Overview

British Columbia is fortunate to have a wide range of family law resources available online. Separating couples can access a wealth of online content that is available through websites, videos and digital publications.

This Online Help Guide provides a summary of the key resources available in BC to help with family law issues. Information is provided for these web resources:

• Families Change (Justice Education Society)
• Dial-A-Law: Family (Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch)
• Family Law in BC (Legal Services Society)
• My Law BC (Legal Services Society)
• JP Boyd on Family Law (Clicklaw)
• Family Justice BC (Ministry of Justice)
• Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (Ministry of Justice)
   

Families Change

Separation and divorce have a profound impact on families. The stress can be overwhelming as parents struggle to take care of the emotional and financial needs of their children and themselves. And children feel stress too…

FamiliesChange.ca is an acclaimed online resource that provides age-appropriate information for Parents, Teens, and Kids who are going through a family break up. The site includes animation, text, videos, activities, worksheets, tips and an online game to help families and youth better cope with separation or divorce. To learn more, see the Online Help Guide: Families Change.

The FamiliesChange.ca website also provides access to two online courses: Parenting After Separation (Online PAS) and Parenting After Separation: Finances. To learn more, see the Online Help Guide: Parenting After Separation.

Dial-A-Law: Family

Dial-A-Law is a library of legal information prepared by lawyers. It offers general information on multiple legal topics including family law in British Columbia.

It is a free service that is available in English, Chinese and Punjabi. Users can call to hear the information (1-800-565-5297) or read the text online.

Dial-A-Law is operated by the Canadian Bar Association British Columbia Branch (CBABC). There are over 20 Family law topics that provide a good foundation for understanding the rights and responsibilities of spouses and parents. This is a great starting place for anyone going through a separation or divorce.

Family Law in BC

The Family Law in BC website, produced by Legal Services Society, is the most popular source of information in BC on family law.

The site included hundreds of page of helpful information that cover: abuse, adoption, child protection/removal, common-law relationships, custody & access, divorce & separation, child support, and spousal support.

The site includes these go-to family resources:

• Living Together or Living Apart
• Do Your Own Separation Agreement
• Do Your Own Divorce
• If you have to go to court
• Family Law Self-Help Guides
• Aboriginal Rights and Family Law
• Family Law Factsheets

MyLawBC.com

MyLawBC.com is a new website from Legal Services Society. It provides a guided pathway approach to access information on family law and other issues.

 To start, you can make a separation plan to find out what your options are for working through your family law matters. You can work through the site on your own, or you and your former spouse can use the “Dialogue Tool” to negotiate online, rather than face to face.

If you can’t come to an agreement, you can decide which court and law to use to get family orders. You can also find out what to do if you've been served with court documents. The site also has information on family violence.

JP Boyd on Family Law 

For over a decade British Columbians have used John-Paul Boyd's BC Family Law Resource website as their go-to site for current family law information. John-Paul talks like an ordinary person. He assumes that you don’t know about legal terms and court processes. He explains things simply and provides tips on how to do things.

Published as a Clicklaw Wikibook, the resource includes these chapters:

• The Legal System 
• Resolving Problems Out of Court
• Resolving Problems in Court
• Family Law Agreements
• Children
• Child Support
• Spousal Support
• Property & Debt
• Family Relationships
• Separation & Divorce
• Specific Communities
• Family Violence

Family Justice BC

The BC Ministry of Justice provides a range of services to support families in BC. The Family Justice BC website provides general information about family law in British Columbia.

It has information for people considering changes in their family relationships, such as separation and divorce, and may be of interest to people thinking of marrying or living with someone in a marriage-like relationship.

The website provides information such as:

• What is separation and divorce?
• What do I need to know to make decisions about care of and time with children?
• What happens with property, pensions and debt after separation?
• Must I go to court? What options are available to help me?
• What services are available to help me?
• The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program
• How can I keep my family safe?

Family Maintenance Enforcement Program

The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP) is a free service of the British Columbia Ministry of Justice. It collects over $200 million each year for 45,000 BC families.

FMEP is a free service of the BC Ministry of Justice. The program helps families and children entitled to support under a maintenance order or agreement. Child support orders and agreements, as well as spousal support orders and agreements are enforced through the program.

Anyone with a maintenance order or agreement filed in a BC court can enrol in the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program. FMEP receives payments from the person required to pay maintenance (the payor) and sends the money to the person entitled to maintenance (the recipient).

In many cases, the payor makes payments voluntarily, but FMEP will take steps to collect the outstanding maintenance if necessary. There are various ways to send or receive maintenance payments and also actions taken if payments are not made.

To learn more, enrol in the program or get answers to question, visit the FMEP website or call one their local offices.

• Lower Mainland:   604-678-5670
• Victoria:   250-220-4040
• Northern & Interior BC:   250-434-6020
• Toll free:   1-800-663-7867