Common-law relationship is the term many people use to describe unmarried couples who live together for a certain period of time in a marriage-like relationship. But it’s not a term used in the BC Family Law Act or the federal Divorce Act. These laws just call them spouses.

Who a spouse is

Under BC law, you’re a spouse if you:

• marry another person, or
• live with someone in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years, or
• have lived with someone for less than two years and have a child together. In this case, though, you aren’t considered a spouse when it comes to division of property, debt, or pensions.

This means couples who have lived together for more than two years have the same rights and responsibilities as married couples. Spouses can be in same-sex or opposite-sex relationships.

Which laws apply

The two laws you need to know about are the BC Family Law Act and the federal Divorce Act.

The two courts in BC that can make court orders about family law matters are the BC Provincial Court and Supreme Court.

See the chart Which court to go to that explains which court you go to if you want a judge to make an order about a family law issue.

Sometimes you can prevent conflict about your property, savings, and debts if your relationship breaks up by making a written agreement with your spouse. These are usually called cohabitation, marriage, or prenuptial agreements. You can make them before or while you live together, just in case you break up.

When can you make an agreement?

You can make an agreement:

• before you start to live together or get married,
• any time while you live together or during your marriage, and
• after you separate. This agreement is usually called a separation agreement.

An agreement is legally binding when you sign it, so it’s important to consider whether you need one. It’s a good idea to get legal advice about your situation if you can before you sign an agreement.

See Living Apart - Separation for more about separation agreements

Do you need an agreement while you live together?

Before deciding whether you need a written agreement while you live together, consider what the law says and whether you want to agree to something different. It’s really important to get legal advice.

The Family Law Act supports the idea of an economic partnership and recognizes different roles and contributions of partners, including non-financial contributions, if people separate. Many people don’t write an agreement while they live together and are comfortable with this law applying to their situation if they separate.

The law tries to balance supporting healthy relationships by recognizing economic partnerships and obligations to each other, while recognizing what you each brought into the relationship. Make sure you’re clear about what property each of you brought into your relationship.

If you don’t own much or don’t have any large debts, you might not need an agreement.

It might be helpful to have an agreement while you live together if:

• One of you has a lot more assets or debts than the other. For example, if one of you owns property or has a large amount of savings, got an inheritance, or has a huge student loan.
• You’re older and close to retirement.
• You have significantly different incomes.
• You have children from another relationship (including adult children who you want to provide for in the future).

It’s important to remember that an agreement you make while living together can’t restrict any future support arrangements. Also, an agreement could be set aside (cancelled) by the court if it’s found to be unfair.

Sharing information before making an agreement

Before you make an agreement, you and your spouse must share all the important information you need to make a fair agreement. This includes financial information about your income, expenses, assets, and debts available in your income tax returns, bank statements, and other financial documents. The law says you must give your spouse ​“full and true information” to resolve a family law dispute. This applies to any agreement you make while you’re living together and family law agreements you make after you separate. If you hold back information, a court can take various steps, including setting aside (cancelling) your agreement, ordering you to provide the missing information and documents, or ordering you to pay a fine or the other person’s legal costs.

What an agreement can cover

Your cohabitation, prenuptial, or marriage agreement can be about what happens while you live together and what happens if you separate. However, you can only make agreements about your children after you separate. The courts will not accept an agreement that limits spousal support or child support.

Dividing family property, assets, and debts

It can be hard to talk about finances, and money is often a huge source of conflict in relationships. It’s important to have conversations about your shared values.

It’s helpful to be clear about the financial value of what you each brought into the relationship, and what debt each of you had. This makes it easier to divide family property fairly if you separate.

One way to do this is to take a ​“snapshot” of each person’s finances when you start to live together. You can do this by taking photos of current bank statements or by making a dated record of the amounts of savings, the amount owing on loans, the value of any investments, and the value of any property, like a home or apartment that one of you might own. It’s helpful to do this whether or not you decide to make an agreement.

You can decide together:

• who brought what into the relationship.
• how you’ll share household expenses.
• whether you’ll have separate or joint bank accounts and credit cards.
• how you’ll share any new debt you take on together under both your names.
• who’s responsible for debts either of you take on under your own name before or during your relationship.

Before you sign an agreement 

Signed agreements are legally binding. It’s a good idea for both you and your spouse to see a lawyer to make sure your agreement is fair and meets legal requirements before you sign it. It’s especially important to see a lawyer if you or your spouse has a pension plan. It’s complicated to calculate the value of a pension, because even a low-paying job can have a large pension if a spouse has had the job for many years.

How to make an agreement before or while you live together

There’s no such thing as a ​“legal separation.”

How to separate

Whether you’re married or living with someone in a common-law relationship, you become separated as soon as one (or both) of you:

• decides to separate,
• clearly tells the other spouse the relationship is over, and
• acts like it’s over.

Typically, spouses are separated when they live apart. But, you can live in the same house and still be separated. You don’t have to move out. But you do have to stop living in a spousal relationship; for example, you stop sharing the same bedroom, stop sharing meals, stop going out together as a couple, and so on.

• You don’t have to see a lawyer, go to court, or sign a document to be separated.
• You don’t need your spouse’s permission to separate; it’s enough for you alone to decide the relationship is over.

If you’re married, you’re legally married until you get a BC Supreme Court order for divorce (or annulment, if applicable). You don’t need your spouse’s permission or agreement to apply for a divorce.

If you’re unmarried, you don’t need to get a divorce. Your spousal relationship is over as soon as you separate.

How to avoid going to court

It can be less expensive, less stressful, and faster to settle your family law issues without going to court, if you can. See How to reach a separation agreement below for some options to resolve your disagreements without going to court.

Both the Family Law Act and the Divorce Act recommend that you try to resolve any disputes outside of court first, and go to court only if you can’t come to an agreement another way.

You might not have to go to court if you can agree on your family law issues, including the following:

• parenting arrangements,
• child support and spousal support, and
• property and debt division.

If you and your spouse can make an agreement, you’ll save time, money, and emotional turmoil. The process will be private, and you’ll also be able to keep control of important decisions that affect your family.

It’s important to talk to a lawyer before you sign an agreement. It can be a long and difficult process to change an agreement (especially about property division or spousal support) after you sign it.

An agreement after separating

You can make an agreement after you separate (called a separation agreement). If you made a prenuptial or marriage agreement, you can refer to it in the separation agreement and attach it as an exhibit. If you can’t agree on all the issues, you can make an agreement about some of the issues and ask a mediator or other dispute resolution professional to help you settle the rest. You could also ask the court to make a court order if you’re not able to reach an agreement.

See How to make a separation agreement

How to reach an agreement when your relationship ends #

Parenting arrangements

When you separate, it’s helpful to make parenting arrangements that set out how you and the other parent will divide parenting time and make daily decisions that affect your children. It’s also helpful to decide how you and the other parent will make significant decisions, for example, about education, health care, and religion. (The BC Family Law Act calls this parental responsibilities. The federal Divorce Act calls it decision-making responsibility.)

Any agreement about children must be in their best interests. It’s important to take the children’s opinions and feelings into account, if they can express them. Your agreement might need to change as your children grow and develop and your circumstances change.

You can start preparing an agreement about children, support, and property right away. Or you can take your time with it. Note that you can only complete an agreement about children and support once you’ve separated.

If you don’t have a formal agreement

After you separate, you don’t need to have a formal agreement about your parenting arrangements. You and your spouse might develop informal routines for your children and make parenting decisions. Even if you don’t have a formal agreement, it’s best to check with the other parent before you change the routine.

How to reach a separation agreement

You might be able to reach an agreement with your spouse by working with them directly.

Or, you might need help to work through the difficult issues that come up after you separate. Here are some options for where to get help to reach an agreement.

Mediation

A mediator can help you and your spouse work together to identify and resolve the family issues caused by your separation or divorce.

Mediators don’t take sides, make decisions, or force solutions on you. They encourage you and your spouse to listen to each other and help you communicate and find ways to solve your issues. Mediation can help you find solutions you can both accept. If you have children, the mediator helps you reach an agreement that’s in the best interests of your children.

See Help to make an agreement for where to find a mediator.

Family justice counsellors

Family justice counsellors are specially trained government employees at Family Justice Centres across BC. They also work at the Justice Access Centres in Abbotsford, Nanaimo, Surrey, Vancouver, and Victoria. They can provide services in person or virtually (by phone or videoconference).

Family justice counsellors provide free services for parents and family members, and can:

• give you legal information and help you explore ways to settle parenting and support issues,
• give you legal information about how to get or change family agreements or orders,
• provide free mediation services, and
• provide initial counselling and refer you to other services.

See Help to make an agreement for where to find a family justice counsellor.

Family lawyers

Lawyers who specialize in family law can help you reach a fair and lasting agreement. Some lawyers offer lower-cost legal services including:

• independent legal advice on agreements. Brief advice on an agreement you’ve already drafted.
• unbundled or limited scope services. Instead of representing you from start to finish, they do only specific tasks and you do the rest; for example, you might hire a lawyer to deal with your property division issues, not your parenting issues (which you might be able to get help with from a family justice counsellor).
• sliding scale. Hourly rates that depend on what you can afford to pay.
• flat rate. Doing specific tasks for a set fee.
• legal coaching. Giving you legal advice while you negotiate and develop a family law agreement.

See Help from a lawyer for where to find a lawyer.

Collaborative family law

Lawyers who practise collaborative family law work together with you and your spouse to find solutions that work for both of you. You and your spouse each still have your own lawyer. The collaborative family law process is different from a traditional separation or divorce in a few important ways:

• No court. You, your spouse, and your lawyers sign a written agreement
  that says you’ll work together to solve your issues without going to court.
  If you end up going to court, you have to find different lawyers to represent
  you in court.
• Honest communication. You and your spouse agree, in writing, to open and
  honest communication. This includes openly sharing information with each
  another; for example, about your finances.
• Team approach. You and your lawyers work as a team to solve your disputes,
  whether the issues are about support, dividing property, or parenting your
  children. The team can also include other members, such as specially trained
  lawyers, divorce coaches, child specialists, and financial advisors, as needed.
• Four-way meetings. Instead of your lawyers doing all the talking, you, your
  spouse, and your lawyers have a series of meetings. Sometimes your lawyers might meet alone to decide what the meetings will cover. Or they might share information about you or your spouse to help solve the issues. The number of meetings depends on how many issues you and your spouse face and how complex they are.

Collaborative family law involves hiring lawyers and other professionals, and it can be expensive. It’s important to understand what you can afford and are prepared to pay.

See Help to make an agreement for how to find a collaborative family lawyer.

Arbitration

An arbitration is an out-of-court process in which you and your spouse hire a neutral, trained person (called an arbitrator) to make a decision resolving your family law problem. The arbitrator acts like a judge, listening to both of you and then making a decision that is legally binding.

See Help to make an agreement for how to find an arbitrator. 

Parenting coordinators

A parenting coordinator can try to help you and the other parent resolve disagreements about your parenting arrangements set out in a separation agreement or court order. If you can’t agree, then a parenting coordinator can make a binding decision that you must both follow.

You can agree to get a parenting coordinator yourselves, or a judge can order you to see a parenting coordinator if they feel you need one. 

See Help to make an agreement for how to find a parenting coordinator. 

How to make your agreement legally binding

No matter how you make your agreement, take time to think about it and have a lawyer look at it before you sign it. You and your spouse each need to have different lawyers review the agreement. Lawyers aren’t allowed to act for both parties in a family law matter.

Each of you must sign the agreement. If your agreement is about property or spousal support, at least one other person must witness your signatures. The same person can witness both signatures. Don’t sign an agreement if you feel pressured.

Generally, a signed agreement is legally binding. But the court won’t enforce an agreement (order you and your spouse to follow the agreement) that isn’t in the best interests of your children.

How to enforce your agreement

You don’t have to file your signed agreement at a court registry or online. However, as long as it includes parenting, support, or both, you can choose to file the agreement at a court registry (in person or online). Once your agreement is filed, the court can enforce it, particularly if it’s in the best interests of your children. 

You can also enroll your filed agreement with the BC Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA), previously known as the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP). This program enforces the child support and spousal support parts of your agreement.

How to change or cancel an agreement

If you and your spouse agree, you can change your agreement without going to court. You just need to write and sign a new agreement and have it witnessed. Be sure that the new agreement makes it clear what’s changing and what’s not. Have the new agreement reviewed by a lawyer before you sign it.

If you and your spouse can’t agree, you can get help from a dispute resolution professional such as a mediator to help you come up with a new agreement. (See the options listed in How to reach a separation agreement.) Or you can apply to the court to change all or part of an agreement and replace it with court orders. The court follows the Family Law Act to decide whether to change all or part of an agreement.

Whether the court changes the agreement, and for what reasons, depends on the issue. For example, the court might change an agreement about parenting time only if the agreement isn’t in the best interests of the child.

See Best interests of the child.

It’s sometimes difficult to change agreements about financial issues. It’s a good idea to see a lawyer before agreeing to property division or spousal support.

The chart When a court sets aside or replaces an agreement which explains when the court can set aside (cancel) or replace an agreement.

If you plan to leave the home you share with your spouse

Also, write down your spouse’s Social Insurance Number (SIN), BC Services Card/​CareCard number, passport number, and date of birth. These can be useful later if you disagree about money and property, or if you need to find your spouse.

If you and your spouse (married or unmarried) have dependent children (usually under age 19), you have to make arrangements to take care of them when you separate.

There are two laws that deal with parenting after separation: the BC Family Law Act and the federal Divorce Act. They use similar terms, which can be confusing. Here’s an introduction to the language each act uses.

Unless we say otherwise, the legal rights described in this section apply to people who are married or who live common-law for at least two years.

Spousal support

Depending on your circumstances, you or your spouse (married or unmarried) might have to contribute to the other person’s financial support after your relationship ends. Spousal support is partly intended to:

• compensate (make up) for any financial advantages or disadvantages either or both spouses might have because of the relationship or the separation, and
• help each spouse become financially independent within a reasonable period of time after separating.

If you and your spouse can’t agree on whether one of you should pay spousal support or how much you should pay or for how long, try to sort things out with the help of a mediator or another dispute resolution professional. If you can’t agree, you can go to court to ask for a court order.

See Final order.

If you apply for spousal support, the court looks at the following:

• how long you and your spouse lived together,
• if you stay or stayed at home most of the time with the children,
• if you worked outside the home during the marriage or relationship,
• if you can support yourself,
• whether you earn a lot less than your spouse, and
• if your spouse is able to pay.

If you were married, you must apply for spousal support under the Family Law Act no later than two years after you get a divorce order or annulment. If you lived together and weren’t married, you must apply within two years of the date you separated. There is no time limit for a married spouse to apply for spousal support under the Divorce Act. 

Spousal support amount

If you must pay spousal support, the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines can help you figure out the amount of support you should pay. Lawyers, dispute resolution professionals, and judges all use these guidelines to help them make a decision. The guidelines take into account:

• how much each of you earn and the sources of your income,
• how long you were together,
• your ages, and
• whether you have children.

For Indigenous spouses, if the spousal support payor is a Status Indian who lives and works on reserve and doesn’t have to pay provincial or federal income taxes, the courts adjust their income amount upward. This adjustment is called grossing up income.

It’s very important to know for sure whether the payor gets non-taxable income.

The MySupportCalculator website has a calculator that can give you a good idea of how much spousal support should be paid. You have to enter information about both spouses.

If both spousal support and child support must be paid, you need to calculate each of those amounts. Calculations are complicated, especially if you have children. You can see a lawyer to get a more accurate calculation of the payment amounts.

How long spousal support lasts

A spousal support agreement or court order can be for a specific period, or might not have an end date. If it’s for a set period, how long support is paid depends on many things, including:

• the length of your relationship,
• your roles in the relationship,
• your and your spouse’s ability to become self-sufficient, and
• each of your standards of living.

If your agreement or order doesn’t have an end date, it can set out circumstances when support ends; for example, retirement. Your agreement or order can also say you must review the spousal support after a set period. It can be helpful to review your circumstances regularly.

You might need to extend spousal support. You can change support more easily while the agreement or order is in place than after it has ended. If your order or agreement doesn’t say it has to be reviewed after a set period, it’s a good idea to apply for an extension before the agreement or court order ends. It’s also a good idea to get help from a lawyer.

BC Family Maintenance Agency

Once you have an agreement filed at the court registry or an order for spousal support, you can enroll it with the BC Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA), formerly known as the BC Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP).

The BCFMA is a free BC government program that helps you collect any support owed to you. You don’t have to wait until the payments are late to register. You can register the order or agreement immediately after it’s made.

See Other free legal services for BCFMA contact information.

Changing the spousal support amount

You can apply to set aside (cancel) a spousal support agreement if the agreement is unfair or was made unfairly. For example, if one spouse:

• provided inaccurate financial information or withheld important information,
• took advantage of the other spouse, or
• didn’t understand the agreement.

The court might also set aside an agreement and replace it with a court order if the agreement is ​“significantly unfair.” To figure out if the agreement is unfair, the court would look at:

• the length of time since the agreement was made,
• any changes in either of your circumstances,
• whether (and to what extent) you both intended this agreement to be final,
• how much you both rely on the current agreement, and
• whether the agreement meets the Family Law Act spousal support goals.

You can apply to change a spousal support order when a significant change happens in the ​“condition, means, needs, or other circumstances of either spouse.” These changes could include the following circumstances:

• The payor becomes unemployed or disabled and can’t pay.
• One of the spouses lives with someone else or remarries, so their expenses decrease.
• One of the spouses gets a financial windfall, like a lottery win.

Property and debt

The Family Law Act sets out the law for how property and debt are divided after a couple separates. In most situations, the law is the same for married spouses and unmarried spouses living together for at least two years. The information here explains when the rule is different for unmarried spouses.

How to divide family property and debt

Unless you have a written and signed agreement that says otherwise, the law assumes all family property and family debt will be divided equally. This applies unless it would be ​“significantly unfair” to divide it equally.

It isn’t easy to convince a court that an equal division would be significantly unfair. To decide if it would be, the court looks at many factors, including:

• how long the relationship lasted,
• if both spouses made any agreements other than written and signed ones,
• how much each spouse contributed to the other’s career or career potential,
• how the family got into debt,
• each spouse’s ability to pay a share of family debt if one spouse’s debt is more than the family property is worth, and
• if one spouse did something to raise or lower the family debt or property value after the separation.

If you were married, you must apply to BC Supreme Court to divide family property or debt no later than two years after you got an order for divorce or annulment.

If you were unmarried, you must apply to BC Supreme Court within two years of the date you separated.

It’s best not to agree to get a divorce until you deal with property division issues.

Family property

Family property is everything either you or your spouse own together or separately on the date you separate. This includes:

• the family home,
• RRSPs,
• investments,
• bank accounts,
• insurance policies,
• pensions,
• an interest in a business,
• the amount that pre-relationship property (property owned by one spouse before the relationship started) increased in value since the relationship started, and
• companion animals.

Companion animals (pets)

Family property also includes companion animals (pets). As of January 15, 2024, the Family Law Act states that separating or divorcing spouses can make their own agreement about the possession and ownership of pets. The agreement may include that the spouses:

• jointly own a pet,
• share possession of a pet, or
• give exclusive ownership or possession of a pet to one of the spouses.

For more information about reaching agreement, see the BC Government website. 

If you and your spouse can’t agree on who gets the family pet, one of you can apply to BC Provincial Court or Supreme Court for an order. The court will consider various factors and make a decision about which spouse gets ownership and possession of the pet. (The court can’t declare that spouses jointly own the pet or require spouses to share possession of the pet.)

People who aren’t spouses may be able to resolve a pet dispute by agreement or by going to the Civil Resolution Tribunal, BC Small Claims Court, or BC Supreme Court, depending on the value of the claim.

It doesn’t matter whose name the property is in.

Excluded property (not family property)

Not all property that each of you have is family property. You and your spouse can take some things out of the marriage without having to share them. These exceptions to family property are called excluded property. This includes:

• property that one spouse owned before the relationship started, and
• gifts and inheritances given to one spouse during the relationship.

If excluded property increases in value during your relationship, the increase is considered family property. For example, say your spouse owned a house when you started living together. You aren’t entitled to an equal share of the house’s total value. But you’re entitled to half of the increase in the house’s value since you started living together.

Also, excluded property remains excluded property, even if you put it into joint names. For example, say one spouse inherits $100,000 and uses it to buy property in joint names with their spouse. Under the Family Law Act, the $100,000 stays excluded property after separation as it can be traced back to the spouse who contributed it. But a court can decide to divide excluded property in certain circumstances if a claim is made.

The law in this area changes and can be complicated. Get legal advice if you can. For information about this area of law, see the Family Law in BC website.

Property division for Indigenous people with non-Indigenous spouses

Information in this section applies to:

• Status Indians, and
• non-Indigenous people who have children with Status Indians.

For financial assets, like cash, bank accounts, stocks, and bonds, the same personal property division laws apply to Indigenous and non-Indigenous spouses. This is because financial assets are kept off reserve.

Homes on reserve for Indigenous and non-Indigenous spouses

The Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act (FHRMIRA), in place since December 2014, means if you live on reserve, you’re protected:

• during your relationship,
• if you and your spouse or common-law partner separate, and
• if your spouse or common-law partner dies.

The FHRMIRA applies to married and common-law couples living on reserve, if at least one person is a First Nation member or a Status Indian. It applies to opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples. The Indian Act says common-law means living together in a marriage-like relationship for at least one year.

The FHRMIRA intends to give the same rights and protections to the family home that people who live off reserve have. It gives people who live on reserves protections and rights until a First Nation community makes its own matrimonial real property laws under the Act or other legislation.

What matrimonial real property means

Under the FHRMIRA, matrimonial real property means houses, land, and structures a family uses. You might have got this real property before or during your relationship. The act doesn’t include other property you use for a family purpose, such as cars, money, and household furniture.

Matrimonial real property doesn’t include gifts you got in a will, or when someone died without a will, or real property you bought with money from those gifts.

When a relationship ends

Under FHRMIRA, when a relationship ended and only one spouse or common-law partner had a certificate of possession, the other person might have had to leave the family home. The courts could only make orders for families on reserve to divide the value of matrimonial property (house, cash, cars, etc.).

Under the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, the courts can make orders about the home. These include who can live in it and for how long, how matrimonial property is divided, and other protections about the home. This means the court can:

• remove violent partners from the family home, and
• apply a First Nation’s own matrimonial property laws when they exist.

This means that even if you aren’t a First Nation member, and even if your children aren’t First Nation members, you and your children might be able to stay in your home on reserve.

If you or your spouse or common-law partner want to decide what to do with your family home on reserve after you separate, the law says:

• you must first get the ​“free and informed” consent of your spouse or common-law partner, and
• you must get their consent in writing.

First Nations laws

First Nations can make their own matrimonial real property laws. Or they can follow the FHRMIRA until they make their own laws.

The act doesn’t cover:

• First Nations who have their own matrimonial real property laws (you can ask the Nation if they have their own laws),
• First Nations with a self-government agreement (unless they have reserve land and choose to follow the act), and
• First Nations with land codes in place under the First Nations Land Management Act.

Family debt

Family debt includes all debts that either spouse took on during the relationship. This might include:

• mortgages,
• loans from family members,
• bank lines of credit or overdrafts,
• credit card payments, and
• income tax.

Family debt also includes debts taken on after spouses separate if the money was spent to take care of family property.

It doesn’t matter whose name the debt is in.

Both spouses are equally responsible for family debt. The court orders an unequal sharing of debts only if it’s ​“significantly unfair” to divide it equally.

However, creditors can demand payment only from the spouse who took on the debt. If a couple has joint debts, creditors might choose to demand payment from only one spouse.

You might want to do the following when you separate:

• Tell all your creditors in writing you’re no longer with your spouse. Keep a copy of your written notices.
• Cancel any joint and secondary credit cards.
• Talk to your bank about any joint accounts you have.
• Reduce the limits on overdrafts and credit lines to what you owe now. Or see if you can change the account so that two signatures are needed to withdraw money.
• If you need credit, ask the bank to open a line of credit in your name only.
• Think about changing the beneficiary of your investments, RRSPs, insurance, and will to someone else, such as your children, if your spouse is the beneficiary.

This can get complicated. You might need to get some legal advice. See Help from a lawyer to find one.

Benefits

If you and your spouse separate, you also have to think about what to do about the benefits you get through your work.

Extended medical/​dental plans

If one spouse’s extended medical plan provides coverage for the whole family, you need to find out the rules for separated or divorced spouses. Usually, the plan continues to cover the children.

If the plan covers a separated or divorced spouse, your agreement or order should say the coverage continues. If the plan doesn’t cover a separated or divorced spouse, you have to apply for separate coverage.

Financial help

If you don’t have enough money to live on, here are some options for getting financial help.

Welfare

Welfare is money and other benefits the BC government gives to people who don’t have an income (usually wages or a salary). There are rules about who can get these benefits.

If you’re already on welfare, tell the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (the ministry) you separated from your spouse. This affects how much welfare you get each month.

See How to Apply for Welfare, Welfare Benefits, and When You’re on Welfare.

If your children live with you and there isn’t a child support agreement or order in place, the ministry might arrange for you to meet with a family maintenance worker to talk about getting child support from the other parent. The ministry might try to arrange for a child support agreement or court application to get an order for child support from the other parent. If you don’t want the ministry’s help to apply for support, you can tell them that.

Seniors’ benefits

Spouses who were married or lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least one year are entitled to federal benefits such as the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, the spouse’s Allowance, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

The spouse’s Allowance is for couples with low incomes. It’s paid to spouses who are 60 to 64 years old if their spouse is 65 and getting an OAS pension. If you’re getting the spouse’s Allowance, and you’re between 60 and 64 when you separate from your spouse, your Allowance stops three months after you separate.

GIS is based on your and your spouse’s combined income. If you separate and are living on a low income, you might qualify for GIS as a single person. Let the GIS office know right away that you separated from your spouse.

Canada Pension Plan credit splitting

When a relationship ends, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) pension contributions a couple made while they lived together can be shared equally between them. This division is called credit splitting. You must ask to have your CPP credits split. To qualify, unmarried spouses must have lived together for at least one year.

If you are or were married, there’s no time limit to apply, unless your spouse dies. Then you must apply within 36 months of the date of death.

If you were living in a marriage-like relationship for one year, you can apply for credit splitting after you live apart for 12 consecutive months. You must apply within four years of the date you began living apart.

If you signed an agreement with your spouse or partner that says you won’t split CPP pension credits, you usually have to stick to that agreement.

For more information, see the online booklets When I’m 64 on the People’s Law School website. Or contact Department of Employment and Social Development Canada.

1-800-277-9914 (English)
1-800-277-9915 (French)
1-800-255-4786 (TTY)

Taking care of other details

Separation or divorce doesn’t automatically change your banking or beneficiary information. If you separate from your spouse, you might want to take the actions listed in the Family debt section above.

Also let the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) know you’re separated after you’ve been apart for at least 90 days. In some cases, you might qualify for extra Canada child benefit or GST credit payments.

To change your marital status, call CRA at 1-800-387-1193 (press 1 for the Canada child benefit, then press 1 to speak to a representative). Or fill out a Marital Status Change form and send it to the tax centre in your area. For more information and to get the form, see the Government of Canada website  . In the search bar, type marital status change. Click the link to open the page.

Get legal advice to protect your finances and credit, and to learn about your options. You especially need legal advice if you own a house, car, or other property (like joint bank accounts) with your spouse.

See Help from a lawyer for how to find one.

If you and your spouse can’t agree, either of you can ask the court to decide how to resolve some or all of your family law issues in a court order.

But you might be able to settle some or all of your issues without a court hearing. The following options will help you settle as much of your case as possible without a court hearing.

Going to Provincial Court

The Provincial (Family) Court has rules about which registry you can use.

Provincial (Family) Court registries offer extra, free services to help people resolve their family law issues without going to court. Depending on your registry, you have to use the services it offers before you can file an application with the court.

For more information, see Provincial Court Registries (go to fam​i​ly​.legalaid​.bc​.ca and search ​“Provincial Court Registries”).

Exchange information

The law says you and your spouse must provide each other with ​“full and true information” so you can resolve your family law dispute. This rule applies whether or not you go to court.

The court rules also set out exactly what information you must provide before you go to court. If you refuse to provide this information, the court can make various orders, including:

• requiring you to provide the missing information and documents, and
• ordering you to pay a fine or to pay the other person’s legal costs.

Meet with a child support officer

Child support officers can help you understand the child support guidelines and calculate how much child support you should pay or get. Child support officers are available at Family Justice Centres in Kelowna, Nanaimo, Surrey, Vancouver, and Victoria.

If your spouse agrees, a child support officer can work with both of you to negotiate the child support amount. Child support officers can also refer you to other services for help. You can choose — or the court might send you — to see a child support officer.

See Legal information to find Family Justice Centres.

Meet with a family justice counsellor

Family justice counsellors provide a variety of free services for families experiencing separation and divorce. They can:

• help you explore ways to settle your parenting and support issues, including free mediation, and
• give you legal information about how to get or change family agreements or court orders.

See Legal information to find family justice counsellors.

Go to a Parenting After Separation course

In Provincial (Family) Court, you have to complete a Parenting After Separation course before you can appear in court. This is a free online workshop to help guardians deal with separation and make sure they think about the best interests of the child when they make decisions.

Even if you don’t have to complete this course (for example, if your case is in Supreme Court), it’s a good idea to take it anyway. For more information and to register, go to the Justice Education Society website.

See Legal information to find Family Justice Centres.

Meet with a judge or master

In Supreme Court, you must meet with a judge or master for a Judicial Case Conference (JCC) before you can ask the court to make an interim order. A JCC is a confidential meeting where you, your spouse, your lawyers (if you have them), and the judge or master can:

• identify the issues to be decided,
• review different ways to solve these issues,
• mediate between you on any issues you can’t agree on,
• consider what other family justice services might help you, and
• plan how your case will happen; for example, when the court hearings will happen and when you must exchange information.

Either of you can request a JCC at any time, even if a JCC has already been held.

In Provincial Court, judges can order a similar meeting, called a Family Management Conference (FMC), before you can have a court hearing. Please see Going to Provincial Court above. You and the judge explore options to settle your case at an FMC. At the meeting, the judge can also make:

• referrals to mediation or other dispute resolution services,
• a consent order you both agree to, or
• an order that helps prepare your case for a court hearing; for example, to exchange information.

Apply for an interim order

If you can’t agree on your family law issues, you can get a final order from the court but only after a trial. A trial can take a long time and a lot of work. While you prepare for a trial, you might need an interim order. An interim order provides a temporary solution for parenting arrangements, contact with a child, child and spousal support, and some property issues, such as who will live in the family home. If your case is in Supreme Court, you have to attend a Judicial Case Conference before you can apply for most interim orders.

It’s possible you and your spouse might decide the interim order works and should stay in place. If so, you don’t have to go back to court to make it permanent in a final order, unless the order is set for a limited time. You can keep using that interim order for as long as it works for you. Or you can ask the court for a consent order. You usually don’t have to go to court to get a consent order. You can just file your documents at the court registry.

If you can’t agree about keeping the interim order, you can apply to the court to change the interim order or ask for a final order at a trial.

Final order

The court can make a final order in only three situations:

• if both parties agree (a consent order),
• if you apply for an uncontested divorce, where you and your spouse have already agreed on how to deal with your parenting, support, and property and debt issues, or
• after a trial.

You can get a consent order or an uncontested divorce without going to court.

You need to get a divorce only if you were married. See Divorce - Ending the Marriage for how to apply for an uncontested divorce.

Family law protection order

You can ask the court for a family law protection order to protect yourself, your children, or any family member whose safety and security is at risk because of a family member’s violence. Family members include:

• your spouse (married or unmarried) or former spouse,
• someone you live or lived with in a marriage-like relationship for any length of time,
• your child’s parent or legal guardian,
• a relative of any of the above who lives with them,
• a relative of yours who lives with you, and
• your own child.

Family violence includes physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse, including:

• intimidation,
• harassment, and
• unreasonable restrictions on your independence.

When a judge makes a protection order, the order is automatically registered with the Protection Order Registry. All police forces in BC have access to registered protection orders. Any breach of this order is a criminal offence.

If there’s a history of violence in your family or you or your children are at risk, you might be able to get a legal aid lawyer to represent you. If you plan to go to court on your own to get a court order, you can get some help from family duty counsel.

See Help from a lawyer for information about family duty counsel and legal aid.

For more about other kinds of protection orders, see For Your Protection: Peace Bonds and Family Law Protection Orders.

Which court to go to

When a court sets aside or replaces an agreement 

Read the Family Law Act on the BC Laws website. (under Frequently Viewed Legislation, click Family Law Act).

If you’re legally married, divorce is the only way to legally end your marriage.

How to get a divorce

To get a divorce, you must first separate. You can live in the same house and be separated, as long as you’re not continuing to live in a marriage-like relationship.

Once you’ve been separated for at least one year, you can apply for a divorce in BC Supreme Court. At least one spouse must live in BC and have lived here for 12 months before you can apply.

If your marriage breaks up because of adultery or physical or mental cruelty, you don’t have to wait one year before you apply for a divorce. But you have to prove your case to the court. You need to talk to a lawyer about your options. You might decide waiting one year is easier.

Uncontested divorce

You can apply for an uncontested divorce if you and your spouse agree to get a divorce and you have a written agreement about:

• parenting arrangements and contact with a child,
• child support and spousal support, and
• division of property and debts.

This is also called an undefended divorce, or a desk-order divorce. A judge will grant this type of divorce without you having to go to court if the forms you file with the court are correct and you’ve made reasonable arrangements for child support payments (if you have children).

You can make a sole application or a joint divorce application.

• With a sole application, your spouse isn’t involved in the application process, but does agree on the issues.
• With a joint application, you apply for the divorce order together.

Contested divorce

You might have to apply for a contested divorce (also known as a defended divorce) if you and your spouse have tried to reach an agreement outside of court, and can’t agree about all your issues. For example, you might agree about parenting and support, but not about how to divide property and debt.

If you can’t come to an agreement about all of your issues, a judge will make a decision about them at a trial. It can take a long time to get a trial scheduled and the whole process is time-consuming, expensive, and stressful. It’s also very hard on any children involved. Before you decide to go to court, think about all the other available options to settle your differences. Because the process is complicated, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer.

See Help from a lawyer to find one.

How to apply for an uncontested divorce

You have to apply to the BC Supreme Court for a divorce. If you already settled all your other issues (either by written agreement or court orders made in either Supreme Court or Provincial Court), you may be able to fill out the necessary Supreme Court forms and file them at the court registry yourself, in person, or online.

See the Family Law in BC website for a step-by-step divorce guide (in English only).

The BC government has a free Online Divorce Assistant that asks you questions and automatically fills out all the forms you need for a joint divorce based on your answers. Use this tool if:

• you or your spouse live in BC and agree about getting a divorce,
• your dependent children live with one or both of you, and
• your marriage certificate or marriage registration is in English.

If you apply for an uncontested divorce (called undefended divorce in the court rules), a judge approves the divorce without you having to go to court, if:

• you correctly filled out and filed all the right documents with the court registry,
• the judge is satisfied that you or your spouse lived in BC for the 12 months right before you apply for a divorce,
• the judge is satisfied that you’ve proved the reason for asking for the divorce (usually just that you’ve been separated for at least a year), and
• the judge is satisfied you made reasonable arrangements for your children’s care and financial support.

You can start the court process for a divorce as soon as you and your spouse separate. You can file documents at the court registry to open a court file. But, you can’t file an application for a divorce order (and a judge won’t grant the divorce) until you‘ve been separated for at least one year, unless there’s been adultery or cruelty.

You don’t have to apply for a divorce as soon as you’ve been separated for a year. You might not be ready for a divorce, or you and your spouse might get back together. Or you might want some time to pass before you start trying to make final agreements about parenting arrangements, contact, support, and property and debt division.

You and your spouse can get back together for up to 90 days without affecting the one-year separation period needed for a divorce. If you stay together longer than 90 days but still end up separating, the one-year period starts over from when you separated the second time.

If you’re separated, your spouse can apply for a divorce even if you don’t want one. You can’t stop the divorce from going ahead. If you disagree with the support or parenting arrangements or the property and debt division your spouse suggests as part of the divorce, see a lawyer.

You can apply for a divorce in BC even if you were married in another country, if:

• you have a marriage certificate or other proof that you were legally married there, and
• you or your spouse lived in BC for the 12 months right before you apply for a divorce.

Canada recognizes the following documents as proof of marriage from other countries:

• original marriage certificates,
• original marriage registrations, or
• certified true copies of marriage documents.

Some cultures have their own divorce ceremonies. But you aren’t legally divorced in Canada unless you have a court order for divorce from Canada or another country.

You might want to get a lawyer’s help. Or, you might be able to do some of the work and have a lawyer review it. A lawyer can also give you legal advice about your options.

See Help from a lawyer to find out where to find one.

If you’re an immigrant, you might have some special concerns about a separation or getting a divorce in Canada.

If you’re a permanent resident

If your spouse (married or unmarried) sponsored you to come to Canada, and you’re now a permanent resident (landed immigrant), you can stay in Canada even if you leave the marriage or common-law relationship. Your spouse or partner:

• can’t make you leave Canada,
• doesn’t have the right to keep your children or your property, and
• still has a legal responsibility to help support you and your children and to keep other obligations they might have as a sponsor.

See Child support and Spousal support.

If you have to get welfare, your status in Canada won’t change. However, the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (the ministry) expects you to get support from your sponsor. You usually have to give the ministry the right to collect support payments.

If your sponsor won’t support you, you can still get welfare. If you left the relationship because your sponsor abused you, tell the ministry. In such cases, you don’t need to try to get support from your sponsor before you qualify for welfare.

If you sponsored your spouse or partner to come to Canada, you need to support them for the time you agreed to, even if you’re separated or divorced. If the person you sponsored abused you, see a lawyer.

See the Financial help section to find out about welfare and see Help from a lawyer for how to find one.

To find out more about what could happen when a sponsorship doesn’t work, read Sponsorship Breakdown. It explains what to do if the person who sponsored you can’t or won’t support you, and you can’t support yourself. Sponsorship Breakdown is for immigrants in the family class (people sponsored by a child, grandchild, spouse, or parent) or in the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class.

If you aren’t a permanent resident

If you aren’t a permanent resident in Canada (for example, if you’re a refugee claimant, or if you’re in the process of being sponsored) and you and your spouse separate, get advice right away about your immigration status. If possible, contact an immigration lawyer. A multicultural agency might also be able to help.

See Other free legal services to find multicultural agencies to help you. See also Help from a lawyer to get the contact information for the Lawyer Referral Service. This service can refer you to a lawyer who specializes in immigration matters.

Permanent resident status

If your spouse sponsored you for permanent resident status but you haven’t yet had a decision on your application, get legal help right away. You might be able to apply to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Settlement workers, also called immigrant settlement workers, help newcomers to Canada find services. Call VictimLinkBC to ask where to get this help. See the Legal information section for contact information.

If you’re sponsoring your abuser

Get legal advice as soon as possible if your spouse abuses you. You might also want to speak to a settlement worker.

See Where to get more legal help.

For more information about marriage and divorce inside or outside Canada, see the Family Law in BC website.