The New Family Law Act
The New Family Law Act will replace the Family Relations Act which came into force in 1972! This means that the legislation relating to matters affecting families has not been substantially over-hauled or updated in 40, yes, 40 years. A thing or 2 has changed since 1972 and our government is finally attempting to catch up.
It is anticipated that the New Family Law Act will come into force in 2013.
The new Family Law Act replaces British Columbia’s current legislation which is the Family Relations Act. It has many progressive elements in it, including legislation relating to the following:
ü putting the best interests of children first;
ü presumption of equal parenting at the outset;
ü emphasizing out of court resolution to family law conflicts, having court be a last rather than a first resort
ü focusing on parenting responsibilities rather than rights;
ü expanding the meaning of what constitutes the best interest of children from what it means now;
ü what is to happen if a parent wishes to move away from the other parent with a child,
ü law relalting to assisted reproduction which is happening more and more often
ü it takes family violence into account
ü it recognizes that abuse can be about much more than physical violence and verbal abuse
ü when people do not listen to court orders, there can be actual repercussions for them
So, like many, I am concerned about change because I am unsure as to how it will all play out and wondering specifically how this is going to impact British Columbian children. At the same time, I think it is time and change is long overdue.
I cannot count how many times I have had a separating mother or father come to my office and say they want “custody.” When I ask them what “custody” means to them, they often have no real idea what they mean when they say that.
The new Family Law Act does not mention the word “custody” in a way that causes people to fight for it as our current legislation does. Currently, custody battles are often nothing short of ridiculous and often embitter parents towards one another and destroy children’s childhoods by putting them deep in the middle of hopeless and never-ending conflict.
Often “custody” battles are waged where parents are unaware of the meaning as to what they are fighting so desperately for. A focus on parenting responsibilities rather than on the struggle for custody is going to go a long way to take the children out of the middle of such conflict.
