Family Law Agreements - Annotated Precedents

Draft effective family law agreements

This publication is essential for: any lawyers drafting family law agreements.

Current to: December 1, 2014

Family Law Agreements—Annotated Precedents is British Columbia's premiere collection of precedential clauses for drafting family law agreements. Written and peer reviewed by leading members of the family law bar, this trusted resource is the package of tools you need to draft effective agreements for your family law client.

With this resource, you will have:

• a wide range of clauses to choose from, with guidance on when and how to use the clauses
• access to the document builder tool to select clauses, build and save an agreement template, and download it to your computer
• annually updated, concise discussion of the current law, practice tips and tax implications

Online access conveniently places this resource at your fingertips and is fully searchable with links to full-text cases and legislation.

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Highlights of the 2015 Update

This update includes developments in the law that emerged during 2014.

• significant unfairness in the context of unjust enrichment claims (chapter 2)
• to intervene, a court must find that the unfairness in the division of property in an agreement is compelling or meaningful per s. 95(2) factors (chapter 2)
• the property and debt in both unwitnessed agreements and oral agreements are subject to review but not necessarily subject to the same degree of judicial deference as those that are witnessed and in writing (chapter 2)
• under WESA a surviving spouse is entitled to share in the deceased spouse’s estate if there is not will, or to challenge testamentary dispositions made under a will (chapter 2)
• one spouse’s failure to provide details of liabilities and the value of assets may invalidate an agreement (chapter 2)
• joint liability for a debt that benefits only one party may be unfair (chapter 4); unmarried spouses who separated before the FLA came into force can still file a property claim under the FLA, provided they were separated for less than two years before the FLA action is commenced (chapter 4)
• property acquired by a spouse before the relationship began, and property derived from that property, are excluded from family property (chapter 14)
• if the value of excluded property declines over the course of the relationship, the owning party cannot look to other family property to make up for the loss in value (chapter 14)
• the court must set aside an agreement if it isn’t in the child’s best interests (chapter 8)
• parental communications restricted to email and text message (chapter 8)
• a lump sum payment to the supported party in respect of bonuses was not periodic because there is no guarantee of receipt (chapter 9)
• a final agreement that is final on property issues but silent about pension division is deemed to allocated the whole of the pension to the member (chapter 12)
• pensions are family property, are subject to equal division, and a spouse’s interest arises on separation
• parties living on the same property but under separate roofs may be considered to be in a marriage-like relationship
• payments made by a spouse’s parent to retire a mortgage on the family residence are a gift intended to benefit both spouses (chapter 16)
• a court may take jurisdiction on some and not all issues (chapter 17)

All features of this publication, including the legislation, sample agreements, case, statute, and reference tables, subject index, and accompanying disk containing the clauses and precedents, have been updated.

CLEBC Legal Editor
Thomas G. Anderson, QC — Barrister & Solicitor, North Vancouver

CONTENTS
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Part I: Introductory Chapters

• Overview
• When Courts Will Vary a Family Law Agreement
• Alternatives to Agreements: Minutes of Settlement and Consent Orders
• Marriage Agreements and Cohabitation Agreements
• Tax
  

Part II: Sample Clauses

• Introductory Parts and Recitals
• Introductory General Clauses
• Caring for Children: Guardianship, Parenting Arrangements, Contact
• Child Support and Spousal Support
• Security and Enforcement
• Land
• Pensions and Other Plans
• Businesses, Investments, and Corporations
• Other Property
• Debts
• Clauses for Cohabitation and Marriage Agreements
• Concluding Clauses

Part III: Sample Agreements
Agreement 1: Separation Agreement
Agreement 2: Cohabitation Agreement
Agreement 3: Marriage Agreement

Features

This edition of one of CLEBC's original manuals features:

• revised annotations to reflect legislative changes
• updated tax advice
• commonly recurring and specialized situations
• online access to electronic version with hyperlinks to primary law
• document builder

Editorial Board
Paul R. Albi, QC — Davis LLP, Vancouver
The Honourable Madam Justice Hope C. Hyslop — The Supreme Court of BC, Kamloops