Top ten myths in family law These are clearly over simplified and you should seek legal advice if you require further information. 1.    Child support and access are somehow connected, you cannot see your child if you are not paying child support.  If you don’t pay, you don’t get access.  NOT TRUE.  The Federal Child Support Guidelines sets out the table amount of child support that parents ought to pay in respect of child support.  There are a number of considerations, such as residence of the child, time spent with each parent, and the incomes of the parents.  Access is not connected to payment of child support in any way.  You do not pay to see children and cannot be denied access for non payment. 2.    In divorce and separation, you can get higher apportionment of assets if there has been blameworthy conduct on the part of the other party.  NOT TRUE.  There is no punitive element to divorce, and you cannot be deprived of assets because of blameworthy conduct. 3.    You need consent of the other party to get divorced.  NOT TRUE.  In British Columbia, you can get divorced once you have been separated for 12 months.  If you have children, you must satisfy the Court that reasonable arrangements have been made for the support of the children, or the court will not grant your divorce.  You can make an application by way of a desk order divorce, which means that you don’t have to appear in front of a judge. 4.    If you separate you need a custody order for children and the Courts will always make one. NOT TRUE.  Courts often do not make custody orders for children if there is not enough evidence to allow them to decide who should have custody.  Custody should not be confused with guardianship and residence of the children.   You can share joint custody and joint guardianship and still have the children live with one parent primarily. 5.    You can only solve your legal problems in Supreme Court and you have to hire a lawyer if you want to go to Court.  NOT TRUE.   You can make application to Provincial Court if you are dealing with custody and access, or support issues.  You do need to use Supreme Court in some instances, such as property division and divorce.  Both the Supreme Court and Provincial Court have duty counsel lawyers on hand who can help you.  You can represent yourself with the help of duty counsel. In Provincial Court there are no filing fees for court documents.  You can download most forms off the internet and go to the Court house and ask the court service workers to help you.  It is a good idea to have a lawyer review your material before you file it. 6.    If your child’s other parent won’t sign the passport, you just can’t get one.  NOT TRUE.  You can apply to Provincial Court for an order that their signature be dispensed with, or an order that they be required to sign.  You will need to provide the Court with evidence that you need the passport for your child, you intend to travel and return home with the Child, and that the other parent’s consent is being unreasonably withheld. 7.    Every time you travel across the United States border you need the signature of your child’s other parent if you share custody.   NOT TRUE.  If you are travelling by car, you can get a one year blanket travel authorization signed and notarized by the other parent.  If you are travelling by air it is recommended that you have a more specific travel authorization. 8.    Assets purchased after separation are automatically not family assets and not subject to division under the Family Relations Act.. NOT TRUE. The issue of family assets is complicated.  If a person uses money that was from within the marriage and purchases an asset with that family money, it is a family asset.  If a person receives money, such as an inheritance, after separation, it could be considered a family asset, but it can also be excluded.  You should seek legal advice if you are considering separation and there is a possible inheritance. 9.    You can waive child support and still get divorced. NOT TRUE.  If you have a child of the marriage or relationship and you have not provided evidence of  child support in your divorce application, your application will be rejected. 10.    For the purpose of calculating child support, your income tax return, line 150 is always how you determine the amount of child support you pay. NOT TRUE.  You do not always rely on your line 150 income for support purposes.  For instance a person who owns a company can drastically reduce their income by claiming business expenses. The Child Support Guidelines provides for the court to look behind the “corporate veil” to see the total income available to a person]]>