Guide · Custody · British Columbia
What 'custody' and 'access' became under the BC Family Law Act and the federal Divorce Act, and why the terms matter for your separation agreement, court order, and FMEP.
Most parents searching for "child custody in BC" are looking for the right answer, not the right vocabulary. But the vocabulary has changed — and in a way that changes how agreements are drafted, how court orders are enforced, and how schools, doctors, and border officers respond to what you show them. This guide is the plain-language bridge between the old words most people still use and the current statutory language BC courts and lawyers now use.
The BC Family Law Act (in force since March 2013) and the amended federal Divorce Act (in force since March 2021) both moved away from ownership-style language. Here is the practical translation:
| Old term | Current BC / federal term |
|---|---|
| Custody | Parental responsibilities (decision-making) |
| Access | Parenting time (for a parent/guardian) or contact (for a non-guardian) |
| Joint custody | Shared parenting time + shared parental responsibilities |
| Sole custody | Sole parental responsibilities (often paired with primary parenting time) |
| Visitation | Parenting time or contact, depending on relationship |
Parenting time is defined in s. 40 of the Family Law Act (and s. 16.1 of the Divorce Act) as the time during which a guardian is responsible for the child. During parenting time, the guardian may make day-to-day decisions affecting the child and has day-to-day care. The schedule can be anything the child's best interests support — week-on/week-off, 2-2-3, weekday/weekend, holiday and summer variations. There is no default schedule and no legal preference for either parent based on gender.
Section 41 of the Family Law Act lists the parental responsibilities that can be allocated. They include: where the child lives; with whom the child associates; the child's education (including choice of school); the child's cultural, linguistic, religious and spiritual upbringing; giving or refusing consent to medical, dental and other health care; applying for a passport or other identification; and starting, defending, compromising or settling proceedings on the child's behalf. Each responsibility can be allocated jointly, or to one guardian alone, or to a specific guardian for a specific decision.
Only guardians (which in most cases means the child's parents) have parenting time. Non-guardians — grandparents, step-parents, other family members — have contact. Contact is a distinct legal category under ss. 58–59 and can be ordered by the court where it is in the child's best interests, whether the parents agree or not. This is the pathway for grandparent-access disputes in BC.
Section 37 of the Family Law Act (mirrored by s. 16 of the Divorce Act) says the child's best interests are the only consideration, and the child's safety, security and well-being are paramount. The factors include: the child's health and emotional well-being; views of the child (where appropriate); the nature and strength of the child's relationships; the history of the child's care; the child's need for stability; each guardian's ability to exercise parental responsibilities; the impact of family violence; and the ability of guardians who will exercise parental responsibilities to cooperate on issues affecting the child. There is no presumption for either parent, and no automatic preference based on the age of the child.
The words on your agreement or court order are the words a school registrar, a family doctor, a Canadian passport office, or a US border officer will read. An order that allocates "sole parental responsibility for education" lets one parent enrol the child without the other's consent. An order that allocates "parenting time" on defined dates is what FMEP and school buses rely on. The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program enforces support based on the numbers in the order, but parenting time disputes are handled separately through the court. Using the current statutory language avoids ambiguity in every one of these settings.
A well-drafted BC separation agreement (or consent order) does three things: (1) names each parent as a guardian under s. 39, (2) sets out the parenting-time schedule with enough specificity to be enforceable, and (3) allocates each s. 41 parental responsibility, either jointly or to one parent, with a mechanism for resolving disputes (mediation, arbitration, or return to court). If your existing paperwork uses "custody" and "access," it is still valid — but on a variation or renewal, expect it to be rewritten in the current terms.
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