Four requirements come up in almost every Burnaby file:
- Residence. Either spouse must have been habitually resident in British Columbia for at least one year immediately before the case is started. Where you married does not matter.
- Breakdown of the marriage. Most divorces rely on the spouses having lived separate and apart for at least one year by the time the court decides the case. Adultery and cruelty are also grounds under the Act, and each has to be proved.
- Arrangements for the children. The court must be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for the support of any children of the marriage, having regard to the child support guidelines. If they have not, the divorce is put on hold until they are.
- Proof of the marriage. Whoever first files a claim for divorce has to file the marriage certificate, or a certificate of registration of the marriage, unless the registrar accepts the reasons why it cannot be filed yet or at all.
When nothing is contested, the Supreme Court Family Rules let a party in an undefended case ask for judgment by requisition, with the evidence for the divorce given by affidavit, so a hearing is often not needed. Our articles on how to file for divorce in BC and on uncontested divorce walk through the paperwork. As a rule the divorce takes effect on the 31st day after the judgment; an appeal or a court order can change that date, as the last question below explains.
The two-year clock a divorce starts
For married spouses, the divorce judgment is what starts the time limit for property, pension and spousal support claims. The wording of the Family Law Act, section 198(2), is:
“A spouse may start a proceeding for an order under Part 5 [Property Division] to divide property or family debt, Part 6 [Pension Division] to divide a pension, or Part 7 [Child and Spousal Support] for spousal support, no later than 2 years after,
(a) in the case of spouses who were married, the date
(i) a judgment granting a divorce of the spouses is made, or
(ii) an order is made declaring the marriage of the spouses to be a nullity, or
(b) in the case of spouses who were living in a marriage-like relationship, the date the spouses separated.”
Two practical points follow. A divorce granted while the house, savings and pensions are still undivided starts a two-year limit for both spouses. And for unmarried couples there is no divorce to wait for: the two years count from the date you separated. Under section 198(5), the limit is suspended for any period in which the spouses are engaged in family dispute resolution with a family dispute resolution professional, as the Act defines those terms (a family justice counsellor, a parenting coordinator or a qualifying mediator or arbitrator, for example), or in a prescribed process. Whether a particular negotiation counts, and when it began and ended, can be argued later, so do not rely on the suspension without advice, and keep dated records.
Vancouver or New Westminster: where the Supreme Court case is filed
There is no courthouse in Burnaby. The Supreme Court sits on either side of the city: at the Vancouver Law Courts, 800 Smithe Street, and at the New Westminster Law Courts, Begbie Square, 651 Carnarvon Street. Both have full Supreme Court registries.
It is often said that a Burnaby divorce has to be filed at New Westminster. We found no rule in the Supreme Court Family Rules that assigns a Burnaby address to either registry. What the rules do fix: the place of trial is the one named in the notice of family claim unless the court changes it, the notice of trial is filed in the registry where the case started, and the court can transfer a case to another registry on application. Guidance from the BC Family Maintenance Agency, written for filing an agreement, points people to the registry closest to where they live.
Beyond those rules, the choice is a practical one. For most of Burnaby, New Westminster is the nearer courthouse. By road it is roughly 6 km from Edmonds, 7 km from City Hall on Canada Way, 8 km from Lougheed Town Centre and 9 km from Metrotown, while the Vancouver Law Courts are roughly 13 to 19 km from the same points. In the north-west of the city the gap closes: around Brentwood the two are about even, and from Hastings Street near Willingdon Avenue the Vancouver courthouse is a little nearer. Distance does not decide where a case must be filed. Where your spouse lives and where hearings and any trial would be easiest to attend also matter, and if you are unsure, confirm the registry with the court or your lawyer before the claim is issued.
Divorce is a Supreme Court matter, and so is the division of property, debt and pensions. If those are in dispute, the whole case usually belongs in the Supreme Court. Our Vancouver divorce lawyers page explains the Supreme Court process at greater length.
Parenting and support: the Provincial Court, and Burnaby’s split
Not every family needs the Supreme Court. The Provincial Court deals with guardianship, parenting time and responsibilities, contact, child and spousal support, and who keeps a companion animal. It cannot grant a divorce, divide other property or debt, or divide a pension. There are no fees for filing Provincial Court family documents.
Here the registry is set by rule, not by choice. Under rule 7 of the Provincial Court Family Rules, a new case belongs in the registry nearest the home where the child usually lives; with no child involved, it is the registry nearest the first filer’s home. Burnaby sits between two registries:
- New Westminster Provincial Court, at the same Law Courts building, 651 Carnarvon Street. For homes in south, central and east Burnaby, this is the nearer registry.
- Robson Square Provincial Court, 800 Hornby Street, the Provincial Court’s family registry in downtown Vancouver. For homes in the north-west corner of Burnaby, near the Vancouver boundary and around Hastings Street at Willingdon Avenue, Robson Square can be the nearer one.
The rule does not say whether “closest” is measured by road or in a straight line, and around Brentwood the answer is close either way. If your home is near that line, confirm the registry with the court before you file. The choice lasts: once a case exists between the same parties, every later document goes to the same registry, even if the family later moves across Burnaby.
The early resolution steps at both registries
New Westminster became an Early Resolution Registry on April 1, 2025, and Robson Square followed on November 1, 2025. At both, four things come before a parent can apply for an order: filing Form 1, the Notice to Resolve, and sending a copy to the other side; completing a needs assessment; finishing a parenting education program; and trying at least one session of consensual dispute resolution, such as mediation. The other parent faces the same list before filing a reply.
The steps are done through free government services, and the office depends on the registry:
- New Westminster registry: the New Westminster Family Justice Centre, Columbia Square Plaza, 204-88 10th Street, 604-660-8636.
- Robson Square registry: the Vancouver Justice Access Centre, 290-800 Hornby Street, 604-660-2084.
There is no Family Justice Centre in Burnaby itself. Family Justice Counsellors are accredited mediators and also work by phone and video.
The early resolution steps do not have to come first in every case. They are not needed if all you are asking for is protection from family violence, a priority parenting matter, a relocation order, a consent order or a case management order, and the first two can be heard before the steps are finished. With the court’s permission, those two kinds of application may also be filed in a registry other than the closest one.
One transitional point affects some north Burnaby families. A Provincial Court case started at Robson Square before November 1, 2025 continues under the family justice registry rules that applied there before the change. If you already have an older Robson Square file, the steps described above may not be the ones that govern it.
Cases can run in both courts at once, for example parenting and support in the Provincial Court and property in the Supreme Court; the Family Law Act gives each court ways to avoid conflicting orders.
Dividing property and debt
Some property is excluded: what a spouse brought into the relationship, inheritances, gifts from a third party and certain damages awards. The spouse who says something is excluded has to prove it, and if excluded property rose in value during the relationship, the increase counts as family property. Equal is the starting point, not a guarantee: the Supreme Court can order an unequal division where an equal one would be significantly unfair, and spouses can agree to divide differently.
Property is valued as of the agreement or hearing date, not the separation date. Unmarried partners are treated as spouses for property division after two years of living together in a marriage-like relationship. Our property division lawyers handle these claims, and our article on how long after separation you can claim assets looks at the timing question in more depth.
When a spouse, a marriage or property is outside Canada
About half of the Burnaby residents counted in the 2021 census were immigrants. This section covers the rules that apply when the wedding took place abroad, a spouse lives overseas or there is property in another country.
A marriage celebrated in another country can be ended here, so long as the one-year residence requirement is met. For a divorce already granted abroad, section 22 of the Divorce Act recognises it where either spouse was habitually resident in that country for at least a year before the proceeding began. That is not the only route: the Act keeps other recognition rules in place, so a foreign divorce that misses the one-year test is not automatically rejected. Whether a particular foreign divorce is recognised is worth settling before you remarry or divide property, because a spouse whose foreign divorce is not recognised may still be married under Canadian law.
On property, one way the Supreme Court gains authority is that either spouse is habitually resident in British Columbia when the case starts. It can then deal with property outside the province, for instance by substituting BC property for the foreign asset or ordering the spouse on title to pay compensation. Where there is no agreement and the couple’s first shared home was in a place with a community of property regime, that regime may govern the property it covers. Susan Kim acts for clients whose family property and businesses are held in more than one country, and her practice includes conflict of laws questions. Our articles on international divorce in Canada and on a spouse who does not live in Canada go further.
Children: schedules, support and a parent’s move
Moving with a child has its own procedure. Under the Family Law Act (Part 4, Division 6, sections 65 to 71), where a written agreement or an order about parenting arrangements or contact applies, a guardian planning a move that can reasonably be expected to significantly affect the child’s relationship with a guardian, or with someone else who plays a significant role in the child’s life, must give all other guardians and everyone who has contact with the child at least 60 days’ written notice of the date and the new location. The court can excuse all or part of the notice, on an application made without the other side, where notice would risk family violence or where there is no ongoing relationship between the child and that person. A guardian who objects has 30 days after receiving the notice to apply to prohibit the move; otherwise it may go ahead on the date given. Where parenting is governed by the Divorce Act, its own relocation sections (16.9 to 16.96) apply instead, with a 60-day notice in a prescribed form and a 30-day objection period. Get advice before you give or answer a notice. When the move is abroad, our article on custody where parents live in different countries is a useful starting point.
Who you will work with
Judith A. Janzen, Principal Lawyer and Family Law Practice Leader, was admitted to the BC bar in 2000 and joined forces with Candace Cho, KC in 2012. The other family lawyers are:
- Susan Kim (Associate Counsel; BC bar 2000; Korean)
- Rupinder Shoker (Associate Counsel; BC bar 2011)
- Rasjovan Dale (Associate Counsel; BC bar 2018; Punjabi)
- Katya Richardson (Associate Counsel; BC bar 2018), who also takes limited-scope retainers for people running parts of their own case
- Mason Heller (Associate Lawyer; BC bar 2019)
- Shivleen Sidhu (Associate Lawyer; BC bar 2019; Punjabi)
- Louisa Ledesma (Associate Lawyer; BC bar 2024; Tagalog and conversational Mandarin)
Everyone else at the firm is listed on our team page.
Common questions
Our children live in North Burnaby. Is our Provincial Court case at Robson Square or New Westminster?
It depends on where the children live most of the time, because the rules send a new case to the registry closest to that home. In the north-west, around Hastings Street and the Vancouver boundary, Robson Square can be closer; near Brentwood it is close to even. Check with the registry before filing, since the case stays where it starts.
We were married outside Canada. Can we get divorced in BC while living in Burnaby?
Yes, if either of you has been habitually resident in British Columbia for at least a year before the case is filed. You will need the marriage certificate, and documents filed in the Supreme Court must be in English, so a certificate in another language will normally need a translation. Property abroad can be part of the case.
Do we have to be divorced before we divide property?
No. Property and debt can be divided by agreement or court order at any time after separation. For married spouses, the divorce judgment starts a two-year limit on property and spousal support claims, so it is usually better to deal with property first or at the same time.
When is the divorce final?
As a rule, on the 31st day after the judgment granting it. If an appeal is pending at that point, the divorce takes effect only once the appeal and the time for any further appeal have run their course. The court can set an earlier date only for special circumstances, and only if both spouses agree and undertake not to appeal, or any appeal has been abandoned. After the divorce takes effect, a certificate of divorce can be obtained from the court.
How do I arrange a first meeting?
Call (604) 900-2538 or use our contact form, and ask about consultation fees when you book. Meetings take place at our New Westminster office; if you would rather meet by phone or video, ask when you book. Family law files at Onyx are billed at an hourly rate.
