When a couple separates, attention goes first to the house and the savings. British Columbia law treats debts the same way. Under section 81 of the Family Law Act (FLA), unless an agreement or order provides otherwise, spouses are both responsible for family debt regardless of who used the money or who signed, and on separation each is equally responsible for it. For a household carrying a mortgage, a line of credit, a vehicle loan, equipment financing or credit card balances, the debt side of the division can matter as much as the asset side.
What counts as family debt
Debts are valued at the date of the agreement dividing them or the date of the court hearing, not the date of separation (section 87). A balance that has grown or shrunk since separation is therefore measured as it then stands, which is one reason to keep records of every payment you make after you separate.
When equal sharing would be unfair
Section 95 lets the Supreme Court depart from an equal split of family debt where an equal split would be significantly unfair. The factors it can consider include whether the debt was incurred in the normal course of the relationship, whether the debts exceed the family property and each spouse’s ability to pay a share, and whether a spouse, after separation, caused a significant increase or decrease in the value of family property or debt beyond market trends. A spouse who, not acting in good faith, ran down family property or moved it out of reach can be held to account in the division. Our article on a spouse who drained a joint line of credit gives an example.
Debts that fall outside the rule
Because family debt is defined by when it was incurred, a debt one spouse brought into the relationship, such as a student loan or a vehicle loan taken out before you moved in together, is not family debt under section 86, although payments made on it during the relationship may come up in the overall division. Debts taken on after separation for one spouse’s own purposes stay with that spouse. Where the family’s debts are larger than its property, the court can look at each spouse’s ability to pay a share in deciding whether to divide the debt unequally (section 95(2)(e)). Business debts need particular care: a line of credit or equipment loan used in a spouse’s business during the relationship can be family debt, and the business itself may be family property.
Your lender is not bound by your separation
This point catches people out. Nothing in Part 5 of the FLA affects the rights of a spouse’s creditors, guarantors or assignees in relation to family debt (section 82). An agreement or order between you and your former partner decides who pays what as between the two of you; it does not change what you owe the bank. If both of you signed a mortgage or a line of credit, the lender can still look to either of you for the full balance, whatever your agreement says, and your remedy is then against your former partner.
That makes the period right after separation important. Practical steps to discuss with a lawyer before you take them:
- List every debt in either name or both, with the balance on the date of separation. A copy of your credit report from a credit bureau shows accounts you may not know about.
- Look at joint credit first. A joint line of credit or credit card can be drawn on by either of you. Ask the lender what options it offers, such as requiring both signatures or freezing further advances, and do it in writing.
- Keep paying secured debt. Missed mortgage or loan payments damage both credit records and can put the asset at risk.
- Keep records of every payment you make after separation and from which account.
- Do not take on new debt in joint names, and think carefully before guaranteeing anything.
If you fear your partner will sell, borrow against or dispose of property while the division is pending, the Supreme Court must, on application, restrain the disposal of property at issue unless the other spouse shows the claim will not be defeated or harmed (FLA section 91). See our property division page and our article on dividing family property on separation.
Debt and support
One listed example is a spouse who is responsible for an unusually high level of debts reasonably incurred to support the family before separation or to earn a living (Guidelines section 10(2)(a)). The claim must be refused if the claimant’s household would still have a higher standard of living than the other parent’s (section 10(3)). See our child support page.
Who the debt rules apply to
The property and debt rules in Parts 5 and 6 of the FLA apply to married spouses and to people who lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years (section 3(1)). A couple together for less than two years who have a child count as spouses for support, but not for property and debt division. Spouses can be separated while still living in the same house (section 3(4)).
There is a time limit. A claim to divide property and debt, or for spousal support, has to be brought within two years, counted for a married couple from the divorce order and for an unmarried couple from the date they separated (section 198(2)). Only time spent with a mediator or other family dispute resolution professional, or in a prescribed process, stops the clock (section 198(5)). The dates are explained in our article on claiming assets after separation.
Where a Lumby case is heard
There is no courthouse in Lumby. Both the Provincial Court and the Supreme Court sit about 26 km away by road, in the Vernon courthouse on 27 Street (number 3001, per the Province’s list last updated 1 October 2026).
- Debt and property: Supreme Court only. Apart from a companion animal, the Provincial Court has no power to divide property or debt. The Supreme Court is also the only court that grants a divorce, ordinarily after a year of living separate and apart (Divorce Act section 8).
- Parenting and support: either court. In the Provincial Court, Vernon is an early resolution registry. Before filing an application you complete four steps (a notice to resolve, a needs assessment with a Family Justice Counsellor, a parenting education program, and a consensual dispute resolution session) unless one of the exceptions in Rules 12 and 14 applies. Which Provincial Court registry is the right one is set by Rule 7, by reference to the child’s main residence or, without a child issue, the first filer’s home; the registry can confirm it.
- Help before court. The provincial Family Justice Centre on 30th Street in Vernon (suite 202, number 3203) runs the needs assessments for the Vernon, Salmon Arm and Revelstoke registries. It charges nothing and offers phone and video appointments.
Documents for the first meeting
- statements for every loan, mortgage, line of credit and credit card, in either name, as at separation and now
- your credit report
- bank statements showing payments made since separation
- the title, assessment and mortgage details for any property
- your last three years of tax returns and assessments
- any agreement you and your partner have signed, and the date you separated
Questions from Lumby clients
The credit card is in my partner’s name only. Am I responsible for it?
Between you and your partner, a debt run up during the relationship is family debt, and you share responsibility for it equally whichever name it is in, subject to an agreement or order. The card issuer, though, can only pursue the person who signed.
My partner took out a loan after we separated. Is that family debt?
Only if it was taken on to maintain family property, for example to keep the mortgage on the family home current.
We agreed that I would keep the truck and the loan. The lender is still chasing my ex. Why?
Because your agreement does not bind the lender. Your ex remains liable to the lender until the loan is refinanced in your name or paid off; the agreement gives your ex a claim against you if you do not pay.
Will I have to travel to the Coast?
No. Meetings are by phone, email or video; court attendances in person are handled by your lawyer at the registry.
