Family Law Blog

Despite movie portrayals of high-conflict divorces ending in fierce court battles, this is rarely the case in British Columbia. Many divorces are uncontested, while others involving collaboration between lawyers or mediation settle well before a trial becomes necessary. As long as one spouse has resided in B.C. for at least one year and the court […]

British Columbia Supreme Court Child Custody Judgment: I.K.K. v. P.K., 2025 BCSC 1897 When a mother fled Alberta with her four-year-old son claiming family violence and seeking protection in British Columbia, the case of I.K.K. v. P.K. became a compelling test of interstate child custody law. Darlene Sandhu of DSG Family Law successfully represented the […]

Imputing Income to a BC Underemployed Parent Imputed income is any income attributed to a person, even though the individual may not have earned that income. Most parents in British Columbia are happy to fulfill their legal obligation to help with the costs of raising a child. However, in some cases, the support obligation is […]

The parents’ legal obligation to financially support their children continues after a separation or divorce in British Columbia. As such, the payment of monthly child support by one parent to the other to help with raising the children (regardless of where the other parent now resides) is an important tenet of B.C. family law. Let’s […]

When parents separate and divorce in British Columbia, decision-making for the children and parenting time are two of the most pressing matters to be resolved. Unless parental responsibilities are clearly communicated to all concerned and decisions are made in the child’s best interests, disputes can arise. Differences of opinion and parental concerns are normal, but […]

Married spouses or couples who have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years must follow the same rules when dividing property and debts in British Columbia. After separation, all family property and debts must be divided equally between spouses unless that would create a significantly unfair disparity. Any excluded property brought […]

BC Cohabitation & Marriage Agreements No couple plans for divorce from the first day of their marriage, but the statistics don’t lie: Canada’s divorce rate may be at its lowest in 50 years but around one third of marriages still end in divorce. The separation and divorce process is often time-consuming, expensive, and emotionally draining […]

The rights and obligations of married couples are outlined in both the federal Divorce Act and British Columbia’s Family Law Act. For common-law couples, however, only the provincial Family Law Act applies. This legislation covers issues such as property and debt division, custody, and support when couples who live in a “marriage-like relationship” separate in […]

A 2025 Supreme Court of British Columbia Decision In her first published judgment before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, DSG Family Law’s Darlene Sandhu represented a mother seeking to protect her children from the emotional fallout of an increasingly high-conflict co-parenting situation. The case, I.K.S. v. P.S.A., 2025 BCSC 840, sheds light on the […]

Decision-Making Responsibilities & Custody in British Columbia In British Columbia, “child custody” and “access” are now called “parenting responsibilities” and “parenting time” in legal documents. This removes some of the negative connotations associated with the terms used previously. “Custody” is still widely used in general conversation, however. It refers to the rights and responsibilities of […]