Conduct Orders in BC Family Cases

A Tool for Managing Behaviour in a Family Case

If you are in immediate danger, call 911 now. A conduct order is a case management tool, not an emergency response; if safety is the issue, start with our page on family violence and protection.

Family law cases are hard enough when everyone behaves. When one party floods the other with hostile messages, uses applications to wear the other side down, or stops paying the mortgage mid-case, the case itself becomes another way to exert pressure. British Columbia's Family Law Act gives courts a set of tools for exactly this: conduct orders, found in Division 5 of Part 10, sections 222 to 228.

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What Conduct Orders Are For

Section 222 lets a court make a conduct order at any time during a proceeding, for one or more of four purposes:

• to facilitate the settlement of a family law dispute, or of an issue that may become one;
• to manage behaviours that might frustrate resolution of the dispute by agreement or order;
• to prevent misuse of the court process; and
• to facilitate arrangements pending final determination of the dispute.

Notice what is missing: punishment. A conduct order is about keeping a case capable of being resolved, and keeping the people in it from being ground down along the way.

The Kinds of Orders a Court Can Make

The sections that follow set out the toolbox:

Case management (s. 223). The court can dismiss or strike out all or part of a claim or application, adjourn the case while the parties try to resolve issues or while a party complies with a conduct order, require that all further applications be heard by the same judge, and require leave before applications are brought on matters a parenting coordinator has authority to decide.

Dispute resolution and counselling (s. 224). The court can require the parties to participate in family dispute resolution, or require a party (or, with limits, a child) to attend counselling or specified services or programs, and can decide who pays the fees. This is one of the places where court and mediation meet: a judge can order the attempt.

Communication (s. 225). The court can set restrictions or conditions on communications between the parties, including when and how communication may happen. The section itself says this applies unless a protection order under Part 9 would be more appropriate, which tells you how the two tools divide the work.

The residence (s. 226). The court can require a party to make payments respecting rent, mortgage, specified utilities, taxes, insurance and other expenses related to a residence, prohibit a party from terminating specified utilities, and require a named person to supervise the removal of personal belongings.

Anything else the purposes require (s. 227). The court can require security, require reporting to the court or a named person, and require a party to do or not do anything in relation to the section 222 purposes.

Exclusive Occupation of the Home Is a Separate Order

People often ask whether a conduct order can give them the house. That relief lives elsewhere: under section 90 of the Family Law Act, in Part 5, the Supreme Court can grant a spouse exclusive occupation of the family residence for a specified period, along with possession or use of personal property stored there. It is temporary and it does not change ownership, but it can settle who stays in the home while the case is decided. It is worth considering alongside conduct orders, not instead of them.

How Is a Conduct Order Different From a Protection Order?

They answer different questions. A protection order under Part 9 responds to a risk of family violence: it is a safety order, breach of it brings in the police, and it can be made whether or not any other family law claim exists. A conduct order manages a case: it shapes how the parties behave while their dispute is resolved, and it is enforced within the family case itself. Section 225's own wording points a judge toward Part 9 when protection, rather than case management, is what the situation calls for. If safety is your concern, start with our guide to family protection orders in British Columbia.

When We Ask for Conduct Orders

Some familiar situations, offered as examples rather than a complete list: a stream of abusive or relentless messages that a communication order can channel into something civil; utilities or mortgage payments dropped mid-case as leverage; applications brought thick and fast to exhaust the other side; a file that needs one judge who knows its history. Where there is family violence, we look at Part 9 first, and conduct orders can run alongside a protection order to keep the litigation itself from becoming another arena. Unnecessary conflict is also expensive, and containing it protects you and your budget; you can read how we bill on our pricing and fees page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Conduct Order in a BC Family Case?

It is an order under sections 222 to 228 of the Family Law Act that manages how the parties behave during a family law case, for purposes the Act lists: facilitating settlement, managing behaviour that might frustrate resolution, preventing misuse of the court process, and facilitating interim arrangements.

Can a Court Limit How My Ex Communicates With Me?

Yes. Section 225 allows the court to set restrictions or conditions on communications between parties, including when and how communication may be made. If the real issue is safety rather than tone and volume, a Part 9 protection order may be the more appropriate tool.

What Happens If a Conduct Order Is Ignored?

Section 228 gives the court options: a further conduct order, an adverse inference against the non-complying party, orders to pay the other party's resulting expenses, a payment of up to $5,000 to or for the benefit of an affected party, spouse or child, or a fine of up to $5,000. The amounts and details come from the Act as it reads today; the current text always governs.

Talk to Us About Managing Your Case

If the other side's behaviour is driving your family case instead of the issues, there are tools for that. The first 30 minutes with us are free, by phone, video, or in person in South Surrey, in English or Punjabi. Call (778) 381-9977 or Book Now for a Free Consultation.

This page is legal information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, speak with a lawyer.