Protection Orders
Financial Coercive Control in BC: When Money Is the Weapon
By SiLaw Group Family LawyersPublished Nov 13, 2026 · 6 min read
If you are in immediate danger, call 911 now. The rest of this post can wait until you are safe.
Controlling a partner's money can be family violence in British Columbia. The Family Law Act definition includes "unreasonable restrictions on, or prevention of, a family member's financial or personal autonomy", and family law responds with interim support, disclosure duties, debt rules and conduct orders.
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers wrote this post about the part of coercive control people often find hardest to name. Our page on coercive control and BC family law covers the wider pattern, and our post on the coercive control criminal offence covers the Criminal Code change. On the civil side, the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized a tort in this area, and our post on what Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia means for families in British Columbia explains the decision. If you are reading on a shared or monitored device, remember that browsing history and banking apps can be seen.
What Can Financial Coercive Control Look Like?
There is no statutory list, and no single example proves anything on its own. Patterns people describe include:
- control of every account and all income, including your own pay
- an allowance that has to be justified receipt by receipt, or money withheld for food, medication or the children's needs
- debt run up in your name, or pressure to sign for loans you did not want
- blocking work or school, or insisting that you quit
- hidden income, assets or accounts
What usually marks control is the pattern, with money used to limit what you can do and whether you can leave.
Is Financial Control Family Violence Under the Family Law Act?
Section 1 of the Family Law Act defines family violence to include, with or without an intent to harm, psychological or emotional abuse of a family member. That branch expressly includes "unreasonable restrictions on, or prevention of, a family member's financial or personal autonomy", along with coercion or threats. The word "unreasonable" matters, because couples manage money in many ways.
In deciding whether to make a protection order, section 184(1) of the Family Law Act requires the court to consider whether psychological or emotional abuse "constitutes, or is evidence of, a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour" directed at the person at risk, and any circumstance increasing that person's vulnerability, including economic dependence. Section 38 uses the same pattern language for parenting decisions. If you are married and your case involves the Divorce Act, its definition of family violence in section 2(1) lists "financial abuse" by name.
How Do You Get Money to Live On While the Case Is Ongoing?
You do not have to wait for trial. Section 216(1) of the Family Law Act allows a court to make an interim order for the relief applied for, which includes child support and spousal support, and sections 15.1(2) and 15.2(2) of the Divorce Act allow interim child and spousal support while an application is pending. Our post on interim spousal support in BC explains those orders, and our spousal support and child support pages cover the wider rules.
Section 161(a) of the Family Law Act lists, among the objectives of spousal support, recognizing any economic advantages or disadvantages arising from the relationship or its breakdown, which is where a blocked career can become relevant. And while section 166 tells the court not to consider a spouse's misconduct in a spousal support order, it makes an exception for conduct that arbitrarily or unreasonably causes, prolongs or aggravates the need for support.
If the money sits with the other spouse, section 89 of the Family Law Act allows the Supreme Court of British Columbia to order an interim distribution of family property to fund family dispute resolution, a proceeding under the Act, or the gathering of evidence, if satisfied it is necessary for that purpose and would not be harmful to the interests of a spouse.
What If Your Partner Hides the Money?
Section 5(1) of the Family Law Act requires a party to a family law dispute to give the other party full and true information for the purposes of resolving it. If a person fails to comply with a disclosure order or the court rules on disclosure, or gives information that is incomplete, false or misleading, section 213 allows the court to draw an adverse inference, including attributing income, require security, order payment of the resulting expenses, order an amount of up to $5,000 to or for an affected party, spouse or child, or impose a fine of up to $5,000. Our Form F8 guide explains the financial statement used in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Our post on why hiding assets in a BC separation backfires covers those consequences in more detail.
If you fear property will be moved before your claim is decided, section 91 of the Family Law Act gives the Supreme Court of British Columbia power to restrain its disposal, as our post on stopping a spouse from selling family property explains.
What Happens to Debt Your Partner Ran Up?
Under section 86 of the Family Law Act, family debt includes all financial obligations incurred by a spouse during the relationship up to separation, and after separation if incurred to maintain family property. Section 81 makes spouses equally responsible for family debt, regardless of their respective use or contribution, unless an agreement or order provides otherwise.
That can feel unfair when one person controlled the borrowing. Section 95 of the Family Law Act allows the Supreme Court of British Columbia to divide family debt unequally where equal division would be significantly unfair, which is a high bar, and one factor it may consider is whether family debt was incurred in the normal course of the relationship (section 95(2)(d)). Under section 97(2)(h), the court can declare one spouse responsible for an item of family debt and require that spouse to indemnify the other.
Section 97(3) of the Family Law Act adds the limit people miss. An order about family debt applies only as between the spouses and does not affect an agreement between a spouse and any other person, so if a loan is in your name, the lender can still look to you. Our family debt page covers that problem.
Can a Conduct Order or Protection Order Help?
Section 226 of the Family Law Act allows a court to make a conduct order requiring a party to make payments respecting rent, mortgage, specified utilities, taxes, insurance and other expenses related to a residence, and prohibiting a party from terminating specified utilities. See our conduct orders page.
Where family violence is likely to occur and you are at risk, a protection order under section 183 of the Family Law Act can restrain contact and communication. It is about safety rather than money, but it can restrict the contact through which financial pressure is often applied. Our protection order page explains the application.
How Can You Plan Safely Around Money?
The BC government's domestic violence safety page suggests collecting important items, or copies, ahead of time and keeping them somewhere safe. Its list includes money, a cheque book, debit and credit cards, and a bank book or bank statement. The same page lists the start of legal action over divorce, children or a property settlement among the times when danger may increase.
Where it is safe, people also keep a list of accounts, cards and loans somewhere the other person cannot reach, and check what credit is in their name. VictimLinkBC offers confidential help, including safety planning information, by call or text at 1-800-563-0808, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our safety planning and resources page lists other official supports, and our post on what to pack when you leave has a fuller checklist.
Talk to a Family Lawyer About Money and Control
If money has been used to control you, or you have been accused of it, we can walk through the tools that fit. The first 30 minutes with SiLaw Group are free, by phone, video, or in person in South Surrey. Call (778) 381-9977 or Book Now for a Free Consultation.
This post is legal information, not legal advice. Rules and fees are current to the date of writing and can change.
About SiLaw Group
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers is a Surrey, BC firm practising family law and mediation. Founder Sandy Sihota is an accredited Family Law Mediator, Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator (Law Society of BC). Articles are legal information, not legal advice.