1.5 Who Can Help?

Resources:

See the Resource Guide below for more information 

 

At the end of a relationship, you need to make decisions about a number of key issues (See Chapter 2). You need to have an agreement about how you and your former spouse will work things out as you each move forward with your lives.

It’s not easy, but most couples manage to reach an agreement without going to court. In the previous section, you learned that a primary reason to try to work things out without going to court is that this allows you to maintain control over the decisions that affect your life.

You and your former spouse may continue to have a relationship as parents to your children and will need to work together to coordinate parenting arrangements and resolve future parenting issues. Coming to an agreement together promotes a cooperative relationship and helps build skills and confidence in your ability to solve problems together. 

Of course, working things out also saves time and money, compared to going to court. Really, there are a lot of reasons to find a way to settle things without going to court. But it’s never easy and most people need help.

You and your former spouse may be able to work out some of the details of your separation, but not all of the issues. On the other hand, maybe you can’t even get started. Perhaps one or both of you are just not emotionally ready to start talking. Maybe you need help understanding financial matters or maybe you need help to understand your legal rights.

Fortunately, in British Columbia, there are a lot or services and resources to help spouses work through a separation. This section provides information that you can use to help you work through your separation.

 

Family Justice Counsellors

FJC's Tip:

Family Justice Counsellors can tell you about the law, but only a lawyer can give you legal advice.

Family Justice Counsellors are trained professionals who work with separating and divorcing people. Their goal is to help spouses reach agreement, without going to court. They work to help both parties solve problems and reach an agreement.

Family Justice Counsellors can:

  • Provide you with limited counselling services
  • Explain parts of the Provincial Court process
  • Help you fill out some court forms
  • Mediate disagreements between you and your former spouse
  • Help you and your former spouse plan a separation agreement
  • Refer you to organizations and people who can help

These services are free at Family Justice Centres, which are located all over the province of British Columbia.

 

Mediators

A mediator is a neutral third party that helps facilitate discussions between you and your former spouse and helps you resolve your disputes. Mediation is a practical, affordable, flexible, and confidential process where the decision about the terms of your agreement is made by you and your former spouse, not the mediator. Mediation is a legally binding alternative to going to court.

Mediators can:

  • assist you in reaching a fair and lasting settlement
  • help reduce future conflict by improving both parties' communication and problem solving skills
  • help inform you about the separation process

 

Lawyers

Lawyers can help you negotiate a settlement, draft an agreement, or just provide you with legal advice. An advantage of having a lawyer is their legal expertise and ability to assess your case. Lawyers can help you understand the complex issues that are involved in your case and how best to tackle them. You may wish to have a lawyer guide you through the whole process or just assist you with a certain aspect of your settlement. For example, you could hire a lawyer just to draft the agreement after you have already reached consensus on the issues or just to help split your assets.  This is often called unbundled legal services or limited retainers.

Keep in mind that hiring a lawyer gets expensive quickly. Some family law cases can take years to get through the courts. You may not be able to afford a lawyer and you may only be able to afford unbundled legal services. Chapter 4 will go into detail about how to get legal help.

Lawyers can:

  • provide legal expertise and give you specific legal advice
  • help you negotiate terms of your agreement
  • help with drafting legal documents to ensure you meet all the requirements
  • review your separation agreements so your rights are protected
  • help advocate for your case at court

 

Collaborative Law Lawyers

Another option is to hire a Collaborative Law Lawyer. Collaborative law is a process, where you, your former spouse, and your lawyers make a formal commitment to resolve the dispute without going to court and agree to be open and honest. The collaborative process can involve other specialists who can help you come to an agreement, such as child specialists who give advice to the parties and their lawyers about the child’s needs and how the child is experiencing their separation.

Collaborative Law Lawyers can:

  • help you reach an agreement without going to court
  • help draft a legally binding agreement
  • help guide you to other specialists like financial advisors and child specialists

 

Arbitrators

Arbitrators play a private judge-like role. A family law arbitrator will make binding decisions to resolve family law issues out of court. Sometimes arbitrators will use a combination of arbitration and collaborative processes to help you come to your own agreement. But if you fail to agree you lose the control over how issues are to be resolved and the arbitrator makes the decision for you. Before you begin, everyone must agree in writing to how the arbitration is to be conducted.

Arbitrators can:

  • provide you with a final binding decision
  • provide expertise and knowledge on family disputes
  • help resolve disputes
  • more affordable and quicker than going to court.

 

Parenting Coordinators

If you already have an agreement or order regarding children but are having disagreements about implementing them, a parenting coordinator can help. Parenting coordinators are professionals who can help you resolve day-to-day conflicts about parenting agreements or parenting orders.

Parenting Coordinator can:

  • help you settle disagreements that come up about how to carry out your agreement or order
  • help you make guidelines about how to communicate and carry out your agreement
  • help you identify and create strategies for resolving conflicts
  • give you information about how to improve your communication and parenting skills

 

Resource Guide

 Service

 Where to find them?

 Mediators

 Mediate BC

 Family Mediation Canada  

 Collaborative Lawyers

 Legal Aid

 Legal aid office

 Access Pro Bono

 Access Pro Bono

 Family Duty Counsel

 Legal Service Society

 Lawyer Referral Service

 Lawyer Referral

 Arbitrators

 British Columbia Arbitration and Mediation Institute

 Parenting Coordinators

 BC Parenting Coordination website

 Domestic Violence help

 VictimLink BC 
 Battered Women's Support Services
 BC Society of Transition Houses
 Directory of Victim Services in BC.

 Family Justice Counsellors

 Vancouver: 604-660-2421
 Victoria: 250-387-6121
 Other BC Communities: 1-800-663-7867