How Do BC Courts Decide What Is in a Child’s Best Interests?

When parents separate, disagreements about parenting time, decision-making, relocation, or contact with a child can become deeply personal. Under British Columbia law, however, the court’s focus is not on what either parent wants. The overriding question is:

How Does the Court Decide What Is Best for a Child?

The Family Law Act makes the child’s physical, psychological, and emotional safety, security, and well-being the paramount consideration in any decision concerning guardianship, parenting arrangements, or contact.

There is no single formula. Every family is different, and the court must examine the child’s particular circumstances.

The Family Law Act identifies a non-exhaustive list of relevant factors, including:

  • the child’s health and emotional well-being;
  • the child’s views, where appropriate;
  • the nature and strength of the child’s relationships with parents, guardians, siblings, and other important people;
  • the history of care for the child;
  • the child’s need for stability;
  • each guardian’s ability to exercise parental responsibilities;
  • whether requiring the guardians to cooperate would be appropriate; and
  • any civil or criminal proceedings relevant to the child’s safety or well-being.

As children grow older and become more mature, their views may carry increasing weight. However, the child does not simply decide the outcome. Their wishes remain one factor within the broader best-interests analysis.

A parent’s conduct is generally relevant only where it substantially affects the child’s safety, well-being, stability, or another statutory factor.

How Family Violence Affects Parenting Decisions

Family violence is an important consideration in parenting cases under both the Family Law Act and the federal Divorce Act.

Family violence is not limited to physical assault. It can also include sexual abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, threats, coercive or controlling behaviour, and situations where a child is directly or indirectly exposed to violence.

When family violence is alleged, the court will look at the nature and seriousness of the conduct, how often it occurred, how recent it was, and whether it forms part of an ongoing pattern. The court may also consider whether the child witnessed the violence, how the child was affected, and whether meaningful steps have been taken to reduce the risk of it happening again.

In Schaarschmidt v. Whitcroft, 2026 BCSC 549, the court found that the father’s history of serious, frequent, and recent family violence, including incidents witnessed by the child, affected his ability to care for the child and had a negative impact on the child’s well-being.

Similarly, in M.J. v. R.J., 2026 BCSC 143, a pattern of psychological and emotional abuse was an important factor in the court’s decision to grant the mother primary parenting time and sole decision-making authority.

These cases show that family violence can affect both the amount of parenting time a parent receives and whether shared decision-making or ongoing cooperation between the parents is appropriate.

When Can a Parent Relocate With a Child?

Relocation cases are among the most difficult parenting disputes. A relocation is generally a move that would significantly affect the child’s relationship with another guardian or important person.

The central question remains whether the proposed move is in the child’s best interests.

In Barendregt v. Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that relocation cases must be decided through a child-centred analysis focused on the child’s physical, emotional, and psychological safety, security, and well-being. The Court upheld the relocation in that case, emphasizing the trial judge’s findings concerning family violence and the high-conflict relationship between the parents.

The court may consider:

  • the reasons for the move;
  • the effect of the move on the child;
  • the child’s relationships with both parents and other important people;
  • the proposed arrangements for maintaining those relationships;
  • the history of parenting and compliance with family law obligations;
  • the child’s need for stability; and
  • any history of family violence.

The burden of proof may depend on the existing parenting arrangement. Where the child spends substantially equal time with both parents, the parent proposing the move will generally have to prove that relocation is in the child’s best interests. Where one parent has the vast majority of parenting time, the opposing parent may bear the burden of proving that the move is not in the child’s best interests. In other circumstances, both parties may share the burden.

Relocation is not automatically permitted simply because it would improve the relocating parent’s circumstances. In Hellberg v. Netherclift, 2017 BCCA 363, the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned a relocation order because the trial judge had improperly equated the mother’s interests with the child’s interests without sufficient evidence that the mother’s circumstances were negatively affecting the child.

Can a Grandparent, Stepparent, or Other Non-Guardian Have Contact?

A grandparent, stepparent, former partner, or other significant person may apply for contact with a child even if they are not a guardian.

However, the person seeking contact must show that the proposed contact is in the child’s best interests. Courts will generally give considerable weight to the views of the child’s guardian, particularly where the guardian is acting reasonably and with the child’s interests in mind.

In McCann v. Idrobo, 2025 BCSC 1286, the court confirmed that a non-guardian seeking contact must establish that the relationship would benefit the child. The court will not usually interfere with a guardian’s decision unless there is evidence that the guardian is not acting in the child’s best interests.

Similarly, in G.P.T.D. v. H.B.D., 2026 BCSC 1318, the court placed significant weight on the views of the child’s sole guardian when considering contact with a non-guardian stepparent. The court accepted that the mother was acting in the child’s best interests, particularly in light of the child’s specialized needs and the ongoing conflict between the adults..

Is There a Right to Equal Parenting Time?

British Columbia law does not presume that equal parenting time, shared parenting, or an equal division of parental responsibilities is necessarily best for a child.

In some families, equal parenting may work well. In others, it may create instability, expose the child to conflict, or fail to meet the child’s practical or emotional needs.

In A.B. v. C.D., 2026 BCSC 638, the court reiterated that there is no presumption in favour of any particular parenting arrangement. The court must instead determine what arrangement is best for the particular child, based on that child’s individual needs and circumstances.

Where there is more than one child, the interests of each child must be considered separately.

The Best Interests Test Is Child-Focused and Fact-Specific

The “best interests of the child” test is deliberately flexible because no two families are the same. The court looks at the child’s life as a whole, including their relationships, health, safety, routines, views, and need for stability.

For parents, this means that a strong parenting proposal should focus less on what is fair to the adults and more on what will work best for the child. The proposal should explain how the arrangement will support the child’s safety, stability, emotional well-being, and overall development.

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