Family justice counsellors provide a variety of free services, including mediation, for families experiencing separation and divorce. Family justice counsellors are employed by the Attorney General and work in Justice Access Centre and Family Justice Centres throughout the province. Family justice counsellors and other staff in the centres offer a range of services, including:
- information and education,
- mediation and shuttle mediation,
- help with the court process, and
- development of parenting agreements and consent orders.
Family justice counsellors aren't lawyers and they don't act for you. They can't help you get a divorce or with mediation for property or asset/debt division. They work with both spouses or parents to try to resolve the matter at hand.
If you're in an early resolution registry or family justice registry, after you start the court process, you contact your local Justice Access Centre (or in Kelowna or Port Coquitlam, the Family Justice Centre) to schedule your needs assessment with the family justice counsellor. This assessment will help decide your next steps.
To contact a family justice counsellor, call Service BC at:
- 604-660-2421 (Greater Vancouver),
- 250-387-6121 (Victoria), or
- 1-800-663-7867 (no charge, elsewhere in BC).
Ask to transfer to a family justice counsellor near you. You don't need to pay for the call.
For more information, see Family Justice Counsellors in Family Justice Centres in the Family Justice section of the Attorney General website.