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.