerns about their children's safety (child protection) early on
- A Parent's Guide to Child Protection Law in BC Legal Aid BC booklet explains what happens if the Director of Child Welfare has concerns about a child's safety or plans to remove a child from the family home
- The Child Protection Process Legal Aid BC poster describes the child protection process in flow chart form for parents
- Aboriginal Child Protection Process Legal Aid BC poster gives a step-by-step overview of the Aboriginal child protection process and the rights of Aboriginal children and families in flow chart form for parents
- CFCSA flowchart - chart shows possible stages and orders in child protection proceedings under the Child, Family and Community Service Act.
- Understanding case conferences in child protection matters
- How to use the new process for applying to change child or spousal support because of COVID-19 – Outlines the steps to use a new process available for applications to change BC Provincial Court support orders or filed agreements when income has changed since January 2020 due to COVID-19
- Family Maintenance Enforcement Program – Contact this program to register your child support order. It’s free! Once you register, they will process and keep track of payments, calculate any money owing, and take steps (including going to court) to collect support payments when necessary. (It helps both the person paying and the recipient to have the program keep records of all payments, and they enable you to pay with online banking and receive payments through direct deposit.)
- 2017 BC Child Support Tables (1-4 children)
- 2017 BC Child Support Tables (5-6 children)
- Child Support Guidelines child support legislation
- Child Support Tables tables by province show child support payable based on payor’s income
- Government of Canada Family Law Information - includes an easy-to-use child support estimator
- Enforcement of Maintenance Orders in Provincial Court - How can the Court help you collect child or spousal support payments that have been ordered but not paid to you? And how can it help if you’re a payor whose circumstances have changed so you’re simply not able to pay? - info for recipients and payors - eNews article
- How do you get or change a support order when the other party lives outside BC? And how do you have an existing support order changed if the other party doesn’t live here? - eNews article explaining procedures under the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act
- What to expect if you receive an application made outside BC to obtain or change a support order - eNews article explaining the procedure when someone in BC receives notice of a support-related application made outside the province – procedures under the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act
- Family court forms BC Ministry of Justice collection of forms for Adult Guardianship Act; Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA); Court Order Enforcement Act; Family Maintenance Enforcement Act; Family Maintenance Enforcement Act Regulation; Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act; Provincial Court (Family) Rules (applying to the Family Law Act); and general forms
- Early Resolution and Case Management Model forms (used only in Surrey and Victoria Provincial Court registries)
- Without Notice Application Checklist for litigants ("ex parte" applications) - when you file a Family Law Act application without notice to the other party in Provincial Court, you will be asked to fill out this form to help a judge determine the urgency of your application
Preparing for a family court trial
- Guide to preparing for a family court trial in Provincial Court – Provincial Court website - explains trial procedure, evidence, cross-examination, and lists facts relevant to various applications and issues
- Preparing Financial Documents for Family Court – Provincial Court website - preparing and using documents in family court
- Legal Aid BC Factsheet - preparing for trial in Provincial Court – one of Legal Aid BC's Self Help Guides to Family Law in BC
- What can I expect at a family court trial or hearing? – eNews article
- How to prepare for a family court trial – eNews article
- How to prepare financial documents for Family Court – eNews article
- Support Person Guidelines – when you can have a support person help you in court and what they can do
- Information on Support Person Guidelines
- Support Person Guidelines poster
Picklists - Standard Wording of Family Court Orders
Picklists are lists of standardized terms for court orders. They are stored in courtroom computers so a Court Clerk can use them to quickly and accurately capture the order a judge makes. When a judge decides to change the standard wording, a Court Clerk can edit the term accordingly. Picklists include letter and number codes that help the Court Clerk find a term quickly.
- Standard Wording of Family Law Orders 2020 (list of commonly used terms (provided to judges and on Court Services computers) – you can copy and paste terms and fill in the details)
Laws (also called statutes or legislation)
- Child, Family and Community Service Act
- Provincial Court (Child, Family and Community Service Act) Rules
- Family Law Act
- Provincial Court (Family) Rules
- Family Maintenance Enforcement Act
- Family Maintenance Enforcement Act Regulation
(PDF - download acrobat reader)
This website provides general information only and should not be used as legal advice. Updated October, 2020