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says Boyd. The bill grants joint guard- ianship of children where relationships end. While men's groups have lobbied for equal recognition of their parental rights, Boyd says this joint guardianship can cre- ate problems, especially if an abusive situ- ation exists where one party is attempting to limit contact with the other. A restrain- ing order would be needed. Bill 16 now makes the violation of a restraining or protection order into a criminal rather than a civil offence, which, police were reluctant to enforce in the past. "What does that mean for women at risk?" says Boyd. "Is it the criminal (rather than less- er civil) standard of guilt that will apply?" The bill attempts to "codify the com- mon law principles" built up in years relating to assisted human reproduction, which the federal Assisted Human Repro- duction Act has left to the provinces to clarify, says Boyd. One controversial area covered is the use of stored gametes where one party is deceased. The new legislation ensures the survivor's rights to personal use if clear proof of donor consent exists. The new law will also make the "tran- sitional language" between the new act and the federal Divorce Act clearer, says Boyd. It also eliminates terminology such as custody, prioritizes the rights of parents, guardians, and non-guardians, and sets out penalties for failing to meet obligations to the child. It is also the first time in Canada, says Boyd, that legislation includes the role of parent co-ordinators (a lawyer, mental health professional, or trained individual) who ensures both parties understand any agreements in place and helps both parties meet those obligations. Prince George, B.C., family lawyer Dennis Smith says he is pleased with the new bill "for the most part." But, he's "in the minority" as he takes excep- tion to the new provision that gives common-law spouses the same rights to property division as married couples (with some exceptions, such as inheritances or property brought into the marriage). "There is no other aspect of law where right to property is alienated through an informal process such as choosing to live with someone for a while," he says, adding that in other legal cases, where property is removed or divided, there is some form of contract. Smith, who consulted on the bill's white paper, believes many people, especially in urban areas with high rents and shortage of accommodations, will be looking at legal agreements before sharing owned residences. He gives the example of some- one owning an apartment and a girlfriend or boyfriend moves in and after three years the relationship ends. The apart- ment has risen $300,000 in value and that individual, whose name doesn't appear on the mortgage document, now wants half of that increased value. "I think lawyers will be writing a lot more cohabitation agreements." Research for the new family law reform has come from the British Columbia Law Institute, which has issued four reports dealing with needed changes and submit- ted to the B.C. government. Jim Emmer- ton, the institute's executive director, says one noted change is Bill 16 eliminates the section found in the old act that allows parents to seek support from their chil- dren. "This section goes back to when there was really no social safety net," he says. Another change, says Emmerton, is that the bill provides for the appointment of standby guardians. "It is not picked up as broadly as we recommended," he says, as the bill limits it to "a person fac- ing terminal illness or permanent mental incapacity." The bill addresses what Emmerton calls the need for uniform jurisdiction and choice of law rules in domestic prop- erty proceedings or how to proceed when two provinces or countries are involved. "These rules [in B.C.] have been out of step with other jurisdictions," he said, and the bill "provides a means of standardizing them with other parts of Canada." The institute also submitted to gov- ernment a proposal for pension division reform after marriage breakdown. There were 36 recommendations and "virtually everyone was picked up," he says. Pen- sion lawyer Thomas G. Anderson says the new act clarifies areas such as pension plan administrator liability and includes division of supplementary pension plans, lump-sum payments, income streams, and lifetime security for ex-spouses. — JEAN SORENSEN jean_sorensen@telus.net View Boyd's blog at or visit the Courthouse Libraries BC web site at for updates. For pension reform informa- tion and contents of Bill 16, go to the B.C. government web site under Documents and Proceedings News Feed Lerners' TOP 5 Lerners picks the Court of Appeal's Top 5 civil decisions from the past month and, for diversion, our Top 5 children's books that every adult should read. www.lernersappeals.ca/netletters Rising Star: Jennifer Costin received the Middlesex Law Association Rising Star Award for a lawyer in practice less than 10 years. www.lerners.ca/ ndalawyer/cv/ jennifer_costin.pdf Shannon Puddister will be offering his insights about the role of the private sector in improving engineering education in developing countries at the Engineers Without Borders annual confer- ence in Ottawa, Jan 12-14. www.lerners.ca/ ndalawyer/cv/ shannon_puddister.pdf www.lerners.ca www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com JAN UARY 2012 13 erners_Newsfeed_CL_Jan_12.indd 1 11-12-14 12:28 PM bcf blo gspot.c libr om ary.c amilyla a/pr actic wr esour c c e/F e. ourthouse amilyla w.asp x leg.bc.c a .