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Difference between revisions of "Disclosure and Provincial Court Family Law Proceedings"
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Disclosure and Provincial Court Family Law Proceedings (view source)
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===Form 4 Financial Statement=== | ===Form 4 Financial Statement=== | ||
If a court proceeding involves spousal support or child support in any way — including claims to change an existing support obligation or cancel arrears of support that have accumulated — the Provincial Court Family Rules say that each party must prepare and file a Form 4 Financial Statement. | If a court proceeding involves spousal support or child support in any way — including claims to change an existing support obligation or cancel arrears of support that have accumulated — the Provincial Court Family Rules say that each party must prepare and file a Form 4 Financial Statement. The BC Government now publishes a series of formal ''guidebooks'' that explain how to complete some of the most commonly used forms in the Provincial Court Family Rules. You can find these on the [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/courthouse-services/documents-forms-records/court-forms/prov-family-forms Family Court Forms] webpage, and there is one specifically for the Form 4. | ||
Financial Statements require each party to describe their income, expenses, assets and liabilities. Each party must swear or affirm that what they've said in their Form 4 Financial Statement is true before a lawyer, notary public, or registry clerk, just like an affidavit. Each party must also provide a number of documents with their Form 4: | Financial Statements require each party to describe their income, expenses, assets and liabilities. Each party must swear or affirm that what they've said in their Form 4 Financial Statement is true before a lawyer, notary public, or registry clerk, just like an affidavit. Each party must also provide a number of documents with their Form 4: | ||
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The applicant's Form 4 Financial Statement should be filed at the same time as their Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter. The respondent's Form 4 should be filed with their Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter. You will need to file the original, which the registry will keep for the court file, along with another copy so that you have a copy too (and so you can provide a copy to the other side). | The applicant's Form 4 Financial Statement should be filed at the same time as their Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter. The respondent's Form 4 should be filed with their Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter. You will need to file the original, which the registry will keep for the court file, along with another copy so that you have a copy too (and so you can provide a copy to the other side). | ||
Financial Statements are very important in family law proceedings. They are critical for determining child support and spousal support, and you mustn't take a casual "guesstimating" kind of approach to filling them out. You should expect that the other side will be reading your Financial Statement very carefully, and that you will find your credibility being challenged if the numbers don't make sense, if they're overblown or understated, or if they omit critical information. Now, to be fair, filling out this form can be difficult. The "expenses" part of the form is often the first time many people have sat down to work out what they spend in the average month on things like the cable bill, car insurance, dry cleaning, life insurance, hair cuts, and clothing. However, if the total of the "expenses" part is a lot higher than your total income in the "income" part, which it often is, I'm expecting to see a lot of debts in the "assets and debts" part of the form or I'm going to have a lot of trouble believing you! | Financial Statements are very important in family law proceedings. They are critical for determining child support and spousal support, and you mustn't take a casual "guesstimating" kind of approach to filling them out. You should expect that the other side will be reading your Financial Statement very carefully, and that you will find your credibility being challenged if the numbers don't make sense, if they're overblown or understated, or if they omit critical information. Now, to be fair, filling out this form can be difficult. The "expenses" part of the form is often the first time many people have sat down to work out what they spend in the average month on things like the cable bill, car insurance, dry cleaning, life insurance, hair cuts, and clothing. However, if the total of the "expenses" part is a lot higher than your total income in the "income" part, which it often is, I'm expecting to see a lot of debts in the "assets and debts" part of the form or I'm going to have a lot of trouble believing you! | ||
===Family Management Conferences=== | ===Family Management Conferences=== | ||
