Family Law and Divorce Lawyers in British Columbia

Separation touches almost everything at once: where the kids sleep, who keeps the house, how the bills get paid, what happens to the pension you both counted on. British Columbia has its own rulebook for sorting that out, and it does not always match what you have heard from friends in other provinces or seen on American television.

At Onyx Law Group, we act for people going through separation and divorce from offices in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Surrey. This page walks through how BC family law actually works — the statutes, the money, the parenting rules, and the court process — so you can make decisions from a position of knowledge rather than guesswork. When you are ready to talk about your own situation, book a confidential consultation.

What family law covers in British Columbia

Two statutes do most of the work in BC. The provincial Family Law Act (SBC 2011, c. 25) governs property division, debt, spousal and child support, guardianship, and parenting arrangements — for married and unmarried couples alike. The federal Divorce Act applies only to married spouses, and it is the law that actually ends a marriage and can order support and parenting time as part of a divorce. Many separating couples deal with both at the same time.

The practical issues tend to cluster into four areas: dividing what you built together, deciding whether one person supports the other, working out how the children are cared for, and, for married couples, getting the divorce order itself. A single separation can raise all four, or just one. Sorting out which law applies to which issue is usually the first thing a family lawyer does.

Married spouses, common-law partners, and the two-year rule

British Columbia gives common-law couples far more than many people expect. Under section 3 of the Family Law Act, you are a “spouse” if you are married, or if you lived with your partner in a marriage-like relationship for a continuous period of at least two years. Hit that two-year mark and you fall under the same property-division and support rules as a married couple — there is no separate, lesser regime for common-law partners here.

There is one wrinkle worth knowing. A couple who have a child together but lived together for less than two years are spouses for support purposes, but not for property division; the property and pension rules in Parts 5 and 6 of the Act require the two-year cohabitation (or marriage). That distinction catches people out, and it is a large part of why BC common-law separations are worth legal advice rather than assumptions. If you are weighing an agreement before or during a relationship, our prenuptial and cohabitation agreement lawyers can set expectations in writing before any of this is in dispute.

Dividing property and debt after separation

Property is where BC law is most specific, and where guesswork costs the most. The whole scheme lives in Part 5 of the Family Law Act, and it turns on a single distinction: family property, which you split, and excluded property, which you generally keep.

Family property and the equal-division default

Section 81 sets the starting point. On separation, each spouse is entitled to an undivided half interest in all family property and is equally responsible for family debt, regardless of whose name sits on the title, the account, or the loan. Family property, defined in section 84, is essentially everything either spouse owns on the date of separation that is not specifically excluded: the home, bank and investment accounts, vehicles, business interests, and the portion of assets acquired during the relationship. The default is an even split, full stop, and the burden is on the spouse who wants a different result.

Because these calculations reach into homes, businesses, and pensions, the arithmetic is rarely simple. Our property division lawyers handle the tracing and valuation work that decides how much is actually on the table.

Excluded property — and why its growth is still shared

Section 85 lists what stays with one spouse: property you brought into the relationship, gifts and inheritances received by one spouse, certain court awards and insurance payouts, and some categories of trust property. The spouse claiming an exclusion has to prove it, so records matter — a deposit slip from before the relationship, an inheritance cheque, the paperwork behind a gift.

Here is the part people miss. The excluded asset itself stays out of the pool, but any increase in its value during the relationship is family property and gets divided. Say one spouse owned a condo worth $400,000 when the relationship began, and it is worth $700,000 at separation. The original $400,000 is excluded; the $300,000 of growth is shared. The same logic applies to an investment portfolio, a business, or land that appreciated while you were together. Excluded property is a shield around the original value, not the gain.

The valuation date

Two dates do different jobs, and mixing them up leads to bad numbers. The pool of family property is fixed at the date of separation; that is the snapshot of what counts. But under section 87, the value of that property is generally its fair market value as at the date of the agreement or the trial, not the separation date. In a rising or falling market, or where a business has moved since you split, that gap can be significant. It is why an up-to-date appraisal often matters more than what something was worth the day someone moved out.

When a court divides unequally: significant unfairness

Equal is the default, not an ironclad rule. Section 95 lets a court divide family property or debt unequally where an equal split would be “significantly unfair,” a deliberately high bar, meaning something well beyond ordinary unfairness. In deciding, the court weighs factors set out in the section: the length of the relationship, the terms of any agreement, a spouse’s contribution to the other’s career or earning capacity, how family debt was incurred, and more. Reapportionment arguments are fact-heavy and hard to win, which is exactly why the evidence you assemble early tends to decide them.

Family debt, the family home, and pensions

Debt follows the same equal-sharing logic as property. Under section 86, family debt is what either spouse takes on during the relationship. Debt incurred after separation counts too, if it went toward maintaining family property. Both spouses are on the hook for the family-debt total, even where only one name is on the account.

The family home is family property like anything else; BC does not hand it automatically to one spouse or give it a special protected share the way some jurisdictions do. A court can, however, order that one spouse have temporary exclusive use of the residence while things are sorted out. Pensions get their own detailed treatment in Part 6 of the Act, which sets out how workplace pensions and similar plans are divided — an area where the plan rules and the statute interact, and where getting the mechanics wrong can quietly cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Spousal support: who pays, how much, and for how long

Spousal support is never automatic. Before any number gets discussed, the person asking has to show entitlement, and there are three recognized bases for it. Compensatory support addresses the economic fallout of the relationship: a spouse who left the workforce to raise children or follow the other’s career, and now earns less for it. Non-compensatory (or needs-based) support responds to real financial hardship flowing from the breakdown, even without a career sacrifice. Contractual support arises where the couple agreed to it, in a marriage agreement or a separation agreement.

Which law applies depends on marital status. Married spouses can claim under section 15.2 of the Divorce Act; married or common-law spouses can claim under Part 7 of the Family Law Act. Both tracks weigh similar things — the length of the relationship, the roles each person played, and the financial position each is left in.

Once entitlement is established, lawyers and judges turn to the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) to work out amount and duration. The SSAG are advisory, not binding law. They produce a range rather than a single figure, using different formulas depending on whether child support is also being paid. Duration often ties to the length of the relationship, and long relationships can produce indefinite (reviewable) support. Because the guidelines give a range and not an answer, where you land inside that range is where the negotiation actually happens. Our spousal support lawyers build the income and entitlement case that moves the number. For a closer look at the arguments that reduce or end an obligation, see our guide on how spousal support obligations can change or end.

Child support in British Columbia

Child support is treated as the child’s right, which is why parents cannot simply bargain it away. The amount runs off the Federal Child Support Guidelines, which British Columbia has adopted for provincial cases, so the same tables apply whether your file is under the Divorce Act or the Family Law Act.

The base (“table”) amount comes from two inputs: the paying parent’s Guidelines income and the number of children. Guidelines income usually starts from line 15000 of a tax return, but the Guidelines’ income rules (sections 15 to 20) let a court adjust it: adding back corporate income for a spouse who controls a company, or imputing income under section 19 where someone is underemployed or not disclosing fully. Sorting out the real income is often the whole fight, especially with self-employed or business-owner parents.

Three rules sit on top of the table amount:

• Special or extraordinary expenses (section 7). Childcare, health and dental premiums, significant medical costs, some educational expenses, and extraordinary extracurricular activities are shared on top of the table amount, in proportion to each parent’s income rather than split evenly.
• Shared parenting (section 9). Where each parent has the child at least 40% of the time, the straight table amount no longer applies automatically. The court instead considers a set-off of each parent’s table amount, the increased costs of shared arrangements, and the means and needs of each household, which is why more equal parenting time can meaningfully change the support figure.
• The age of majority. Support does not necessarily stop when a child turns 19 (BC’s age of majority). It can continue for an adult child who remains dependent because of full-time schooling, illness, or disability, under section 147 of the Family Law Act and the “child of the marriage” definition in the Divorce Act.

Our child support lawyers handle income determination, section 7 claims, and shared-parenting calculations. If you are wondering which year’s income the number is built on, we cover that in how child support income is calculated.

Parenting: guardianship, parenting time, and the child’s best interests

BC law dropped the words “custody” and “access” years ago, and the change was more than cosmetic. The Family Law Act now speaks in terms of guardianship, parental responsibilities, and parenting time — language built around the child rather than a parent’s rights. Getting the vocabulary right matters, because it maps onto what a court can actually order.

Under section 39, parents who lived together are generally each guardians of their child, and they stay guardians after separation unless an agreement or order says otherwise. Guardians share parental responsibilities: the decision-making listed in section 41, covering things like education, healthcare, and religious upbringing — and each has parenting time under section 42, the day-to-day time when the child is in their care. These can be split in many ways; joint guardianship with unequal parenting time is common, and there is no legal presumption of a 50/50 clock.

Every parenting decision is measured against one standard: the best interests of the child, and only the child’s best interests. Section 37 lists the factors a court must weigh: the child’s health and emotional well-being, the history of care, the child’s relationships, the ability of each parent to meet the child’s needs, and any family violence, among others. The child’s own views are part of that list, to be considered unless it would be inappropriate given the child’s age and maturity; those views sometimes come in through a “Hear the Child” report. Our co-parenting and parenting-arrangement lawyers help translate all of this into a workable schedule and, where needed, a court order.

Relocation and the 60-day notice

Moving with a child after separation has its own rulebook, in Divisions 6 of Part 4 (sections 65 to 71). A guardian who plans to relocate in a way that could significantly affect the child’s relationship with another guardian generally must give at least 60 days’ written notice under section 68. From there, the law sets out who has to show what, and the answer depends on the existing parenting arrangement — whether the parents share the child’s time roughly equally makes a real difference to how the case is argued. Relocation disputes are among the hardest-fought in family law, and the 60-day notice is a deadline you do not want to discover after the fact.

How a family law case moves through the courts

British Columbia has two trial courts for family matters, and choosing the right one shapes cost, timeline, and what you can ask for. The Provincial (Family) Court handles parenting, guardianship, contact, child support, spousal support, and protection orders, with no filing fee, which keeps it accessible. What it cannot do is grant a divorce or divide property and pensions. Those belong to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, which handles the full range: divorce, property and pension division, support, and parenting. Files involving property or a divorce start in Supreme Court by necessity.

A Supreme Court family case begins with a Notice of Family Claim, Form F3, under the Supreme Court Family Rules. Before most contested applications can be brought, the parties must attend a Judicial Case Conference (Rule 7-1), an off-the-record meeting with a judge or master aimed at narrowing issues and, often, settling them. Interim applications — for temporary support, temporary parenting arrangements, or disclosure — are brought as chambers applications under the same rules while the case works toward resolution.

Settlement pressure is built into the process. Under Rule 11-1, a formal offer to settle can carry cost consequences: a party who turns down a reasonable offer and does no better at trial may end up paying a share of the other side’s costs. That single rule quietly drives a great many settlements, because litigating past a fair offer becomes financially risky. Our Vancouver divorce lawyers handle files in both courts and will tell you honestly when a matter belongs in one rather than the other.

Settling out of court: mediation, collaborative law, and agreements

Most family matters in BC settle without a trial, and the Family Law Act is written to encourage exactly that — Part 2 of the Act is built around resolving family disputes out of court where it is appropriate. There are several routes. In mediation, a neutral mediator helps the two of you reach your own agreement. In collaborative family law, each spouse has a lawyer and everyone signs on to resolve the matter without going to court. In family arbitration, a private arbitrator hears the dispute and makes a binding decision, which can be faster and more private than a courtroom.

Whatever the route, the destination is usually a separation agreement: a written contract covering property, support, and parenting. These agreements carry real weight, but they are not bulletproof. A court can review and set aside a property agreement under section 93 where there were problems in how it was made: a spouse failed to disclose significant assets or debts, took improper advantage of the other’s vulnerability, or did not understand the nature of the agreement — or where the agreement is significantly unfair on the section 93 factors. Support terms have their own review routes for child and spousal support. The practical lesson is that a rushed, undisclosed, or lopsided agreement can unravel later, while a properly negotiated and disclosed one tends to hold. Our family mediation lawyers help couples reach agreements built to survive that kind of scrutiny.

Getting a divorce in BC

A divorce is a specific legal order that ends a marriage, and it is separate from all the property, support, and parenting questions. You can resolve those without a divorce, and you can divorce with those still outstanding. Divorce runs under the federal Divorce Act, which recognizes a single ground: breakdown of the marriage. Breakdown is established one of three ways under section 8 — the spouses have lived separate and apart for at least one year, or one spouse committed adultery, or one spouse treated the other with physical or mental cruelty. The overwhelming majority of BC divorces rely on the one-year separation.

You can start the paperwork before the year is up, but the order will not be granted until the separation period is complete. There is a residency requirement: under section 3 of the Divorce Act, at least one spouse must have been ordinarily resident in British Columbia for a full year before filing. An uncontested divorce, where everything else is already agreed, can often be finished as a desk-order application without anyone appearing in court. A divorce entangled with disputed property, support, or parenting takes as long as those issues take to resolve.

When you need to appeal a family law order

Not every family order is the end of the road. A party who believes a judge made a legal error may be able to appeal, and appeals run on strict deadlines and a narrower set of arguments than a trial: you generally cannot simply re-run the facts. Appeal work is its own discipline. If you are weighing whether an order can be challenged, our family law appeal lawyers can assess the grounds and the timeline before the window closes. For orders headed to the Court of Appeal, our family court appeal lawyer can take the file from the notice of appeal through the hearing.

Related practice areas

Separation rarely stays inside a single box. A divorce changes how your will and beneficiary designations should read, and an inheritance in play during a relationship raises both family-property and estate questions. Onyx Law Group also practises estate law, so those threads can be handled under one roof:

• Estates and trusts law: wills, estate planning, probate, and estate disputes.
• Estate planning lawyers: updating your will and beneficiary designations after a separation or divorce.

Working with Onyx Law Group’s family lawyers

The right lawyer changes how a separation feels as much as how it ends. We focus on clear advice, practical options, and steady representation shaped to your circumstances rather than a template.

• BC family law is what we do. Our lawyers work in the Provincial and Supreme Court family systems and keep current with changes to the Family Law Act and the Divorce Act, so the advice matches how cases actually move here.
• Three Metro Vancouver offices. We meet clients in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Surrey: a real local presence, not a virtual address.
• Straight answers early. We take the time to understand your situation, then set out the realistic paths, including the ones that keep you out of court, so you can decide with the full picture in front of you.
• Support beyond the divorce. Because we also handle wills and estates, we can keep related matters aligned as your circumstances change.

What it costs to hire a family lawyer in BC

Cost depends on the type of case and how much of it is actually in dispute. Some work is billed hourly; some, like a straightforward uncontested divorce, can be handled for a fixed fee. Knowing the fee structure at the outset lets you plan rather than guess.

What drives the total is conflict, not paperwork. Disputes over parenting, support, or property division take time, and the less two people cooperate, the more the file costs. Matters that settle, through negotiation, mediation, or a well-timed offer under Rule 11-1, cost less than matters that run to trial in Provincial or Supreme Court. Legal aid is available to those who qualify, and alternative dispute resolution keeps many families out of the most expensive part of the system. For a fuller breakdown, see how much a divorce costs in BC.

Speak with a BC family lawyer

Separation and divorce are hard enough without carrying the legal weight alone. Onyx Law Group acts for individuals and families across British Columbia from offices in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Surrey, with clear advice and representation aimed at protecting what matters most to you. Whether your situation is straightforward or tangled, we will walk you through the next step. Contact us today to arrange a confidential consultation, or call (604) 900-2538.

Disclaimer: The information on this page is general legal information about British Columbia law, not legal advice for any specific situation. Reading this page does not create a solicitor-client relationship. BC law changes, and the law and procedure that apply to any particular case depend on facts not covered here. For advice on your own circumstances, speak with a qualified British Columbia family lawyer directly. Past results and illustrative scenarios do not guarantee similar outcomes in any specific case.