Appoint a standby or testamentary guardian for your child in British Columbia.
Name the person who would care for your children if you die, or if terminal illness or permanent mental incapacity leaves you unable to. Fill in Form 2, Appointment of Standby or Testamentary Guardian, prescribed by the Family Law Act Regulation, print it, and sign it in front of two witnesses. A one-page signing guide prints with it.
How do I fill in Form 2?
Answer the questions below. The preview of your Form 2 below fills itself in as you type. You supply every fact. This page does not decide who should be appointed or whether this form is right for your family.
The appointing guardian
Only a child’s guardian may make this appointment (Family Law Act ss. 53 (1) and 55 (1)).
Each child’s full name and birthdate
Who would become the guardian?
The appointment does not take effect unless this person accepts it, by saying so or by their conduct (s. 57). This person cannot be one of your witnesses.
Tick one or both
Form 2 states, in your words, that you are facing terminal illness or permanent mental incapacity. Tick the second box only if that is true now (s. 55 (1)).
If you name a certifier, their certification is conclusive (s. 55 (2) (c)). Leave blank if you do not want one.
Optional conditions or restrictions
The appointed guardian gets the same parental responsibilities you currently have, no more (s. 56 (b)). You may add conditions or restrictions. Leave this blank if you have none.
Date and witnesses
You can leave the date and all witness details blank and fill them in by hand when you sign. Both witnesses must be present at the same time, must be at least 19 years old, and must not be the person you are appointing.
Preview. Print or save as PDF, then sign on paper.
Signature lines stay blank. You sign in front of your witnesses. Repmyself.ca does not witness anything.
Prepared at repmyself.ca/standby-guardian/british-columbia. Legal information, not legal advice.
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How to sign and use your Form 2
After you print: how to sign and use your Form 2
- Sign with two witnesses in the room at the same time. Sign at the end of the form, or acknowledge your signature as yours, while both witnesses are present together. Then each witness signs in your presence. Someone else may sign for you, in your presence and at your direction. (Family Law Act ss. 53 (1) (b), 53 (2) (b), 55 (2) (a), 55 (3) (b))
- Choose your witnesses carefully. Each must be at least 19 years old, and the person you are appointing cannot be a witness. (Form 2; ss. 53 (2) (a), 55 (3) (a))
- Ask the person you are appointing to accept. The appointment does not take effect unless they accept it, by saying so or by their conduct. Give them a copy. (s. 57)
- Keep the signed original safe. Store it with your will or other important papers, and tell your executor and the person you appointed where it is.
- Other guardians keep their role. This appointment does not end anyone else’s guardianship. A surviving parent who is a guardian stays a guardian, and the person you appoint becomes a guardian alongside them. A surviving parent who is not a guardian does not become one just because you die. (ss. 53, 54, 55 (1))
- Best interests, and no more than you have. You must consider only the children’s best interests, and you cannot give the appointed guardian more parental responsibilities than you have. (s. 56)
- A standby guardian works with you. If you chose the illness or incapacity option, the appointed guardian must consult you as fully as possible about the children’s care and upbringing. (s. 55 (4))
- Keep your will consistent. A will can also appoint a guardian on death. A standby guardian continues after your death despite any other document you made, unless you revoked the appointment while capable or the appointment says otherwise. Make sure your will and this form name the same plan. (ss. 53 (1) (a), 55 (5))
- Changing your mind. The Act refers to revoking a standby appointment while you are capable, but it does not set out a method. One practical approach is to get back the signed form and any copies or related documents and destroy them, so that no signed version exists. The Act does not say that this revokes the appointment. If you are unsure, or your situation is complicated, get legal advice. (s. 55 (5))
- Get independent legal advice if your situation is complex, for example if there is a court order or agreement about the children, a dispute with another guardian, a child with significant property, or a guardian living outside British Columbia.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Repmyself.ca does not witness, file or store this form. Sections 53 to 57 of the Family Law Act do not require Form 2 to be filed with a court; you keep the signed original.
Prepared with the free tool at repmyself.ca/standby-guardian/british-columbia. Form wording from Form 2 of the Family Law Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 347/2012, as published on BC Laws.
This form is completed by the person who filled it in. It is not legal advice. Repmyself.ca is not a law firm, does not witness, and using it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Operated by The Family Law Assistant Inc.
Your entries stay in this browser. They are kept for 24 hours so a refresh doesn’t lose them, on this device and browser only, and “Clear and start again” removes them immediately. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account.
What is a standby guardian in BC?
A standby guardian is a person a guardian appoints, while facing terminal illness or permanent mental incapacity, to become the child’s guardian alongside them when conditions set out in the appointment are met.
The power comes from section 55 of the British Columbia Family Law Act. The appointment must be made in the prescribed form, which is Form 2 under section 23 of the Family Law Act Regulation, and it must state the conditions that must be met for it to take effect. It may name a person who certifies that a condition has been met, and that certification is conclusive. While you are alive, the standby guardian must consult you to the fullest possible extent about the child’s care and upbringing.
What is the difference between a testamentary guardian and a standby guardian?
A testamentary guardian takes over on your death. A standby guardian can step in while you are still alive but unable to care for the child, and continues after your death.
Section 53 of the Family Law Act lets a guardian appoint someone to be the child’s guardian on the appointing guardian’s death, in a will or in Form 2. Section 55 covers the standby appointment for terminal illness or permanent mental incapacity. Under section 55 (5), a standby guardian continues as guardian on the appointing guardian’s death despite any other document, unless the appointing guardian revoked the appointment while capable or the appointment provides otherwise. Form 2 lets you tick one option or both.
Who can be appointed as a guardian?
Only a child’s guardian can make the appointment. The Act does not list who may be appointed, but it sets three limits.
- You must consider only the child’s best interests (s. 56 (a)). Section 37 lists the factors that go into a child’s best interests.
- You cannot give the appointed guardian more parental responsibilities than you have (s. 56 (b)).
- The appointment does not take effect unless the person accepts it, expressly or by conduct (s. 57).
If you want a court to appoint a guardian instead, that is a different process under section 51. In the Provincial Court it starts with an application; see the Form 3 guide.
How must the appointment be signed and witnessed?
You sign in front of 2 or more witnesses who are present at the same time, and they sign in your presence. Form 2 says each witness must be at least 19, and the person you are appointing cannot be a witness.
- You sign at the end of the form, or acknowledge the signature at the end as yours, with at least 2 witnesses present at the same time (ss. 53 (1) (b) (i), 55 (2) (a) (i)).
- At least 2 of the witnesses sign in your presence (ss. 53 (1) (b) (ii), 55 (2) (a) (ii)).
- A person appointed to be the child’s guardian may not be a witness (ss. 53 (2) (a), 55 (3) (a)).
- Another person may sign for you, in your presence and at your direction (ss. 53 (2) (b), 55 (3) (b)).
Does a will do the same job?
For an appointment on death, yes. For a standby appointment during terminal illness or permanent mental incapacity, no; only Form 2 does that.
Section 53 (1) allows the appointment on death in a will made under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, or in Form 2. If you have both a will and a Form 2, keep them consistent. Because a standby appointment continues on your death despite any other document (s. 55 (5)), a will that names someone different does not automatically override it.
How do I revoke or replace an appointment?
The Family Law Act refers to revoking a standby appointment while you are capable (section 55 (5)), but it does not set out a method for revoking.
One practical approach is to get back the signed form and any copies or related documents and destroy them, so that no signed version exists. This is a practical suggestion, not a rule in the Act, and the Act does not say that destroying the form revokes the appointment. If you are unsure, or your situation is complicated (for example, a will or an earlier Form 2 names someone else), get legal advice.
What this tool does, and what it doesn’t
It puts the facts you type into the wording of Form 2. Being specific about the rest:
- You supply every fact. Names, addresses, birthdates and conditions. Missing fields are flagged. Nothing else is inferred.
- It does not choose who to appoint, whether the illness or incapacity option applies to you, or what conditions to add.
- It does not witness, file or store anything. Signature lines are blank on purpose. Sections 53 to 57 do not require Form 2 to be filed with a court.
- It is legal information, not legal advice. If there is a court order, a dispute between guardians or anything unusual, get independent legal advice.
Related: the free travel consent letter, how a family case starts in BC, and the plain-language guides.
Frequently asked
What happens to the child’s other parent?
Making an appointment does not end anyone else’s guardianship. A surviving parent who is a guardian remains a guardian. A surviving parent who is not a guardian does not become one just because a guardian dies (Family Law Act section 54).
Is this the official government form?
The wording is Form 2 as it appears in the Family Law Act Regulation on BC Laws, filled in with your details. The Regulation allows the forms to be used with variations as the circumstances require. Repmyself.ca is not a government website.
Does anything I type get sent anywhere?
No. The form runs entirely in your browser. There is no account and nothing is uploaded. Entries are kept in this browser for 24 hours so a refresh doesn’t lose them, on this device only, and you can clear them at any time.
Sources, checked 27 October 2026 on BC Laws: the Family Law Act, Part 4 (ss. 37 to 57) and the Family Law Act Regulation, s. 23, s. 27 and Form 2.