Script 110 gives information only, not legal advice. If you have a legal problem or need legal advice, you should speak to a lawyer. For the name of a lawyer to consult, call the Lawyer Referral Service at 604.687.3221 in the lower mainland or 1.800.663.1919 elsewhere in British Columbia.

What is Family Court?
Family Court is a division of the British Columbia Provincial Court. Other divisions of the Provincial Court deal with criminal, traffic and small claims matters. Provincial Court judges hear family law cases, youth and adult criminal cases, and small claims cases. Depending on your community, there might be a separate courtroom where family law cases are heard, or family law cases might be heard in one of the regular courtrooms on a particular day of the week. Usually there is a day each week or every other week when the court will hear a list of family law and child protection cases.

To find your nearest Provincial Court, look in the blue pages of your phone book under Province of British Columbia. You’ll find it under “C” for courts.

What does Family Court handle?
Family Court deals with a limited number of family law issues under the provincial Family Relations Act:

• custody and guardianship of children
• access to children
• parental support, spousal support and child support
• personal protection orders (but not financial restraining orders or orders for the exclusive occupation of a home)

Family Court also deals with child protection issues brought by the Ministry for Children and Family Development under the provincial Child, Family and Community Service Act.

Family Court cannot deal with family law issues under the federal Divorce Act, including divorce orders, or make orders for the division of family property.

Who can apply to Family Court?
Family Court is available to everyone who has a family law problem, not just people who are married to each other or in a common-law relationship together.

What issues have to go to Supreme Court?
Family Court cannot grant you a divorce, it cannot divide assets and it cannot make adoption orders. These matters have to be taken to Supreme Court if an order has to be made. The Supreme Court can address all family law problems, including the problems that the Provincial Court can handle, such as the care and control of children and support, as well as problems about property division and divorce that the Provincial Court can’t handle.

Although both courts can make orders about the care and control of children and support, the Supreme Court will generally not make an order on an issue which has already been decided by the Provincial Court, except where the Provincial Court decision is being formally appealed to the Supreme Court.

Do you need a lawyer in Family Court?
There is no requirement that people have a lawyer when they are going to court. The Family Court Rules are written in plain language for the benefit of people who don’t have a lawyer and the court’s forms are designed to be easy to fill out.

Why go to Family Court?
Family Court can make orders about the care and control of children, child support, spousal support and parental support, and it can make some personal protection orders. Family Court has other advantages:

• There are Family Justice Counsellors to help you, and you use their services for free.
• The court forms are easy to fill out and there are no filing fees.
• The rules of court are much simpler than the rules of the Supreme Court.
• Duty counsels are sometimes available to assist people who don’t have their own lawyer.

Your first step is to go to the courthouse and talk to the clerk at the family law counter
Different registries of the Family Court have different rules. Some registries will require that you meet with a Family Justice Counsellor before you can see a judge. Other registries will require parents to take the Parenting After Separation course before you can see a judge. The court clerk will tell you what steps you have to take to begin your case and see a judge.

Family Justice Counsellors aren’t lawyers, but they are trained to deal with family law problems in Family Court. They can help families with child custody, guardianship, access and support issues, and can help you resolve your problems without going to court. If appropriate, the counsellor might refer you to a Legal Aid office or suggest that you hire a lawyer. Contact information for the Family Justice Counsellors is given at the end of this script.

The Parenting After Separation program will teach you about how your separation can affect your children and teach you better ways to communicate with the other parent and protect the children from your dispute. Contact information for the Parenting After Separation program is given at the end of this script.

Tell the court clerk if it’s an emergency
You may have to wait for an appointment to see a Family Justice Counsellor or for the next Parenting After Separation program. But if your spouse or partner has physically harmed you or your children, or you’re afraid you might be hurt, be sure to say so when you talk to the court clerk. The clerk will tell you how the Family Court can make a personal protection order for your safety or the safety of your children.

How are Family Court problems resolved?
There are a few ways that family law cases are resolved. 

• If the parties can talk to each other they may be able reach a settlement of their dispute through negotiation or mediation. The settlement might be recorded in a written agreement, or it might be recorded in an order that the parties agree the judge will make, called a consent order.
• If the parties can’t make a decision for themselves, a Family Court judge will make a decision following a hearing.

What is negotiation?
Negotiation is a bargaining process where the parties try to reach an agreement about their dispute. People can negotiate with each other with lawyers or without lawyers. Sometimes other family members or community elders may help with the negotiation process.

What is mediation?
In mediation, an independent and neutral person meets with the parties to help them discuss their problems and find a settlement. Mediators don’t make decisions for people. They help them make decisions for themselves. Mediation may require two or more meetings to reach a settlement.

Family Justice Counsellors are trained mediators and you can use a Family Justice Counsellor as your mediator. There are also private mediators you can meet with. Family Law Mediators are lawyers with special training in mediation and can also be hired privately. 

For more information on mediation, refer to Script 111 on “Mediation and Collaborative Law.”

If an agreement is reached, it should be put in writing
Agreements that settle a dispute are usually called separation agreements. Agreements that are put into the form of a court order are called consent orders. Both parties must sign their separation agreement or consent order. In the case of consent orders, an additional consent form must be signed.

If you don’t have a lawyer prepare your separation agreement or consent order, you should at least get advice from a lawyer before you sign it.  It is very important that you understand exactly what your agreement means and how it affects your legal rights and obligations. 

What if you have to go to trial?
If you and your spouse can’t agree and you have to go to a trial, you’ll have a hearing before a Family Court judge where witnesses will give evidence and documents or other evidence may be presented. Often, the parties themselves are the only witnesses. After all of the evidence has been given to the judge, you and your spouse are make arguments to the judge about the evidence, the law that applies to your dispute and the decision you think the judge should make. The judge will then make an order resolving your dispute.

What is a “family case conference”?
Before trial, the judge may ask the parties to attend a Family Case Conference to see if the dispute can be resolved without a trial. Family law cases are often resolved at these conferences, and when the parties are able to reach an agreement, the judge will make a consent order at the conference.

What is a “custody and access report”?
If issues about the care and control of children are a part of your dispute, the Judge may ask a Family Justice Counsellor or another person, like a social worker, a psychologist or a psychiatrist to prepare a Custody and Access Report, also called a “Section 15 Report.” These reports describe the parenting arrangements that the assessor believes to be in the best interests of the children, and can take a year to complete due to demand.

Where can you get help or more information?

• For more information about Family Court or to make an appointment with a Family Justice Counsellor, call Enquiry BC at 604.660.2421 in Vancouver, 250.387.6121 in Victoria, and 1.800.663.7867 elsewhere in BC, and ask to be connected with the Family Justice Centre nearest to you.
• See the Family Justice website at www.ag.gov.bc.ca/family-justice.  
• Also check on Parenting After Separation (PAS) program at www.ag.gov.bc.ca/family-justice/help/pas/. Call Enquiry BC at 1.800.663.7867 for the nearest Family Justice Centre that can find you the session closest to you.

[updated December 2010]

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