Family Law in Canada

Family Law is about the relations between husband and wife, and between children and parents. Family law includes the custody of children, property rights within the family, the body of law on marriage, divorce and annulment. It ranges from precedent, regulations and statutes. Family law is very multifaceted field to comprehend and to practice in.

Family law that deals with marriage is related to a partnership between a man and women, two women, or two men. Marriage laws are mostly the same throughout the country due to the federal regulations of Canada, but the solemnization of marriage is left to the provincial government. A valid marriage depends on whether the requirements are met, including solemnization of marriage. The age of consent to get married in Canada is eighteen with the exception of British Columbia being nineteen, and Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland being sixteen. A marriage is not to be solemnized if under the age of consent and does not have parent or guardian consent. The provinces require such means to be met as well, such as a license of marriage or a published announcement of the marriage. In marriages, one may decide if they would like a prenuptial agreement; a prenuptial is an agreement in advance of marriage that alter statutory marital property rights. Spouses choose to be safe about the assets they control in the case of the marriage not working out. In Canada, there can also be a marriage called common-law which is created by an agreement between the parties or exchange of promised. These marriages are not solemnized, and not recognized by all government authorities but have lived together for an amount of time which can allow them to be called husband and wife.

Divorce is a very messy situation in family law. Divorce is defined as the legal dissolution of a marriage or the legal process in which a judge or other authority dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing between two persons. The Divorce Act is a federal statute; there is only one such enactment for the whole of Canada. However, from province to province, the regulations governing trials of divorce differ. In Canada, there a different ways that divorce can happen. For example, when a spouse commits adultery and the other spouse does not forgive him or her, a spouse is cruel or mean (physically or mentally) to their significant other and the other does not forgive him or her, or if the spouses have been living separately and apart from each other for more than 12 months. An exception to living separately for 12 months is if the couple live under the same roof but are not separate from each other is consider to be living separately. For example, not doing anything as a couple anymore and dividing up finances and property, the couple is considered separate.

Parents and their children is another aspect of family law. Two cases that dealt with children and their parents both had situations dealing with the father not being placed on their children's birth registration forms. In D.G.C. v. R.H.G.Y., the mother found she was pregnant and the father wanted nothing to do to with the child when it was first conceived. The mother wanted to put the child up for adoption when he was born but, the father decided that he wanted to raise the child after it was born. The mother continued to plan the adoption while the father did not access any rights to see or keep his child. The father did not agree with the adoption so the awaiting parents of the child put a motion in court to make sure the mother was the only parent. The decision in this case was that the motion from pending parents of the child needed consent from both biological parents, including the father, before proceeding