The months of spring are replete with days of significance. There are religious holidays and a slew of other days intended to take advantage of the warmer weather or celebrate the arrival of spring.

Although, it’s likely that everyone has taken part in one of these days it’s equally likely that a large chunk of the population has ignored a newer annual day of meaning. On April 16th it was National Advance Care Planning Day. This is a day designated, for Canadians, to reflect on the decisions that need to be made at the end of a life.

The day is the result of efforts to create a pan-Canadian framework for the discussion of advance care planning. Too often important decisions are put off until it is too late. The Advance Care Planning in Canada Project hopes to limit instances of this type. For those of you who are not completely certain of what Advance Care Planning encompasses, you should know that whenever a capable adult thinks or talks about their wishes for future health care with close family members and their health care provider, they are engaging in advance care planning.

The Ministry of Health encourages all capable adults to embrace advance care planning and take advantage of tools like the advance care planning guide, My Voice: Expressing My Wishes for Future Health Care Treatment. By spending time thinking and discussing matters of this kind in the present, individuals will avoid a number of complicated issues that may arise for their loved ones in the future.

The Advance Care Planning in Canada Project is intended to raise the awareness of Canadians regarding advance care planning and to equip them with the tools they need to engage in the process. An immediate goal is to encourage individuals to access the assistance of professionals and health care providers to begin the process of advance care planning.

Clearly these efforts are commendable. As the baby boomer generation continues to age, the need to educate the public about proactively planning for the future can only increase. Lawyers who practice in the areas of committeeships, wills, trusts and estate planning are all logical choices as trusted advisors when it comes to planning both for end of life decisions and the future financial well being of family members. LawOne is a resource that can help. Our network of lawyers includes legal professionals who practice in the above-mentioned areas. You can find their contact information on lawone.ca.

For additional information about advance care planning view the government Press Release or browse the BC Minisitry of Health’s website on making future health care decisions.

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.

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.

From time to time we get calls from women seeking help because they fear for their personal safety and/or the safety of their children.  In situations where violence has or continues to occur the first step is to get out.  If that means calling 911 for help or escaping to a womens shelter than that is what you do. You cannot resolve your problems or protect your children if you stay in an abusive (dangerous) environment.

What if you have no where to go?

Some women stay because they feel they have no where else to go.

Rather than deciding to tough it out (the statistics on death at the hands of a spouse or partner show this is not a good idea), if you are in an abusive relationship and need to get out you have options.  Shelternet is one.  As their website explains, Shelternet

was created to provide reliable and up-to-date information for abused women, their family, friends, and colleagues in Canada. Please browse the website or take a look through our special sections on topics such as understanding abuse, find a shelter, or abuse and children.

There is information on the Shelternet site designed for the specific needs of teens, children, family + friend (support information).

To access Shelternet in:  French, Spanish, Polish, Vietanamese, Chinese, Arabic, Farsi and Punjabi go to Shelternet Translations.

Alternatively you can contact the Transition House closest to where you live. The number one priority is your personal safety and that of your children.  You can consider your options after you are in safe place.

A Transition House provides:

• a safe place for you and your children
• food and other necessities
• temporary shelter
• support in getting financial, medical or legal help
• emotional help and counselling

The Legal Services Society Family Law Website also has information on dealing with abuse.

Some things you can do if the police won’t do anything

In some cases you may have already reported the matter to the police and have been told there is insufficient evidence to take any action against the person making the threats.  Obviously, if you are being threatened with violence, stalked or you are fearful because you are being harassed this is both extremely frightening and frustrating.

However, there are some steps you can take to empower and protect yourself.  The following list with links provides some ideas to get you started:

Suggestions and strategies to increase your safety if you feel intimidated, threatened or you think you are being stalked

Need protection from someone who has physically abused you or is threatening to do so?  Review detailed info on peace bonds, restraining orders and no contact orders or you can read the LSS Fact sheet (which is also translated) here Fact Sheet.

Further information and resources dealing with family situations, safety, abuse and help to stop family violence can be accessed through the Clicklaw web portal.

BC Courthouse Library Society launches new website www.clicklaw.bc.ca

We often get calls from people looking for answers to quick questions or requests for help finding out more about a legal situation or how the legal system works.  If you are reading this you probably already know there is a massive amount of legal information on the internet.  Most people use Google or another search engine and type in what they “think” might be the correct key words to find what they are looking for.  Often their search results produce a long list of irrelevant information or information from other legal jurisdictions which doesn’t apply in Canada.  Recently Courthouse Libraries BC launched a new website called Clicklaw to provide British Columbians with access to legal resources.

In keeping with the legal community’s commitment to promoting access to justice, Clicklaw acts as a single gateway to information provided by credible BC organizations that produce legal information and educational materials designed specifically to help the public.  It is a good place to start if you want to inform yourself before going to speak with a lawyer.  A word of caution –   background information is not a substitute for legal advice from a lawyer who has practice experience with the problem you face. The unique facts of a case are often very important and can affect your rights, obligations and the options you have to handle a legal problem.  A lawyer experienced dealing with your issue will be able to assess your case taking your special circumstances into account and can determine your options as well as tell you about any risks and your chances of success.  However, background reading on your particular legal issue is a useful way to help you start to figure out what questions you need to ask a lawyer.  It  can also help you organize the information about your situation so that you will be better prepared to answer your lawyer’s questions and provide key documents that they may need in order to advise you.  This will make the process more efficient and, if you are being billed at an hourly rate, it will ultimately save you money.