Ministry of Attorney General to Reform Family Legislation

A white paper released by the Ministry of the Attorney General on Monday, July 19th, following extensive reviews conducted about the current Family Relations Act, introduced draft legislation and policy proposals which aim at making major changes to family law in British Columbia.  These proposed changes will modernize legislation which has remained virtually unchanged for over thirty years.   

The white paper on Family Relations Act reform makes a proposal for a new Family Law Act which will address a wide range of new topics such as the promotion of the non-court dispute resolution process, the definition of legal parentage – including situations where reproductive technology has been used, and property division as it pertains to common-law relationships.

A news release from the Ministry of the Attorney General released July 29th touches on the reasons for addressing such change at this time and advises the public and interested groups that they have until October 8, 2010 to submit feedback which will be considered in the finalization of the new legislation.