Parenting Plan or Parenting Agreement in BC: What to Include

Separating parents can often write their own arrangement without going to court. In British Columbia, people use the terms parenting plan and parenting agreement, and what matters is what it says and when it was made.

This article covers what to include, when the agreement is binding and how to make it enforceable. A lawyer can review your draft before you sign.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

What the law lets you agree on

Guardians may make an agreement about parenting arrangements, including the allocation of responsibilities, parenting time, how the arrangement is carried out and how disputes are resolved. Guardians can share all parental responsibilities or divide them up.

No arrangement is presumed, including equal time, so the plan should fit your child.

Only a guardian may have parental responsibilities and parenting time. Each parent is a guardian while the parents live together and after they separate, and separation alone does not end guardianship. An agreement or order made after separation, or when the parents are about to separate, can provide that a parent is not a guardian. A parent who has never lived with the child is not a guardian unless an exception applies, such as all guardians agreeing in writing or the parent regularly caring for the child.

When making an agreement about guardianship, parenting arrangements or contact, the parties and the court must consider the best interests of the child only. The factors include the child's health and emotional well-being, the child's views unless it is inappropriate to consider them, the child's need for stability and the impact of family violence. The Act sets no age at which a child chooses.

What a good agreement covers

• Who makes which decisions, such as education, activities, cultural or religious upbringing and health-care consent.
• Who handles passport applications and benefits.
• The parenting time schedule and where the child lives.
• How handovers work, and whether supervision is needed.
• How you will consult each other, which is the default unless inappropriate.
• How disagreements will be resolved.

During parenting time, a guardian may make day-to-day decisions and have day-to-day care unless the agreement says otherwise. Say clearly if you want something different.

Unless an agreement or order says otherwise, each guardian may exercise all parental responsibilities after consulting the other guardians, unless consultation would be unreasonable or inappropriate. Responsibilities can also be allocated to certain guardians only, exercised separately or together. Where informal arrangements are settled, a guardian must not change them without consulting the other guardians unless consultation is unreasonable or inappropriate.

Writing down the details now can reduce confusion later. Think about holidays, school breaks and how you will talk to each other about the child.

When it is binding

A parenting agreement is binding only if made after separation, or when the parties are about to separate and it is meant to take effect on separation. An agreement signed years before separation may not bind you.

Whatever you sign, the child's best interests are the test. On application, the court must set aside or replace all or part of an agreement that is not in the child's best interests.

Making it enforceable

A written agreement filed in court is enforceable as if it were a court order. If the other parent wrongly denies your time, you may apply within 12 months after the denial, and the court has remedies including compensatory time and a payment or fine of up to $5,000. Denial is not wrongful in certain cases, such as a reasonable belief the child might suffer family violence.

Some parents name a parenting coordinator in a written agreement. Unless it says otherwise, their authority ends after two years and can be extended in two-year periods. Fees are shared as the agreement or order provides.

If you cannot agree, a guardian can apply for a court order on allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, implementation and dispute resolution, but an order must not be made if the guardians are the child's parents and are not separated. In Provincial Court, the application form is Form 3 'Application about a family law matter' (PFA712). In Supreme Court, a family case starts with Form F3 Notice of Family Claim.

In Provincial Court, a party must complete a Parenting After Separation course before moving forward with an application, unless exempt, and one exemption is a consent order being filed. Enforcement in Provincial Court uses Form 29 'Application about enforcement' (PFA725).

Travel and moving

Applying for a child's passport is a parental responsibility, so it falls to guardians under the allocation in an agreement or order. If consent to travel is refused, a guardian can apply to court for an order deciding the issue.

A relocation is a change in residence of a child or guardian that can reasonably be expected to significantly affect the child's relationship with a guardian or other significant person. Where a guardian plans a relocation and a written agreement or order on parenting arrangements or contact applies, the guardian must give other guardians and contact persons at least 60 days' written notice stating the date and proposed location, although the court may exempt notice where it would risk family violence or there is no ongoing relationship. If no agreement or order applies, section 46 governs a guardian's planned change of the child's residence on application. Where the notice rules apply, the child may be relocated on or after the date in the notice unless another guardian applies to the court to prohibit it within 30 days of receiving notice.

• Decide who keeps the child's passport and how travel consent will be handled.
• Agree on how you will talk about a possible move before it is planned.
• Ask a lawyer how these rules apply to your situation.

What to do next

• Draft the agreement in writing and sign it after separation, or when you are about to separate and it is meant to take effect on separation.
• Think about how it will change as your child grows. A parenting order can be changed if the child's needs or circumstances change.
• Have a lawyer review it.
• File it in court if you want it enforceable as an order.

Frequently asked questions