Legal Resources

A general reference for self-represented litigants appearing in Canadian courts. Includes SRL’s rights and responsibilities, family law basics, resolving disputes out of court, legal research and writing, court processes, family violence, and more. Also provides a list of Canadian and BC resources.

If you’re dealing with a family law issue, you may end up in Family Court. (There are advantages to this court over Supreme Court.) Learn what’s involved at each stage.

Provides information about the Extended Family Program. Under the program, parents who are temporarily unable to care for their children can ask to have their children placed in the care of family or friends, instead of having them go into foster care.

Unfortunately, some parties who owe child support or spousal support fail to make their payments. Learn the steps to take to enforce payments owed under a support order or agreement.

Online step-by-step guide to getting a divorce in BC if you both agree about how to deal with your parenting, support, and property and debt issues. Includes links to blank forms you’ll need and instructions about filing them at the registry.

Explains how Canada Pension Plan pension credits built up during the time a couple lived together can be split equally between them upon divorce or separation. It also outlines how to request “credit splitting.”

When their relationship ends, spouses are presumed to keep property they brought into the relationship and to share in property they acquired during their relationship. The same goes for debt.

Provides information about who will move out when a couple separates. Learn your rights when deciding who goes and who stays — and how to enforce the decision. It also covers information about renting. Find out your next steps, and the answers to some common questions.

Step-by-step guides on how to get, change, enforce, appeal, or write court orders, plus information on what to do if your order was made outside BC or one of you leaves the province.

Not all couples who live together meet the definition of “spouse” under BC’s family law. For these couples, learn your entitlement to benefits and what happens if you split up.