Canada welcomes thousands of newcomers in the spousal and common-law partner sponsorship category every year, yet this Canadian permanent residence application category garners little public attention – this is probably due to the lack of controversial issues about it. As Victoria, BC immigration lawyer Robbie Sheffman observes:

Generally speaking, spousal and common-law partner sponsorship applications rest on three main pillars:  the eligibility of the sponsor to sponsor; the existence and genuineness of the marriage or common-law relationship; and the admissibility of the foreign national applicant for Canadian permanent residence status (that is, medical and security clearances). Despite the lack of public attention and controversy, there are many important decisions which need to be made and factors to be taken into consideration when planning or making a Canadian permanent residence application in this category, such as:

• Whether to use the “Inside Canada” or “Outside Canada” process
• The timing of the medical examination
• How to prove the existence and genuineness of the relationship
• How to demonstrate the intention to return to Canada by a Canadian citizen sponsor residing outside Canada
• Issues pertaining to children, and
• Importation of personal belongings to Canada.

Robbie also notes that the above list is intended to illustrate only some of the issues and it is by no means exhaustive.

Because family reunification is an important objective of Canadian immigration legislation, in keeping with that objective, Citizenship and Immigration Canada processes these applications on a priority basis.  Robbie Sheffman regularly deals with spousal and common law sponsorships. If you would like more information or think Robbie may be able to help you visit his website (www.immigrationlawbc.com) or call his office at 250.590.2951 to make an appointment.

If you are looking for British Columbia family law case analysis and commentary on topical issues including: divorce, child support, spousal maintenance and procedural issues that arise in BC family law matters, take a look at the Vancouver Divorce Law Blog being hosted by the BC family law lawyers at Henderson Heinrichs.  Founding partners Rain Henderson and Kevin Heinrichs have been helping clients resolve family law matters since the early 1990s. They joined forces in 1997 to start Henderson Heinrichs – a firm focused solely on family and divorce law.  Now six lawyers strong, Henderson Heinrichs offers BC clients experienced advice and representation in family law matters including:

• divorce
• common law relationships (rights, obligations and potential issues)
• custody and access
• property division (aka division of assets)
• spousal and child support
• separation and prenuptial agreements
• mediation and court proceedings.

Welcome to our newest LawOne network member, immigration and business lawyer Robbie Sheffman. Called to the British Columbia bar in 1992, Robbie provides advice and services on a wide range of Canadian citizenship and immigration applications and issues. With offices in downtown Victoria, British Columbia, Robbie provides legal services through his law corporation, Robert S. Sheffman Law Corporation. For more information about Robbie’s practice and how to contact him for assistance visit his website www.immigrationlawbc.com.

Among the wide variety of Canadian citizenship and immigration issues on which Robbie advises, he frequently advises employers who hire foreign workers (or are thinking about hiring foreign workers) and human resources professionals involved in the process. He notes that clients dealing with foreign workers must be aware of upcoming changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (”TFWP”), recently announced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2011.

If you are interested in finding out more about the TFWP changes and how they may affect your business operations please contact Robbie at your convenience. If you have a group of ten or more employees and human resources professionals who would benefit from an overview of the changes, talk to Robbie about a customized workplace presentation.

LawOne lawyers network and Vancouver personal injury law firm Taylor & Blair has recently added some video discussions to their website. The first set deals with common mistakes car accident victims make when dealing with ICBC and other insurers.

View: Taylor & Blair Videos

Every once in a while we get calls from people outside BC who are looking for someone to serve documents on people resident in BC or companies with registered and records offices here in BC.  There are a number of situations where the law requires “personal service” – at least as a first resort.  The typical scenario arises in civil litigation where the Rules of Court of every jurisdiction in Canada require that a plaintiff must ensure that a defendant (or defendants) have notice that legal proceedings are being taken against them.  This is to provide the defendant with an opportunity to respond to the allegations and make any counterclaim that may be appropriate.

What if you are a plaintiff and you either don’t know where to find your defendant or they are located in another jurisdiction (maybe even outside Canada)?

In these cases it makes sense to turn to professionals like Dye & Durham who offer a full range of process serving options including skip tracing if you are unable to locate your defendant.

Family law is one of those areas that touch on many different issues from child custody, division of assets, tax and estate planning.  The lawyers at  Henderson Heinrichs practice exclusively in the area of family law and one of the issues they see all the time is the affect a change in family status can have on a client’s will.

If you are getting married, separated or divorced, it’s time to think about your will. The laws of British Columbia with regard to familial relations and wills and estates interact in a way that you need to be aware of if you want to make sure that wishes are honoured if you pass away.  – Joseph Broadhurst,  Henderson Heinrichs, Lawyers

We asked Joe to highlight some of the common issues you need to consider when you change your family status.  While Joe notes that every fact situation is unique and you should always consult a family lawyer qualified in your jurisdiction the following basic issues arise in BC:

If you are getting Married:

Wills in BC are governed by the Wills Act.  Under section 15 of the Wills Act, your will is revoked if you get married, unless your will specifically contemplates your upcoming marriage.  If your will is revoked and you pass away, it will be as though you died with no will at all, and your property will be distributed according to the Estate Administration Act.  There are at least two disadvantages to this situation.  First, if you die without a will (also known as dying intestate) a court application is required to appoint an administrator for your estate.  This process is both more costly and time consuming than having your property distributed under a valid will.  Second, the Estate Administration Act, Part 10 provides set formulas for distributing your property which may not match your wishes or be suitable for your family situation.  So if you get married, make sure you revisit your will if you want your final wishes to be respected.

If you are getting Divorced:

Unlike getting married, getting divorced does not cancel your will.  However, it can change your will.  Any parts of your will that name your former spouse as executor or as a beneficiary of your estate are cancelled.  The division of your estate can be complex and unpredictable if these portions of your will are cancelled.  If you are getting divorced and you named your former spouse in your will, you should seriously consider getting a new will.

If you are separated and planning on getting Divorced.

The process of getting divorced can often take some time (and in most cases takes at least a year).  Even if you are separated from your spouse and have started divorce proceedings, your will is still valid.  If you are separated but not divorced and do not have a will, a substantial portion of your estate will go to your spouse if you pass away before getting divorced.  Under both of these circumstances, you should consider immediately getting a new will which explicitly sets out that you are making the will with your impending divorce in mind, and which reflects your wishes.

If you have questions about how your change in status affects your will and what you can do to arrange your affairs to make sure your loved ones are protected you are welcome to call Joe Broadhurst or any of the lawyers at Henderson Heinrichs (604.669.3500) or visit their website at bcfamilylawyers.com.