BC Family Law Mistakes We Can Help You Avoid
People often find BC family law complex and confusing. There are family law rules and deadlines and worst of all time limits after which valid claims for support and property division are barred. Our family lawyers can easily help you Avoid BC Family Law Mistakes.
We can meet with you quickly and help you avoid the pitfalls and traps that can stymie your claims. Don’t procrastinate when help is readily available. Be a skeptic and ensure your rights are fully protected by contacting us now toll free across North America 1-877-602-9900. You can Avoid BC Family Law Mistakes by simply meeting with a quality family lawyer.
The recent Supreme Court judgment of Madam Justice Humphries in Carreiro v. Carrerio, 2015 BCSC 714 is a good reminder for those ex-spouses seeking retroactive spousal support (and challenging an old separation agreement) to avoid five common mistakes. Or put it another way, here are the five things you must do when dealing with your family law matters to avoid BC family law mistakes:
- Act on your claim promptly.
- Know about time limits.
- Tick the right boxes on the court forms.
- Know the court rules.
- Get legal advice.
In Carreiro, a wife from a 14 year marriage sought to set aside a separation agreement which she signed thinking that her and her husband would reconcile and be of no effect. Sadly, that did not happen and the circumstances that the parties thought existed at the time of the agreement, that the wife would run a restaurant in Brazil that was her property through the division of family assets, was not realized. Separation Agreements can be reviewed, but it is essentially that this been done before any time limitation periods expire. She did not get early and critical legal advice that would have helped her avoid BC family law mistakes.
So often, people start BC family law claims and then let them sit there for years. By doing so, these people have potentially given up tens of thousands of dollars in retroactive support because they did not act on their claim in a timely manner. In Carreiro, Madam Justice Humphries held that the claimant stopped her case because her ex-husband would not produce documents was not an adequate explanation for the delay in making her claim for spousal support, which she did not do until years after filing her Notice of Family Claim. If you’re not sure that you have a spousal support claim, it is better to make the claim right away rather than adding it years later. More importantly, a good lawyer will enforce document production orders including, if necessary, making a contempt of court application, which helps immensely with keeping the legal process on track for trial.
There are time limits in the new Family Law Act. Parties have two years from the date of separation, if they are in a marriage-like relationship. There is also a two-year time limitation period for property division claims under the Family Law Act. Immediately consult with a lawyer if you don’t know if the time limitation period has started in your case. There is nothing worse than to have a good legal case that you failed to file on time. Promise yourself you will get legal advice that will let you avoid BC family law mistakes.
The Notice of Family Claim, a routine BC Supreme Court form, can be a little intimidating for some people. Ticking the right box, especially when it comes to whether your claim for a specific thing in under the Family Law Act or the Divorce Act. In Carrerio, the court observed that a married person is under no time limits to make a spousal support claim under the Divorce Act, whereas the same is not true under the Family Law Act. Parties who were married may make a spousal support claim long after the marriage had ended under the Divorce Act, but delay in making that claim may forfeit the party the right to retroactive support. Checking the wrong box on the Notice of Family Claim form could place you in a position where the court asks you to start from scratch as you are out of time to make a claim under the statute whose box you did tick, but not of time under the box you didn’t tick.
Carreiro is another example in a long line of cases where an unrepresented party had difficulty in securing relief because of a failure to follow the court rules, which govern court procedures. Once again, there is nothing more frustrating than losing your family law case because you did not know how to navigate the Supreme Court Family Rules.
While brings to my last point. Don’t know the court rules? Not familiar with limitation periods in the Family Law Act? Not sure if you’re claim is under the Divorce Act or the Family Law Act? These legal nuances are not something that non-lawyers would know. This is why it is crucial to get legal advice. Legal advice can alert you to limitation periods, the strength of your claim, statutory bars to claims, and other important information in assessing whether or not to pursue a claim or whether or not to defend against a claim. The MacLean Law Group is long experienced in helping people get what they are owed and also ensuring that people don’t pay more than the law obligates them to. We can also advise you if a separation agreement should be reviewed or alternatively, whether or not you have a good case in defending against such a review. Knowing your legal rights is essential to protecting your economic interests, which is why obtaining legal advice early in the process is essential to safeguarding your interests.
Our BC Family Law lawyers act across Canada from our 4 offices in BC in downtown Vancouver, South Surrey, Kelowna, Fort St John and Dawson Creek and in Winnipeg Manitoba. We also often appear in Calgary, Alberta for our medium to high net worth family law clients. Call us right away at 1-877-602-9900.
