How Do I Schedule a Family Management Conference for Hearing?

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JP Boyd on Family Law
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Getting Started
Introduction · Family Law in BC
Definitions · Legislation
Divorce Act Basics · Family Law Act Basics
Chapters
Helpful Guides & Common Questions
Other Litigation Issues
 · Schedule Family Management Conference?

 · Schedule a Judicial Case Conference?

 · Get a Needs of the Child Assessment?

 · Get a Report about a Child's Views?

 · Find a Court Document?

 · Fix an Error in an Order?

 · Say That I'm Representing Myself?

 · Change My Address for Service?
Court Forms & Documents
Supreme Court: Forms & Examples
Provincial Court: Forms & Examples
Other Family Law Forms & Documents
v • d • e

Once the Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter is received by the registry, the court will normally work with the parties to find a convenient date for a family management conference (FMC). The idea is that it's better to work with people's schedules to find a convenient time, rather than risk people being unavailable because a date was set without consultation. In certain registries there may be other requirements before the FMC can be held. For example, you may be required to take the Parenting After Separation course or the Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families course. The registry will let you know what steps you have to take.

After the first FMC, additional FMCs may be scheduled, for example to monitor compliance with orders made at the first one, or to continue negotiations after the exchange of necessary information.

Understanding Family Management Conferences[edit]

Prior to May 2021, the BC Provincial Court would hold first appearances where the parties would show up to court in front of other people for their first experience in court. The judge would have little time for them except to direct them to come back again for what used to be called a family case conference. This impersonal first encounter has now been done away with. The parties' first in-court meeting occurs in a FMC.

The FMC is a special type of hearing in the Provincial Court involving the parties, their lawyers, and either a judge or a family justice manager. It is intended to explore the issues in a court proceeding with the hope of finding a way to settle all or part of the proceeding. FMCs are private and held off the record.

Using Family Management Conferences to get things done[edit]

FMCs replace the former first appearances and are designed to help the parties identify and resolve issues without the need for a formal hearing. At these conferences, the judge or family justice manager may encourage the parties to reach agreements on some or all issues. While affidavits can be a part of the FMC, if they are particularly long and contain lots of evidence the judge or family justice manager may not have had time to fully read them.

Unless there is consent, an agreement between the parties, or an urgent matter such as denied parenting time, safety concerns, or urgent medical decisions that need to be made for a child, do not expect the FMC to result in substantive orders. FMCs are instrumental in narrowing down the contested issues and setting procedural orders. The types of procedural orders, or case management orders that can be made depend on whether a judge or family justice manager is running the FMC:

  • If the FMC is with a judge, the powers under Rule 62 of the Provincial Court Family Rules applies.
  • If the FMC is with a family justice manager, Rule 63 applies.

See Rules 35-37 of the Provincial Court Family Rules which deal with the new FMC process.

Interim orders can relate to parental responsibilities, parenting time, contact with a child, child support, spousal support, and to a limited degree guardianship. FMCs can result in conduct orders under Part 10, Division 5 of the Family Law Act.

FMCs are a good opportunity, and people who prepare for them and take them seriously can really benefit from them. FMCs can be very helpful, especially if the judge is prepared to be pushy with the parties and their lawyers. It's fairly common for proceedings to settle at FMCs, and where a settlement is reached, the judge will make a consent order on the spot, at the end of the hearing. Specific rules around consent orders can be found at Rule 52.

More information[edit]

There is more information about FMCs online, including:

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Matthew Ostrow, September 19, 2023.


v • d • e
 
Marriage, Separation & Divorce
Avoiding an Obligation
Alternatives to Court
Agreements
Starting an Action
Defending an Action
Interim Applications
Affidavits
Courtroom Protocol
Appealing a Decision
Other Litigation Issues
Miscellaneous
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Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."

A court established and staffed by the provincial government, which includes Small Claims Court, Youth Court, and Family Court. The Provincial Court is the lowest level of court in British Columbia and is restricted in the sorts of matters it can deal with. It is, however, the most accessible of the two trial courts and no fees are charged to begin or defend a family law proceeding. The Family Court of the Provincial Court cannot deal with the division of family property or any claims under the Divorce Act. See "Divorce Act," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

A legal document required by the Provincial Court Family Rules to respond to a claim made in an applicant's Application to Obtain an Order. See "applicant," "Application to Obtain an Order," "claim" and "Counterclaim."

(1) A central office, located in each judicial district, at which the court files for each court proceeding in that district are maintained, and at which legal documents can be filed, searched, and reviewed, or (2) a courthouse.

A person appointed by the federal or provincial government to manage and decide court proceedings in an impartial manner, independent of influence by the parties, the government, or agents of the government. The decisions of a judge are binding upon the parties to the proceeding, subject to appeal.

In law, any proceeding before a judicial official to determine questions of law and questions of fact, including the hearing of an application and the hearing of a trial. See "decision."

A legal proceeding in which one party sues another for a specific remedy or relief, also called an "action," a "lawsuit," or a "case." A court proceeding for divorce, for example, is a proceeding in which the claimant sues the respondent for the relief of a divorce order.

In law, (1) the whole of the conduct of a court proceeding, from beginning to end, and the steps in between, may also be used to refer to (2) a specific hearing or trial. See "action."

Facts, or proof tending to support the existence of facts, presented to a judge at a hearing or trial. Evidence can be given through the oral testimony of witnesses, in writing as business records and other documents, or in the form of physical objects. Evidence must be admissible according to the rules of court and the rules of evidence. See "circumstantial evidence," "hearsay" and "testimony."

(1) Agreement, or (2) the giving of permission for a thing to happen or not happen.

Under the Family Law Act, a term which describes the time a guardian has with a child and during which is responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. Under the Divorce Act, a term which describes the time a spouse has with a child and during which is responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. See "guardian" and "spouse."

A person who is younger than the legal age of majority, 19 in British Columbia. See "age of majority."

You probably seeing this word used in terms like substantive law, substantive issues, or substantive orders, and it is used to identify aspects of these things (be they laws, legal issues, or court orders) that deal with the legal rights and duties of the parties involved in a case. Substantive law defines and regulates the rights and obligations of individuals, as opposed to procedural law, which outlines the methods and means by which substantive law is made and administered. In family law, substantive issues often involve matters such as guardianship and parenting arrangements relating to children, support, and the division of property. A substantive order from a judge will be a decision about a substantive issue, versus a procedural order which will be about how steps in the litigation should.

A term under the Family Law Act which describes the various rights, duties, and responsibilities exercised by guardians in the care, upbringing, and management of the children in their care, including determining the child's education, diet, religious instruction or lack thereof, medical care, linguistic and cultural instruction, and so forth. See "decision-making responsibility" and "guardian."

Under the Family Law Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a guardian of a child, including a parent who is not a guardian, has with that child. Under the Divorce Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a married spouse has with a child. See "guardian" and "parental responsibilities."

Money paid by one parent or guardian to another parent or guardian as a contribution toward the cost of a child's living and other expenses.

A payment made by one spouse to the other spouse to help with the recipient's day-to-day living expenses or to compensate the recipient for the financial choices the spouses made during the relationship.

A resolution of one or more issues in a court proceeding or legal dispute with the agreement of the parties to the proceeding or dispute, usually recorded in a written agreement or in an order that all parties agree the court should make. A court proceeding can be settled at any time before the conclusion of trial. See "action," "consent order," "family law agreements" and "offer."

An order resolving all or part of a court proceeding, on an interim or final basis, that the parties agree the court should make.

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