5 tips on Gay Divorce Rights in Canada and BC | Gay Rights Family Lawyers

Yes, I should probably use ‘same-sex’ rather than gay divorce rights, but I love the meaning of gay. It means happy, and happiness is one of the best feelings in the world. Funny thing is that despite practising family law for more than 7 years, I have not seen one gay couple fighting in court. I am sure those cases exist, but I haven’t seen them and they are very rare.

This speaks volumes about gay people and who they are. Generally, I find them happy and hopeful despite any setbacks in their lives. They yearn to love and are incredibly unique. They know how to cheer anyone up and have some incredible artistic talents which are unmatched. They are a part of us. They are integral and vital members of our society and deserve nothing but respect and love. It is difficult to even comprehend why some people think they don’t deserve as much as us. My brain hurts even trying to understand that. Anyway,

Just like all of us humans, gay couples go through their own relationships and separations. And they deserve the exact same rights when they marry or separate. Luckily, we live in Canada and at least the laws treat gays equally with the rest of us. Now we just need to work on our attitude to make sure we don’t give gays a hard time because of our own insanity.

Gay Divorce Rights in Canada – We Are All Treated Equal

In Canada, gay divorce rights are exactly the same as rights for anyone going through a separation or divorce. In Canada, gays can marry each other and can later divorce if things don’t work out. Previously, United States residents had to come to Canada to get married and had to come back here to get divorced. This is because the US did not recognize gay rights until 2015. So now gay Americans can divorce and marry in the United States. But other countries in the world still do not recognize gay divorce rights. If that is the case, you can marry or divorce in BC or Canada if you can’t do so in your own country. To find out how contact our gay rights lawyers.

5 Tips on Gay Divorce Rights in BC

Tip 1: Spousal Support – Gay Divorce Rights in BC

If you are married or are in a same-sex common-law relationship, you may be entitled to spousal support. Let’s say you lived with your partner for 5 years, had an adopted child and your partner made $50,000 more than you did in income. In this situation, you may be entitled to spousal support until the child reaches the age of 19, assuming you have parenting time with the child more than 40% of the time. To calculate spousal support, please click here. Spousal support is a complicated area of family law. It depends on:

1. length of relationships or marriage;
2. difference between incomes; and
3. whether there are any children.

To learn more about spousal support, and whether you should apply for temporary or permanent spousal support, click here.

Tip 2: Property Division and Debt Division for Gay Couples 

Generally:

1. You keep what you brought into the marriage or relationship;
2. Whatever you buy during the relationship or any increase in the value of an asset you brought into the relationship will be divided 50/50;
3. You get to keep gifts or inheritances you brought into the relationship or received during the relationship (minus any increase in value which goes back to #2).
4. Any debts that you and your partner incur during the relationship will be divided 50/50 and you and your partner will each have to pay for 50%
5. Any debts that you or your partner brought into the relationship, will be your sole obligation.

There are many, many other arguments for a different arrangement than the one stated above. To make those arguments, you will need to contact a family lawyer to see whether you will be successful. 

To learn more about property division and debt division at the time of separation, click here.

Tip 3: Child Support  for Gay Couples

If you and your gay partner have a child or children together, then at the time of separation, you can ask for child support assuming:

1. You have the child in your care more than 40% of the time; and
2. Your income is lower than your partner’s in case you have the child more than 60% of the time. Let me explain: 

Let’s say you have the child in your care 80% of the time and your partner, 20%. In this situation, your income won’t matter and monthly child support is calculated based on your partner’s income. BC child support law says that as long as you have the child more than 60% of the time, the other parent needs to pay you full child support.

Let’s say you have the child 50% of the time with you, and your partner, the other 50%. In this case, your incomes will be set off against each other, and the higher-earning parent will need to pay child support based on the difference. To calculate child support, click here.

There are 2 types of child support in BC:

• The monthly amount includes food, shelter, clothing, etc; and
• Special or extraordinary expenses include drug costs, tutoring, tuition, nanny, etc. To learn more on special expenses, click here. Special expenses are paid based on the parents’ proportionate incomes.

Tip #4: Child Custody for Gay Couples

This is a very complicated area of family law. Child custody is determined based on the best interests of the child. So if you and your partner are generally good parents, you should share the custody of your child on a 50/50 basis. But there are so many factors in everyone’s life that may make 50/50 custody impossible or impracticable.

In any event, regardless of whether you are gay or straight, the judge needs to see whether your child will benefit from having both of you in his/her life, and if so, how much? To learn more, click here.

Tip #5: Divorce for Gays or Same-Sex Couples

If you marry your gay partner anywhere in Canada, you are able to divorce them here as well. In order to get a divorce in BC:

1. First, you need to show that you were married. It doesn’t matter which location in Canada or globally;
2. One of you needs to have lived in British Columbia for more than 1 year;
3. One of you needs to confirm that there are no prospects of reconciliation;
4. One or both of you needs to show the judge that you have resolved all other issues such as support and property, through an agreement which is often a marriage agreement or separation agreement. 

To get a divorce in BC, you need to apply to the BC Supreme Court. If you manage to resolve all your issues, you can apply through a desk order divorce. If not, you will need to attend a trial.

To find out more or to set up a consultation, call us at 604-974-9529 or get in touch with our award-winning gay family rights lawyers. 

Special thanks to Lee Grogan, our proud and gay office administrator and assistant for suggesting that we do many more blogs on gay divorce rights in BC as they deserve it.  Stay tuned for more information!