The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) recently released a study paper examining the relationship between economic abuse and family businesses in the context of family law. Understanding Economic Abuse through Family Businesses in Family Law brings attention to a widely overlooked yet deeply harmful form of family violence – one that remains underexplored in legal literature and case law.

The paper explores several key questions, drawing on case law and insights from key informant interviews to examine:

• What is economic abuse?
• What is the relationship between economic abuse and family businesses?
• How are family law cases addressing economic abuse through family businesses?
• What are the challenges to addressing this type of violence?

Economic abuse includes behaviours that control a partner’s access to financial resources. While it is increasingly recognized in social science, the paper notes it remains poorly understood in legal practice. Family violence includes not only physical and sexual abuse, but also forms of coercive control – such as economic abuse.

Economic abuse is difficult to detect, easy to excuse as ordinary business judgment, and difficult to litigate. The BCLI study identifies how family businesses often enable coercive control during and after relationship breakdowns, especially in matters affecting spousal support and property division.

The paper finds that while legal tools exist, they are underutilized and their capacity to deliver fair outcomes in these cases is doubted by lawyers and victims/survivors. The paper also identifies a general lack of information and significant knowledge gaps on the topic.

While the study paper does not offer formal recommendations for future action, the author, Alison M. Wilkinson, emphasizes the need for more information on how economic abuse through family business is emerging and affecting people.

The study paper is available online here: https://www.bcli.org/publication/study-paper-economic-abuse-family-law/.