The government’s courthouse directory lists nothing in West Vancouver. The two Provincial Court registries in reach are the North Vancouver courthouse at 200 East 23rd Street and Robson Square at 800 Hornby Street in downtown Vancouver. By road from Municipal Hall they are almost the same distance (each roughly 9 km), and in a straight line Robson Square is slightly nearer.
Distance alone does not decide it. Rule 7 of the Provincial Court Family Rules works in this order:
- A file already open between the same people keeps everything that follows.
- With no open file and a child in the picture, the starting registry is whichever is closer to the child’s usual home.
- With no child involved, it is whichever is closer to the home of the spouse who files first.
Nothing in the rule says whether nearness is judged by road or as the crow flies, and from parts of West Vancouver those two measures point different ways. We do not map streets to registries: if the choice is not clear, ask the registry before filing anything. With the court’s permission, a protection order or priority parenting application can be started in any registry.
What each registry asks of you first
North Vancouver and Robson Square are both on the province’s list of early resolution registries. In either one, an applicant normally completes four things before the court will take a Provincial Court application: Form 1 (the notice to resolve), filed and handed to the other parent; an intake interview with a family justice counsellor; the parenting education course; and at least one session of mediation or another consensual process. The parent who is served does the last three before replying. What differs is the office that delivers them:
- For the North Vancouver registry, it is the North Vancouver Family Justice Centre at 100-233 West 1st Street, seen by appointment, face to face or remotely.
- For Robson Square, it is the Vancouver Justice Access Centre, open in person and online, which also runs a self-help resource room.
Neither office charges. An application confined to protection, priority parenting, relocation, consent, case management or enforcement skips the sequence. Counsellors may also waive the course (taken within the past two years, children all 19 or over, language or literacy barriers, serious illness, no internet access) or the mediation (not available, or not suitable). Once a parent has done their part, the other parent’s refusal does not stall the case. For private mediation instead, see our family mediation lawyers.
Whichever registry applies, the Provincial Court can decide guardianship, parenting arrangements, contact, child support, spousal support and protection orders. It cannot divide family property or debt (other than a companion animal) or a pension.
The Supreme Court side: divorce and property
A divorce, and any division of a house, savings, investments, a business interest or a pension, needs the Supreme Court. The North Shore has none; the Vancouver Law Courts at 800 Smithe Street are about 9 km from Municipal Hall. We found no rule in the Supreme Court Family Rules that assigns a registry by address, and the place of trial named in the notice of family claim can be changed by the court, so the choice is practical.
The starting point in the Family Law Act is a half share each of family property and of family debt, which an agreement or a court order can vary. Where the assets are substantial, four parts of the Act tend to shape the result:
- Value at the time of division. Family property is valued at fair market value on the date of an agreement or the trial, not the date of separation, so a change in value between those dates is shared.
- Excluded property. Assets owned before the relationship began, inheritances, and gifts from anyone outside the couple can be kept out; their growth in value while the couple were together cannot. The spouse claiming an exclusion will need records, sometimes going back many years.
- Unequal division. A court can depart from equal shares where equal division would be significantly unfair, for example in light of debts or the length of the relationship.
- Protecting assets. In the Supreme Court a spouse can seek an order restraining the other from disposing of property at issue; this is one of the applications that need not wait for a judicial case conference.
A spouse in a marriage-like relationship of two years or more is treated as a spouse for these rules. Our pages on property division, what you may be entitled to in a BC divorce and assets acquired in a joint family venture go further.
The divorce itself requires that one spouse was habitually resident in BC for at least a year before the proceeding started (a test the Act does not define) and proof of breakdown, by a year living apart, adultery or cruelty. The order becomes effective 31 days after judgment, or later while an appeal is outstanding; a judge can bring the date forward only for special circumstances and only if both spouses undertake not to appeal. See divorce in BC and our divorce lawyers.
Who stays in the home
Separation does not by itself decide who lives in the family home. Section 90 of the Family Law Act lets the Supreme Court give one spouse exclusive occupation of a family residence, owned or leased by either or both of them, for a set period, and possession of belongings kept there. The order does not give that spouse an ownership interest, does not allow material changes to the property, and does not outlast the owners’ or tenants’ own rights; the court can, however, postpone a sale while it is in force. Because this is a Supreme Court order, it is not available from the Provincial Court in North Vancouver or at Robson Square, although a Provincial Court protection order can keep a person away from a residence where safety requires it. Whether one spouse should stay put, and on what terms, also affects interim support and the timing of any sale, so it is worth settling early.
Support when income is more than a salary
Child support follows the Federal Child Support Guidelines, starting from the “total income” figure on the parent’s tax return and adjusting it as the Guidelines direct. Where a parent controls a company, the Guidelines let the court add some or all of the company’s pre-tax income, and a court can impute income where, for example, property is not reasonably used to produce income or expenses are unreasonably deducted. Each of these depends on the facts; see deemed dividends and child support and business expenses and child support. Support can continue past 19 for a child who cannot withdraw from the parents’ charge, as our article on adult dependent children explains.
Spousal support turns first on whether there is a right to it; the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines then help set amount and duration. A lump sum is sometimes an option; see lump-sum spousal support. More on child support, spousal support and parenting arrangements.
Deadlines and moves
Property, pension and spousal support claims have a two-year limit under section 198(2) of the Family Law Act, counted from the divorce order (or a nullity order) for married spouses and from separation for unmarried ones. Section 198(5) stops the clock during dispute resolution run by a qualifying family dispute resolution professional, or a prescribed process; note when it started and ended, since the other side may argue it did not count. Our article on claiming assets after separation explains more.
Moving with a child needs notice. Under the Family Law Act, a guardian whose child is covered by a written agreement or order about parenting or contact must give at least 60 days’ written notice of a relocation; the Divorce Act sets its own 60-day notice for a child of the marriage. Objections run on a 30-day clock under both, with different exceptions, so take advice on which regime applies.
Agreements can settle all of this without court: see separation agreements and marriage and cohabitation agreements.
Common questions
Which court handles my parenting case if I live in West Vancouver?
It depends on Rule 7: an existing case stays where it is; otherwise the registry closest to where the children mainly live, or to the first filer’s home if no child is involved. North Vancouver and Robson Square are the candidates. Confirm with the registry if it is not clear.
Is there a Family Justice Centre in West Vancouver?
No. The North Vancouver Family Justice Centre serves the North Vancouver registry, and the Vancouver Justice Access Centre serves Robson Square. Services at both are free.
Where do I file for divorce?
In the Supreme Court. There is no registry on the North Shore; the Vancouver Law Courts are the nearest.
How are your fees charged?
Hourly, as for every family file at the firm. We will tell you what an initial meeting costs when you phone (604) 900-2538 or write through the contact page.
