Step-Parents in BC: Child Support and Contact After Separation

In a blended family, a step-parent may have helped raise a partner's child for years. When the adult relationship ends, two questions often follow: does the step-parent have to keep paying for the child, and can they keep seeing the child?

BC's Family Law Act answers both, and for married couples the federal Divorce Act can also apply. The rules turn on how long the step-parent contributed, when a claim is started and what is in the child's best interests. This guide explains the tests and the deadline that is easy to miss.

Who is a step-parent under the Family Law Act

Section 146 of the Family Law Act defines a stepparent as a person who is a spouse of the child's parent and lived with the child's parent and the child during the child's life. Being a "spouse" is itself defined. Under section 3, that means someone who is or was married to the parent, or who lived with the parent in a marriage-like relationship for a continuous period of at least two years, or, outside the property and pension parts of the Act, who lived with the parent in a marriage-like relationship and has a child with them.

So a partner who lived with a parent for a short time, never married them and has no child with them is generally not a stepparent for child support purposes, however involved they were in the child's life.

When a step-parent must pay child support

Being a stepparent is not enough on its own. Under section 147(4), a stepparent has a duty to support the child only if both of these are true:

• At least one year of contribution. The stepparent contributed to the child's support for at least one year.
• A claim started in time. A proceeding for support against the stepparent is started within one year after the date the stepparent last contributed to the child's support.

Section 149(3) adds that an order can be made against a stepparent only if that duty exists and the stepparent and the child's parent are separated.

The one-year deadline is easy to miss

The second condition is a hard time limit tied to the last contribution, not to the date of separation. If a step-parent keeps helping with costs for a few months after moving out, the year generally runs from the last of those contributions. If a parent waits more than a year after the last contribution to start a claim, the step-parent's duty under the Family Law Act does not arise. A parent who may need support from a former partner should get advice soon after separation; our overview of family law deadlines in BC covers the other time limits.

How much a step-parent may pay

A step-parent's duty is secondary. Under section 147(5), it comes after the duty of the child's parents and guardians, and it extends only as far as is appropriate considering the child's standard of living during the relationship and how long the child lived with the stepparent. A support order against one person also does not stop an order against anyone else responsible for the child (section 149(4)), so the other biological parent remains responsible as well.

In practice, that means a step-parent's support is not simply read from the guideline tables in the way a parent's usually is. BC's Family Law Act Regulation applies section 5 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines to these claims, so the amount is what the court considers appropriate, having regard to the Guidelines and any other parent's legal duty to support the child. For how ordinary child support is set, see how child support is calculated in BC.

Married step-parents and the Divorce Act

If the step-parent was married to the child's parent and either of them applies for a divorce, the federal Divorce Act can also apply to child support. Section 2(2) treats a child of the marriage as including a child of one spouse for whom the other stands in the place of a parent. The Act sets no minimum period for this. Whether a step-parent stands in the place of a parent depends on the facts of their relationship with the child.

Under the Divorce Act, section 5 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines applies in the same way: for a spouse who stands in the place of a parent, the amount is what the court considers appropriate, having regard to the Guidelines and any other parent's legal duty to support the child. The Divorce Act does not contain the Family Law Act's one-year contribution test or its one-year deadline, so the two routes can produce different results.

Keeping contact with a stepchild

The Family Law Act uses the word "contact" for time between a child and a person who is not the child's guardian, which is usually the position of a step-parent. Under section 58, a guardian and a non-guardian can agree on contact, but the agreement is binding only if it is made with all of the child's guardians who have responsibility for deciding who the child may associate with. If there is no agreement, section 59 lets a court grant contact to any person who is not a guardian, and set its terms, including supervision where that is in the child's best interests.

Every agreement or order about contact must be based only on the child's best interests (section 37). The factors include the child's views where appropriate and the strength of the child's relationships with significant people in their life, which can include a step-parent who helped raise them. A step-parent can also apply under section 51 to be appointed a guardian, which is a larger step: the applicant must give the court evidence about the child's best interests, and if the child is 12 or older, the court must not appoint a person other than a parent without the child's written approval unless it is satisfied that the appointment is in the child's best interests.

Once there is an order, it can be changed if the child's needs or circumstances change (section 60). A person entitled to contact under an agreement or order who is wrongfully denied it by a guardian can apply for a remedy within 12 months of the denial (section 61). The same approach applies to other relatives; see our article on grandparents' rights in BC.

The Act deals with support and contact in different parts and on different tests, so one does not automatically follow from the other. A step-parent who pays support does not gain contact by doing so, and each question needs its own assessment.

Separating in a blended family? Get advice on support and contact

Our family lawyers can assess whether a step-parent support claim is available or time-limited, explain how the Family Law Act and the Divorce Act apply, and help you seek or respond to a contact application.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.