Not a Guardian? How Contact With a Child Works in BC

Author: SiLaw Group Family Lawyers
Published: Aug 10, 2026

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When parents separate, or when a parent dies or a relationship breaks down, children can lose touch with people who matter to them. A grandparent who provided childcare every week. A step-parent who helped raise them. An aunt, an uncle, or a former partner who was part of daily life. British Columbia's Family Law Act gives these people a way to ask for time with a child. The Act calls it "contact."

Parenting time and contact are different things

Part 4 of the Family Law Act draws a clear line between two kinds of time with a child.

Parenting time belongs to guardians. Guardians are usually the child's parents, though not always. Along with parenting time, guardians hold parental responsibilities — the authority to make decisions about how the child is raised.

Contact is for everyone else. It is time between a child and a person who is not the child's guardian. Someone with contact spends time with the child but does not gain decision-making authority over the child's upbringing. The Act deals with contact in its own division, separate from parenting arrangements, and it allows contact to be set by agreement or by court order.

The contact category is broad. Grandparents, step-parents, aunts and uncles, and former partners can all seek contact. So can a parent who is not a guardian of the child.

There is no automatic right for grandparents

Many grandparents are surprised to learn this: the Family Law Act does not give grandparents — or anyone else — an automatic entitlement to time with a child.

When decisions are made about parenting arrangements or contact, the Act directs guardians and courts to consider the best interests of the child only. Not the wishes of the adults. Not what a relative feels they deserve. The child's interests are the whole inquiry.

Courts also tend to give real weight to the judgment of capable, caring guardians. A guardian's decision to limit contact will not simply be brushed aside. An applicant should be ready to explain why contact serves the child even though a guardian objects.

What you realistically need to show

Because the child's interests govern, an application for contact usually turns on a few practical questions:

• A genuine relationship. Courts look for an established bond with the child, not just a family tie on paper. Regular visits, caregiving, holidays, phone calls — the history matters.
• Benefit to the child. How does this relationship help the child? Continuity and stability, a sense of identity, connection to extended family, language and culture — these are the kinds of benefits that carry weight.
• A workable plan. Contact should fit the child's life. Proposals that respect the child's routine, school, and activities are more persuasive than open-ended demands.
• A plan for conflict. If the adults do not get along, the court will want to know the child will not be caught in the middle. Ongoing conflict between adults can harm children, and courts pay close attention to it.

Try agreement and mediation before court

Court is not the only path, and it is rarely the first one to try.

The Family Law Act allows contact to be arranged by agreement with the child's guardians. A written agreement can set out when contact happens, how it happens — visits, calls, video chats — and how the adults will handle changes as the child grows.

If a direct conversation feels impossible, mediation can help. A neutral family mediator works with everyone involved to find an arrangement that centres the child. Mediation is usually faster and less costly than litigation, and it can protect the adult relationships the child depends on. That matters here for a simple reason: the same people will keep sharing this child's life for years to come.

If court becomes necessary

When agreement is out of reach, a person who is not a guardian can apply to the court for a contact order. Expect the evidence to focus on the relationship, the benefit to the child, and the practical plan. Courts can tailor an order to the family's situation, and contact orders are not set in stone — they can be revisited if circumstances change.

Every family is different, and so is every application. What stays constant is the focus: the question is always what serves this child, in this family, at this time.

Talk to us

Whether you are hoping to keep a place in a child's life or you are a guardian responding to a contact request, it helps to understand your options early. Learn more about how we approach parenting arrangements, or Book a free consultation with our South Surrey team.

This post is legal information, not legal advice.