To reach us at any time, call our toll free number: 1-877-602-9900

  • MacLean Family Law Group - Vancouver

  • Suite 3103 - 1077 West Cordova Street
  • Vancouver, BC
  • V6C 2C6
  • Tel: 604-602-9000
  • Fax: 604-682-0556
  • MacLean Family Law Group - Fort St. John

  • 9503 100th Avenue
  • Fort St. John, BC
  • V1J 4N4
  • Tel: 250-262-5052
  • Fax: 250-262-5053
  • Search BC Family Law

FREE BC FAMILY LAW ACT LAWYER SEMINAR AT MACLEAN FAMILY LAW GROUP’S NEW SURREY FAMILY LAW OFFICE

January 29th, 2012

After several weeks of hard work all of the family lawyers at the MacLean Family Law Group are now into their  two new offices in suite 2010-1075 West Georgia in downtown Vancouver and at the intersection of 152nd St. and # 10 Highway in Surrey in Suite 303-15240 #10 Highway.

 

All of the lawyers at our firm are committed to giving back a certain amount of free BC family law legal information to the public as part of our commitment to pro bono legal services in British Columbia. We will be holding monthly free BC family law and divorce seminars at our new Surrey state-of-the-art multimedia boardroom. In the past our seminars have been extremely popular and you must register to attend. Our 1st seminar to be held in the last week of February on the afternoon of Saturday February 25, 2012.

The seminar is restricted to 15 guests although the presentation will be filmed for release on our website as part of our video family law education initiative.

Our inaugural seminar at our Surrey boardroom will explain the dramatic changes that will take effect later this year as a result of broad revisions to family law in British Columbia as result of our new BC FAMILY LAW ACT.

The seminar is  called “BIG Changes To BC Family Law Are Now Here Under the New BC Family Law Act”

Call now to book your seat for this game changing BC family law seminar. If you don’t know about the huge changes to family law that are now upon us isn’t it about time you found out?

Contact Carrie at 604-576-5400 to book your spot today.

VANCOUVER CHILD CUSTODY LAWYER, VANCOUVER CHILD ACCESS AND VANCOUVER CHILD GUARDIANSHIP BEST LAWYER TIPS

January 9th, 2012


Best Free Vancouver, BC Family Lawyer Tips for your BC Child Custody Case, Vancouver Child Guardianship and Surrey Child Access Case

Are you involved in an important BC child custody, guardianship and access case? If so you MUST WATCH OUR VIDEO AND READ THIS ARTICLE IMMEDIATELY AND THEN CALL US at 604-602-9000 or Province wide toll free at 1-877-602-9900.

Our MacLean Family Law Group associate, Leena Ronak Yousefi, is an BC Iranian family lawyer who is fluent in Farsi, Spanish and English and eager to help you with your BC child custody case.

The new BC Family Law Legislation Family Law Act which will be formalized in July of 2012 in British Columbia reiterates the best interest of children test as a paramount consideration in deciding the care, custody, guardianship and access of children. Children are the most important issue in family litigation when spouses do not agree on their custody or each wants to have ‘full’ custody of children. Child Custody litigation can be lengthy and expensive but good lawyers can focus on a speedy negotiated settlement if they are experienced in the area.

Here are four tips for preparing your custody affidavits or giving evidence on the stand:
Read More »

Lorne MacLean Q.C. 近日被任命為卑詩省御用大律師,而此榮譽只有百分之四的卑詩省律師可取。

January 4th, 2012


Lorne MacLean, Q.C. 近日被任命為卑詩省御用大律師,而此榮譽只有百分之四的卑詩省律師可取。Vancouver chinese speaking family lawyers.

Lorne MacLean Q.C. 帶領卑詩省最大的家庭律師事務所,總共有十位律師及四所分公司,分別在 Downtown Vancouver, Surrey, Fort St. John 和 Kelowna.公元前中国家庭律师

普通話服務請同 Nancy Chen 聯絡。 電郵: nchen@bcfamilylaw.ca 廣東話服務請同Jennifer Lin 聯絡。 電郵:jlin@bcfamilylaw.ca
普通話/廣東話服務聯絡電話:(604)682-6466

星島日報最近有關 Lorne MacLean Q.C. 的新聞報導:

聖誕元旦分手黃金檔期 夫婦輔導員:這肯定是個模式

綜合報道 |

雖然聖誕節及元旦假期向來是相愛的人共聚的美好時光,但有專家表示,這些日子也變成分手的熱門日子,原因是假日帶來諸如見家長等方面的壓力,而且隨之而來的是財政問題。

根據專家的意見,年輕的情侶及結婚多年的人在11月底及1月初分手的機會增加,當中的分別是蜜運中的男女會在聖誕節之前便分手,而已結婚的夫婦會忍耐至元旦過後才離婚。

多倫多的治療師兼關係專家莫菲(Kimberly Moffit)表示,節日的某些東西令人整理本身的生活,尤其是愛情關係方面。

她表示,再加上購買禮物,派對應酬及家人團聚的壓力,足以破壞甚至乎成熟的關係。

她補充稱,她的工作通常在每年這個時候變得多起來。

雖然難以找到任何學術的研究來證明這個現象,事例卻不缺乏。

網上的論壇有很多人在這個每年最快樂的節日期間尋找安慰,以及修補關係的忠告。

去年面書(Facebook)個人資料的調查顯示,11月底及12月初是轉為「單身」身分的黃金時間。

亞伯達省紅鹿(Red Deer)夫婦輔導員麥克勞德(Debra MacLeod)表示,約會中的伴侶傾向於在聖誕節前分手,而夫婦則押後至新年。

她說,這肯定是一個模式。

見家長或財政爭執是因素

她說,部分在蜜運中的人會因為感覺感情降溫而分手。

她補充稱,另一些人也許因為面對可能會出現求婚場面而分手。

莫菲表示,對於很多伴侶來說,不論是否夫婦,分手來自壓力,而這些壓力則由親屬或本身兩人所造成,原因涉及要實踐一些無可能的完美節日安排。

她說,人們會考慮是否把對象帶回家中與父母見個面,而這會令都這些人對本身的對象重新作出考慮。

卑詩省的MacLean Family Law Group的麥克連(Lorne MacLean)表示,財政的爭執也是導致節日分手的1個主要因素。

他說,夫婦通常試圖在節日保持關係,以免破壞子女的假期。

他表示,當開始收到帳單,快樂的一面通常都出現裂痕。

他又說,對於他的律師行來說,1月份首個星期的離婚個案最多。

有一些人認為在年初辦離婚而非在年底會有稅務的好處,但麥克連表示,情況並非如此。

他說,這與稅務利益無關,這也不會帶來策略上的好處,而是象徵的性質,因為是新年新開始。

資源來源:加通社

news.singtao.ca/toronto/2011-12-24/

BC Child Support for Adult Children Explained By The Vancouver BC Child Support Lawyers at MacLean Law Group

January 3rd, 2012


The Vancouver BC child support lawyers at the MacLean Family Law Group have handled hundreds of BC child support cases involving both children under the age of majority and children over the age of majority. The age of maturity in British Columbia is 19 years of age. For child support purposes this stage is a critical factor to be considered in a British Columbia child support case. We are here to help. Call us toll free at 1-877-602-9900 to book an appointment at any of our 4 offices across the province which are located in downtown Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna, and Fort St. John or the click here to complete an initial consultation form for a child support issue consultation.

Many of our clients seem to think that their obligation to pay child support ends when the child reaches the age of 19. This is not ALWAYS true. The Divorce Act and Family Relations Act, as well as the Child Support Guidelines, place an obligation on the non-custodial parent to pay child support based on that parent’s gross income as long as the child remains the ‘child of the marriage’.

A ‘child of the marriage’ can be a child who is over the age of 19 and who remains dependent on his or her parents for support. In cases where the child is disabled or pursues post secondary education, that child is presumed to be dependent on his or her parents. In this sense, the parents are presumed to be required to provide child support until that child achieves self sufficiency or finishes post secondary education. Obviously, in today’s competitive society higher education is a laudable goal. The courts balance what is reasonable by way of a contribution from the parents taking into account that the child must also do their best to assist in paying for their education so they begin to take their 1st steps to independence as an adult. In many cases parents are fully supportive of a child’s realistic co-secondary education attempts however the courts are also aware that the child has a duty to make realistic efforts to complete their postsecondary education in a reasonable period of time. Other issues arise as to how many degrees should the parents be required to pay for should be the 1st degree or should payment of child support include postgraduate degree expenses?

Sometimes children attend a college or enrol in a program simply because ‘they have nothing better to do’. Understandably, some parents do not want to pay child support when their child attends post secondary but achieves poor grades and is financially irresponsible. No one wants to encourage a child to remain dependent and irresponsible, living off his or her parents’ support. The court are not always inclined to order the non-custodial parent to pay child support when such support further discourages the child from achieving practical and realistic goals.

When there is a dispute regarding child support of an adult child who attends post secondary education, the courts look at the following factors to determine the amount of support, if any, the non-custodial parent should pay:

Read More »

Top Surrey Family Lawyer, ICBC and Personal Injury Law, Immigration Law and Estate Litigation Lawyers and Best Legal Administrative Assistants Job Opportunity

January 1st, 2012

The BC family law lawyer firm of MacLean Law Group is ready to open its new flagship Surrey Office at 152nd and #10 Highway. We already have 4 offices across BC located in downtown Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna and Fort St John BC and our clients for years have asked us to open a Surrey office which we did last summer.  We are committed to being the best Surrey family lawyers and top ICBC and personal Injury law, immigration law and estate litigation law legal firms in the Fraser Valley. Lorne MacLean Q.C. leads the firm and has assembled an unbelievable team of associates and legal support staff at all of the firm’s locations. We are looking to continue to grow our expanding practice by adding 1-5 year call associates and experienced legal administrative assistants.

We already had a dedicated team of 5 lawyers in place at our Surrey Office but are always looking for top legal and legal administrative talent from the medium to large law firms of downtown Vancouver who have the drive and ambition to propel our firm even higher.  Our clients are medium to high net worth individuals seeking focused and dedicated legal representation.

  • We work hard but for us practising law is not a job, nor merely a career, rather we view it as our calling.
  • Do you want more courtroom experience than you get at a big firm?
  • Do you like people more than paper?
  • Does helping people make you glow inside and get your juices pumping?
  • Do you look forward to settling matters fairly and quickly but if this isn’t possible are you confident in your courtroom skills?

If you approach practising law either as a lawyer or assistant as we do then submit your resume to sumit@bcfamilylaw.ca or call him at 604-560-6007.

Our philosophy is:

Read More »

Victoria Family Lawyers-MacLean Family Law Group To Open A Victoria BC Family Law Office

December 23rd, 2011

Lorne MacLean QC with Victoria BC AG Representatives discuss the new BC Family Law Act


Lorne MacLean QC head of the MacLean Family Law Group has been asked by a number of Victoria family law clients to open a Victoria BC family law and divorce law office. Mr MacLean’s 10 lawyer and 4 existing family law office law firm already handles a number of Victoria BC Supreme Court family law files and we look forward to hearing from potential new family law clients in Victoria so we can set up initial consultations with them. We specialize in resolving high net worth and high conflict family law files.

Lorne MacLean QC also recently appeared in Victoria on the popular legal matters TV show Family Matters TV with Judge Harvey Brownstone.

We feel the sooner we bring a realistic assessment to a file the quicker and more fairly it can be resolved.

If you are a Victoria family law client call us now toll free 1-877-602-9900 to set up an initial consultation.

Lorne MacLean QC was just quoted across Canada on the stress of the Christmas Holidays and the impact it has on increasing divorce rates in Canada.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press

Date: Thursday Dec. 22, 2011 7:38 PM ET

TORONTO — While the holidays have always been a time to be with those you love, experts say they’ve also become the time to ditch the one you don’t.

Young lovebirds and old marrieds alike are more likely to pull the plug on their relationship in the stretch between late November and early January, experts say.

Read More »

Lorne MacLean QC, Vancouver Family Lawyer, Honoured To Be Appointed a BC Queen’s Counsel

December 22nd, 2011

Lorne MacLean QC Vancouver BC Family Lawyer

Lorne MacLean has just been appointed a BC Queen’s Counsel an honour reserved for just 4 percent of the lawyers in British Columbia. Mr MacLean heads BC’s largest family law firm with 10 lawyers and 4 offices across BC located in downtown Vancouver, Surrey, Fort St John and Kelowna.

Twenty-eight receive Queen’s counsel honour

VICTORIA – Twenty-eight British Columbia lawyers have been appointed Queen’s counsel, Attorney General Shirley Bond announced.

The Queen’s counsel designation is an honour conferred on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution. Successful candidates demonstrate professional integrity and good character and must be members of the British Columbia bar for at least five years.

Each September, the attorney general calls for Queen’s counsel nominations from the public. The 2011 deadline for submissions was Oct. 14. All applications were reviewed by an advisory committee, which recommended deserving candidates to the attorney general. The appointments are subsequently made by cabinet through an order-in-council.

The advisory committee includes the chief justice of British Columbia, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the chief judge of the Provincial Court, the president of the Law Society of British Columbia, a Law Society member appointed by the benchers (directors) and the deputy attorney general. The committee also seeks the views of the Canadian Bar Association (B.C. branch).

Lorne Neil MacLean of Vancouver has practiced in the area of family law since 1983. He is the sole partner of MacLean Family Law Group, with offices in Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna and Fort St. John. His practice focuses on spousal and child support, property, custody and access and common-law relationships.

To contact Lorne N. MacLean QC directly email him at lorne@bcfamilylaw.ca .

See the Attorney General of BC”s Press Release

Vancouver BC Spousal Support Lawyers and Long BC Marriages and Variation and Cancellation Law Alert

December 21st, 2011

BC SPOUSAL SUPPORT LAWYERS-Mandarin and Cantonese Speaking Legal Department

As medium to high net worth BC family law and divorce lawyers with 4 offices in BC and 10 lawyers we handle dozens of  Vancouvert  and BC long term marriage spousal support cases each year. We handle interim and permanent spousal support cases and also deal with variation of support to increase, decrease, cancel, extend or shorten the payments. One of the thorny issues we face as spousal support lawyers in long term marriages is: what happens when parties who were subject to a support order before retirement reach the age of retirement or when the parties reach their 70′s and 80′s? Should they begin to use their assets to live on? Is support intended to ensure one spouse maintains or increases their assets? How long is support to be paid-is it “cradle to grave security”? What does a paying spouse have to show to have support reduced or cancelled? The Supreme Court of Canada released to key decisions today that indicate support will not be cancelled absent a clear showing that a big or “material change has occurred that renders the initial decision no longer appropriate.

Remember the spousal support guidelines state that in marriages in excess of 20 years and marriages where the age of the receiving spouse and length of relationship exceed 65 support is to be indefinite subject to variation if there is a “material change” or review.

APPEALS ALLOWED BY RECEIVING SPOUSES TO CONTINUE THEIR SUPPORT

Read More »

VANCOUVER AND SURREY WHITE COLLAR BC CRIMINAL DEFENCE LAWYERS

December 20th, 2011

White Collar Criminal Defence lawyer Mike Jakeman


We as BC white collar crime and corporate fraud and securities defence lawyers have a problem with recent tactics proposed by New RCMP Police Commissioner, Bob Paulson, regarding BC White-Collar Crime.

There has been much to do about the recent changes to white-collar crime. Just prior to May’s election Bill C-21, the Standing Up for Victims of White-Collar Crime Act was passed with all party support and this came into force on November 1, 2011. However, the challenges prosecuting these crimes may not be the laws or the penalties but the tactics used by the police to enforce these violations under the Criminal Code.

The enforcement may now be changing as the new Commissioner has stated that the white-collar crime units have “their strategy all wrong” (Globe and Mail, December 19, 2011 at 7:11 pm: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/new-rcmp-head-takes-tough-line-on-white-collar-crime/article2276986/). In this article it suggests the Commissioner may be ready to overhaul the police or the Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (“IMET”) collection of evidence from simply the passive referrals from the provincial securities regulators to actual integrated or shared information and may even include under-cover investigations.

Read More »

VANCOUVER FAMILY LAW AND BC ESTATE LITIGATION RESULTING TRUST- WHAT IS THE NEW BC TEST FOR PARENTAL LOANS OR GIFTS IN BC?

December 15th, 2011

Vancouver Estate Litigation and Resulting Trust Claim Lawyers

As Vancouver high net worth divorce lawyers and Wills Variation Act and estate litigation lawyers we often see the interplay between how family gifts or loans are characterized in  disputed marriage breakdown cases as well as on the death of a  parent or spouse in estate litigation cases.

In many family cases  what might initially appear to have been a loan to both spouses when the couple is together during happy times at the start or during their marriage may be re-characterized as a gift to only one spouse or rather a loan to both spouses but suddenly needs to be repaid.

Until recently a fairly strict test for determining whether the initial advance of funds by a parent to their child  and their spouses which placed an onus on the advancing parent to show several  criteria for proving it to be alone has been replaced with by the concept that there is no free ride or free money presumed and that evidence of the advance for being a gift needs to be advanced to replace the presumption that the recipient holds the money for the benefit of the advancing parent on what is called a resulting trust. These cases can be emotional and complex and having a good lawyer to guide you through this tricky area is recommended. Call us at 604-602-9000 in Vancouver or at any of our other 3 offices in BC. Call toll free across the province at 1-877-602-9900.

The BC Appeal Court decision in Beaverstock v Beaverstock Estate  decision involved a $50,000 advance from the mother to her son who later died.  When the mother sought repayment of what she said was a loan from the deceased spouse and executor of his estate she was refused repayment.  There was disputed evidence that the son said the monies were an advance on his inheritance and he would not need to repay it but in contrast  that he would have to repay this loan.

The trial judge applied the  well-known decision in Locke  and noted that there were no documents evidencing the loan, no schedule for repayment was specified and no security was provided for the loan. Further the court found that the appellant mother had not demanded repayment of the loan prior to her son’s death, that there had been no repayment of the loan and that there was no reasonable expectation of repayment of loan.

While all of these factors were routinely applied to determine whether monies advanced were gifts or loans with the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Pecore and Madsen  establish a critical new test which has changed the law for determining whether monies advanced our loans for and repayable or gifts that are not repayable.

Here is the critical part of the judgement that resulted in the mother winning her  Appeal claim for repayment of the loan:

Read More »


MacLean Family Law Group Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).