The price of self-representation in B.C. courts: two stress leaves and sale of family home

When she was forced to handle a high-conflict and lengthy family-law court case, often without the help of a lawyer, Allison Clark suffered two stress leaves at work and decided she had to sell the family home.

A middle-income earner who didn’t qualify for legal aid, the 51-year-old mother of two initially hired a lawyer, but soon ran out of money and became a self-represented litigant.

At one point in her six-year ordeal, she found it necessary to put her home on the market.

“It was an extremely difficult decision as this was our family home and our kids had a big, beautiful yard to play in and we had many memories there,” said the Comox woman.

Her story is all too familiar for thousands of people in B.C. who encounter hefty legal fees and embark on the daunting challenge of going it alone in what often turns out to be a years-long, stressful legal battle.