Family Law Issues and Divorce in North Vancouver: Challenges Facing Couples on the Northshore

I am a North Shore Family Lawyer. I immigrated to Canada when I was 14 and the place my family spent our first night was in North Vancouver. Specifically, Lonsdale and 15th. That was 27 years ago.

I went to high school in North Vancouver and after finishing my education and a part of my career in Victoria and Vancouver, I found myself back in North Van with my new family which exists of twins, a toddler and my husband.

Something special about this area kept me wanting to live here and am so glad we do. And of course naturally it inspired me to open a family law firm in North Vancouver as well.

North Shore is diverse and has numerous people from different cultures and backgrounds (that have made a food scene very special too). Iranians, Asians, Caucasians and Indians, etc.

So when I opened my family law firm in North Vancouver, it didn’t come a surprise that couples had unique issues facing their marriage specific to the Northshore. That inspired me to write this article and give some information on family law and divorce issues facing spouses in this area.

Family Law Issues Unique to North Vancouver and West Vancouver

The below issues exist generally in family law, but they tend to show themselves more regularly in North  and West Vancouver families:

• Who gets to stay at the Family Home upon separation 
• Relocation with Children
• Child support and s.7 expenses for adult children 
• Choice of School for Children
• Immigration complications 

Let’s dive into each of the above issues:

Who Gets to Stay at the Family Home

North Shore consists of many couples who are young and professional, or couples in traditional relationships where one person works and the other, raises the children at home.

As a North Vancouver Family Lawyer, I have seen many issues and conflict over who gets to stay at the family home upon separation. These usually come from stay-at-home parents, mostly women, who have spent their years raising kids, taking them to school and being a support base for the husband who often works outside of home.

Conflicts over the Family Home and Resolution

At separation, often the women have little to no security and are not sure when and how they may receive support. Therefore they prefer to stay at the family home. The problem arises when the other spouse also wants to stay at the family home and refuses to leave.

To resolve the problem, there are options. They are not all perfect but they will help get the couple:

• Engage in temporary mediation so there is a set up for who leaves, and who gets spousal and child support, and how much. Enter into a temporary agreement that provides some security and assurance for the couple;
• Seek an Exclusive Possession Order from the Court. This is a court order, often without notice, that allows one person to stay at the home and compels the other one to leave;
• In instances of domestic violence, call the police. The police often asks one spouse to leave and provides no-contact orders until the domestic matter is settled.

The beginning of separation and staying/leaving the family home sets the stage for how your family law case will go. It is extremely important to approach with caution, seek the advice of a North Vancouver divorce lawyer and keep things cooperative as much as possible at this stage. 

Relocation with Children

North Van is definitely a family oriented area. And it is also very expensive to live in. Real estate has risen and kept consistent in the past several years, and the area enjoys having some of the best schools in the Country. Young families naturally gravitate to North Vancouver but upon separation, spouses may find it difficult to stay. This is usually due to:

• cost of living,
• inability to travel long distances and,
• wanting to be closer to out of town relatives and grandparents who may have to step in to help with raising the children upon separation. 

For that reason, one parent may want to relocate with somewhere else in BC or outside of BC. This often results in a request for relocation with children which is a complicated and sometimes tragic matter.

If relocation is accepted, one parent often loses significant time with the children and if it is not accepted, a parent may lose out on having a good standard of living or being close to his/her support base.

Relocation under the Family Law Act is complicated and intricate. To learn more about it, click here. 

Child Support and S.7 Expenses for Adult Children

North Vancouver does have Capilano University which many high school graduates go to, but the majority of North Vancouver kids either to go UBC or outside of BC. Most move out of the family home to be closer to the residences of their university, and this naturally creates financial obligations for the separated parents.

Separated parents are responsible for some of the educational costs of their adult children, including tuition, books and sometimes rent and food. Moving away from the North Shore means added expenses for parents and the law obligates them to pay at least a part of such expenses.

To learn more about adult child support, click here.

Choice of School for Children

North Shore has some of the best schools in Canada – for both elementary and high school students. Disagreements over which school the children should attend usually revolve around the following:

• French immersion or English only schools; 
• Private versus public schools; 
• Religious versus none-religious schools. 

After separation, parents may live in two different catchment areas and there may be disagreements as to which catchment the children should attend.

Schooling is a big and sometimes complicated area of litigation in Family Law. For more information on this topic, click here. 

Immigration Status and Complications

West Vancouver and North Vancouver consist of numerous immigrant families, many of whom are newcomers to Canada. Sometimes a resident of Canada marries a foreigner and sponsors them to Canada. Upon separation, the immigration status of one or both individuals may compel them to return to their home country. In other cases, the sponsoring spouse may have to be liable to the government for any support the government may provide to the other spouse if that spouse requires support of the government upon separation.

Immigration and divorce can impact one another and have consequences for one or both spouses and their children. To find out more, contact our immigration lawyer. 

I hope you have found this article insightful, and if you have any questions or require a consultation, do not hesitate to get in touch or call our award-winning lawyers at 604-974-9529