Family Lawyers Serving Vancouver

If you're searching for a family lawyer in Vancouver, you're looking at the most crowded legal market in the province, and some of its highest hourly rates. SiLaw Group Family Lawyers is a boutique firm that practises family law and mediation exclusively, works in English and Punjabi, and acts for clients across British Columbia from one office at 3108 Croydon Drive, Suite 201 in South Surrey, about 45 minutes south of downtown on Highway 99.

To be clear from the start: that South Surrey office is our only office. We don't have a Vancouver location. What we offer Vancouver families is a practice built for working at a distance, with the free first consultation, document review and most meetings by phone or video, and in-person meetings at our office, or in Vancouver when a court date or mediation calls for it.

Working with families across Vancouver

Our Vancouver clients come from across the city: the West Side and Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant and the East Side, Kerrisdale and Marpole, Killarney and Champlain Heights, and the Sunset and Victoria-Fraserview neighbourhoods around the Punjabi Market on Main Street. Highway 99 runs straight from the Oak Street Bridge to our exit in South Surrey, so coming out for the meetings that matter, such as signing a separation agreement or a mediation session, is a manageable drive. We also serve Richmond and New Westminster on the way, and families throughout Surrey and Delta.

What we help Vancouver families with

• Divorce, uncontested and contested
• Child support: Guidelines amounts, special expenses, arrears and enforcement
• Spousal support: entitlement, amount and duration
• Common-law separations and the two-year rule under the Family Law Act
• Family violence and protection orders
• Parenting arrangements: parenting time, decision-making responsibility and relocation
• Property and debt division, including the family home and excluded property
• Agreements: cohabitation, marriage, and separation agreements
• Mediation, arbitration and parenting coordination, offered in-house

Child support, common-law rights and protection orders in Vancouver

The questions Vancouver families most often bring us are about money and safety. Child support in BC is set by the Federal Child Support Guidelines wherever you live; what changes in Vancouver is the cost of housing, which makes the special and extraordinary expenses under section 7 and the treatment of the family home matter more. Our child support guide walks through how the amount is calculated. If you lived together without marrying, the Family Law Act treats you as spouses for property division after two years, and our common-law page explains what that means for a Vancouver condo or a jointly built business. Where there is family violence, a protection order can be sought urgently at the Provincial Court, and we act quickly on those files; see family violence and protection orders.

Where Vancouver family court matters are heard

Vancouver splits its courts by level. Provincial Court family matters (parenting orders, child and spousal support, and family protection orders) are heard at the Provincial Court at Robson Square, 800 Hornby Street. Supreme Court matters (the divorce order itself, and the division of family property and debt) are heard at the Vancouver Law Courts, 800 Smithe Street, the building the Supreme Court shares with the Court of Appeal. The two are a block apart downtown. Which court your matter belongs in depends on what you need decided, and we confirm that at the consultation.

Most Vancouver separations never reach either building. Negotiated separation agreements and mediation resolve the large majority of family matters privately, and because Sandy Sihota is an accredited family law mediator, arbitrator and parenting coordinator, that entire out-of-court path is available at this firm directly.

ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੇਵਾਵਾਂ: family law in Punjabi

Vancouver's Punjabi community is one of the oldest in Canada, and many of our Vancouver clients prefer to work through a separation in Punjabi. We serve clients in Punjabi as well as English: the advice, the documents explained, and the conversations that matter, in the language you're most comfortable in. See our Punjabi services page for more.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have an office in Vancouver?

No. Our one office is at 3108 Croydon Drive, Suite 201 in South Surrey, about 45 minutes south of downtown on Highway 99. Vancouver clients handle most of their file by phone and video and come to the office, or meet us in Vancouver, only when being in the same room helps.

Will you appear in court in Vancouver?

Yes. We act for clients throughout British Columbia and appear at Robson Square for Provincial Court family matters and at the Law Courts on Smithe Street for Supreme Court matters. Many routine appearances can be made by telephone or video, which keeps the cost of a court file down.

Why hire a South Surrey firm instead of a downtown one?

Fit and cost. Our practice is limited to family law, mediation and arbitration are available in-house rather than referred out, we work in Punjabi as well as English, and our rates are set for the suburbs rather than a downtown tower. If a Vancouver firm is the better fit for your matter, we'll say so at the free consultation.

What does a consultation cost?

The first 30 minutes are free, by phone, video, or in person at our South Surrey office. After that, fees depend on what your situation needs, and we discuss them openly before you commit to anything.

Talk to a family lawyer about your Vancouver matter for free

The first 30 minutes are free, in English or Punjabi. Book a free consultation or call (778) 381-9977.

This page is legal information, not legal advice.