Parental Support Obligation in Section 90 of the Family Relations Act

Section 90 of the Family Relations Act creates a legal obligation for adult children to support their dependent parents. This legal obligation exists independently of any moral obligation that children may feel to support their parents in old age. Section 90 gives a parent a right to go to court to compel a child to make support payments to a parent. This parental support law has its origins in a desire on the part of Canadian provincial governments in the 1920s and 1930s to reduce their obligations to provide social assistance to the indigent. This project examines whether section 90 should remain part of the law of British Columbia.

This project was made possible by funding from the Ministry of Attorney General and forms part of the ministry's review of Family Relations Act.

Keywords: family law, support, parental support, obligation of adult children to support parent, seniors, disability, domestic support, aging parents, older adults, Family Relations Act, maintenance, filial responsibility