Can I get a Legal Aid lawyer for a family law case in British Columbia?

What Legal Aid covers in family law

Legal Aid BC appoints a lawyer in serious family situations. Its own examples are: you need an immediate court order to keep you or your children safe; you are being seriously denied parenting time or contact with your children; the other parent threatens to move the children out of the province permanently; or the other parent has unlawfully kept the children and will not let you have your parenting time.

Other cases are decided one at a time, on their merit and on the funding available. Legal Aid BC lists high-conflict cases with serious legal issues, cases where a former partner is using the court process to harass you, and cases where emotional abuse, trauma or mental illness leaves you unable to represent yourself.

There are also limited contracts that pay a lawyer to help with part of a case, such as preparing for mediation or negotiating an agreement about support, parenting or property. Legal Aid BC says those limited contracts do not include divorce.

Child protection cases

You can get a Legal Aid lawyer if the Ministry of Children and Family Development, or a delegated Aboriginal agency, has taken or has threatened to take your child, or if there are guardianship or contact issues about a child already in care. The income limits for these cases are higher than for other family cases.

The financial test

Your net monthly household income and your assets must be at or below Legal Aid BC's guidelines. As published in November 2026, the income limit for a standard family case is $2,670 a month for a household of one, $3,780 for two, $4,630 for three and $5,340 for four. For a child protection case it is $3,320, $4,280, $5,020 and $5,640.

Household income includes the income of a spouse, or of a partner you have lived with for two years or have a child with. Child support you receive and the child tax benefit are not counted. Assets such as a home, a vehicle and savings are looked at separately, each with its own limit. The figures change, and only a Legal Aid intake worker can decide whether you qualify.

How to apply

Call Legal Aid BC at 604-408-2172 in Greater Vancouver or 1-866-577-2525 elsewhere in BC, go to a legal aid office, or apply online. Have your financial papers and any court documents ready. If you are refused, you can ask for a review, and you can apply again if your situation changes.

Legal Aid BC says it refers a client to the lawyer the client chooses, where that lawyer is available, is willing to take the case and practises in the community where the case will be heard.

If you do not qualify for a lawyer

Family duty counsel are lawyers at the courthouse who give brief advice to people with lower incomes who are representing themselves. The Family LawLINE gives the same kind of advice by telephone. Both have their own financial test, separate from the test for a lawyer. Duty counsel can spend only a limited time with each person, and the LawLINE gives brief advice on the next step.