Legal Resources

Practical, step-by-step guides on wills and estates. Learn about several topics including how to prepare a will, choose an executor, change or cancel a will, and probate a will.

Explains the main law in BC setting out the rights of workers: the Employment Standards Act. Most (but not all) workers in the province are protected under this law. Learn if you’re covered. Topics include exceptions, if you’re a union member, and if you’re not covered by employment standards legislation.

Explains your rights, and what you’re entitled to, if your common-law spouse dies. It explains the different definitions of “spouse,” and describes what happens if your spouse left a will, or if they died without a will. It explains pension, survivor, and CPP benefits. It also explains custody and guardianship of children.

Explains what the law says about how someone’s estate is distributed if they die without a will (intestate). A person doesn’t need to be married to be considered a spouse, and the court may need to appoint someone to look after any children. It also explains the duties of an administrator, and more.

This tool is for women who have been abused by their partner and arrested by the police. It is aimed at empowering women to get support and take action about the arrest.

A growing number of women that Battered Women’s Support Services help have been arrested for allegedly perpetrating violence against their partners, despite the fact that in all cases the women were being abused by their partners. This tool is designed to help advocates provide information, support, and advocacy.

Explains the collaborative family law process, where you and your spouse each hire a lawyer who practises collaborative family law with the goal of settling your case fairly, without going to court. It provides links to finding a collaborative family lawyer, and to other resources for legal help and advice.

Brief description of the federal child support guidelines, which are the rules for calculating the amount of child support one parent must pay to the other parent to help support their child or children.

This manual defines how the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT) operates according to legislation. It includes rules of practice and procedure, practice directives, and guidelines to make sure that appeals are handled in a just, timely, efficient, and effective way.

A page with all the WCAT forms — both online forms and PDFs you can print out — when you're appealing WorkSafeBC decisions.