People in Salmon Arm search for custody lawyers, but neither of the two statutes that govern separating families uses that word any more. Which vocabulary applies depends on the law your case is brought under.
| What people mean | Family Law Act (BC) | Divorce Act (federal, married spouses) |
|---|
| Who is legally responsible for the child | Guardianship: a parent who has lived with the child remains a guardian after separation, subject to any later agreement or order (s.39) | No separate concept; responsibilities are allocated by parenting order |
| Who makes the major decisions | Parental responsibilities, a list in s.41 that includes schooling, health care, where the child lives and religious and cultural upbringing | Decision-making responsibility: significant decisions about health, education, culture, language, religion and significant extracurricular activities (s.2) |
| Where the child spends time | Parenting time; during it a guardian makes day-to-day decisions (s.42) | Parenting time, which may be set out as a schedule (s.16.2) |
| Time for someone who is not a guardian, such as a grandparent | Contact (s.58) | Contact order (s.16.5) |
Under both statutes the child’s best interests are the only consideration. The court can divide responsibilities finely: one parent might decide on schooling while both share health decisions. A parent who plans to move with the child must give at least 60 days’ written notice under either Act, and the court can excuse notice where it would risk family violence (FLA s.66; Divorce Act s.16.9). Where a parenting case needs outside input, we bring in child experts, physicians and therapists; our co-parenting page describes that work.
Getting a parenting or support order in Salmon Arm
Two levels of court sit in Salmon Arm Law Courts at 550 2nd Avenue NE. Parenting arrangements, child and spousal support, contact and guardianship can be decided in the Provincial Court. A divorce, and dividing property and debt, need the Supreme Court.
Salmon Arm’s Provincial Court registry is an Early Resolution Registry, and there is no Family Justice Centre in town. The Province assigns its early resolution services to the Vernon Family Justice Centre on 30th Street, which also serves the Vernon and Revelstoke registries. You do not need to drive to Vernon for them: the Centre’s counsellors work by phone and video, and in-person visits are Tuesday to Thursday (check the hours before going).
An application in an Early Resolution Registry comes at the end of a sequence, not the start. The person applying first files and serves a Form 1 Notice to Resolve, then meets a counsellor for a needs assessment, takes the parenting education course and tries at least one dispute resolution session such as mediation (Rule 10). The counsellor can waive the course in the cases Rule 17 lists, and can decide that mediation is not appropriate or not available (Rule 18). Whoever receives the notice goes through the same steps before replying (Rule 11). Some applications skip the sequence entirely: those limited to a protection order, a priority parenting matter, relocation, a consent order or a case management order (Rule 12). Protection orders and priority parenting matters can also be brought before the steps are complete (Rule 14). Counsellors at the Centre are accredited mediators and their services are free, but they act for neither parent.
Which registry the case belongs in is set by Rule 7: the one closest to the home where the child lives most of the time; where no child issue is involved, the home of whichever party files first. For a family living in Salmon Arm that points to the 2nd Avenue courthouse. If the children live elsewhere, the answer may differ; check before filing. The Province’s list also shows Revelstoke cases filed at Salmon Arm.
When something cannot wait
They include consent to medical treatment where delay puts the child’s health at risk, a passport or travel consent that is said to be wrongfully refused, a planned change in where the child lives when there is no written agreement or order and the move would significantly affect the child’s relationship with the other guardian, and preventing a child’s removal under section 64 of the FLA. These applications can be made before the early resolution steps are done, and in urgent cases without notice to the other party where the rules allow. Rule 7 also lets the court give permission for a protection order or priority parenting application to be made in any registry.
If you are in danger, call 911 first; a protection order under section 183 of the FLA can follow.
Divorce and the Supreme Court in Salmon Arm
The Supreme Court registry is in the same building. Its scheduling line, in the court’s June 2026 directory, is the Kamloops scheduling number, so hearing and trial dates for Salmon Arm files are booked through that office. The place of trial is the one named in the notice of family claim, and the court can move it or split it between places (Supreme Court Family Rule 14-2).
The judgment does not end the marriage the same day. It takes effect 31 days later, or later still while an appeal is pending, and a judge can bring that forward only for special circumstances and with both spouses agreeing not to appeal (s.12). The divorce order itself can wait while parenting and money are settled. See our page on divorce lawyers.
Property and debt division
Family debt is every financial obligation either spouse incurred from the start of the relationship to separation, plus debts taken on after separation to maintain family property (section 86). A line of credit or a credit card in one name only can still be family debt. Property owned before the relationship, inheritances and gifts are excluded, but their growth in value during the relationship is shared (sections 84 and 85). Section 95 gives the court room to depart from halves where an equal division would be significantly unfair.
Claims to divide property and debt, and for spousal support, must be started within two years: of the divorce order if you were married, of the separation if you were not (section 198(2)). The clock stops only during time spent in family dispute resolution with a professional, a category that includes Family Justice Counsellors, mediators and lawyers advising either of you (section 198(5)). Informal talks between the two of you do not stop it. Before a first meeting about property and debt, it helps to pull together:
- statements for every account, loan, line of credit and credit card in either name, at the date you started living together and at separation;
- the latest property tax assessment and mortgage statement for any home;
- records showing what you owned when the relationship began, and any inheritance or gift received since;
- pension and RRSP statements;
- the last three years of tax returns, which the child support rules also rely on.
Read more on property division.
Support
If the parenting split gives each parent 40% or more of the time across a year, section 9 brings in both parents’ table amounts and the extra cost of running two homes. See our child support page.
Salmon Arm family law questions
Does Salmon Arm have a Family Justice Centre?
No. Early resolution services for the Salmon Arm registry come from the Vernon Family Justice Centre, by phone or video, or in person in Vernon from Tuesday to Thursday.
Can I get custody of my children?
BC law speaks of guardianship, parental responsibilities and parenting time rather than custody. A court can give one parent the larger share of decision-making, share it, or split it by subject, always on the child’s best interests.
Is my partner’s credit card debt partly mine?
Debt run up between the start of the relationship and separation counts as family debt whoever’s name is on the card, and it is shared equally unless an agreement says otherwise or the court finds equal sharing significantly unfair.
Do I have to travel to the coast?
No. We meet clients by phone, email or video, and one of our lawyers goes to the registry when the case calls for an appearance.
