8,081
edits
Changes
→The Provincial Court
==The Provincial Court==
The BC Provincial Court operates in approximately 84 locations around the province. Half of these locations operate part-time only, and are unstaffed the rest of the time. The other half operate in courthouses that are staffed and have their own court registries. (Registry staff are the people who deal with the paperwork, scheduling, etc.) Before you start a proceeding in Provincial Court, you have to determine which registry to use. If an existing case has already been started involving the same parties, then you have to use the registry where that case is located. If there’s no existing case and kids are involved, then you have to use the registry closest to where the kids live most of the time; if no kids are involved, then you use the registry closest to the residence of the person who first files a court document under these the Provincial Court Rules.
After you’ve determined which registry to use, find out what kind of registry it is. In BC, we have three types of registries:
#The “Early Resolution” registries;
#“Family Justice” registries
# All other BC Provincial Court registries are “Parenting Program” registries
===Early Resolution Registries===
The Early Resolution process in Victoria and Surrey is intended to encourage parties to resolve family disputes by agreement, or to help them obtain fair decisions in Provincial Court in a timely manner.
The Early Resolution process is a unique model in British Columbia, and it is different from the usual Provincial Court Rules. As of May 17, 2021, all Provincial Court Locations, including the Early Resolution Registries, use the same family forms.
'''You should use the Early Resolution registries in Victoria or Surrey if: ''' * There there is already a case started at that registry involving the same parties; , * Your your family law case involves a child-related issue, and the child lives closest to the Victoria or Surrey registry most of the time; , or * Your your family law case does not involve a child-related issue, and you live cloest closest to the Victoria or Surrey registry most of the time. You should not use the Early Resolution model if: * your file is transferred out of the Victoria or Surrey registry; or * you made an application before May 13, 2019 in the Victoria registry (IS MAY 17, 2021 THE LIMITATION DATE IN SURREY?); or * you filed a Notice of Motion before May 13, 2019 in the Victoria Registry (IS MAY 17, 2021 THE LIMITATION DATE IN SURREY?)
====How the Early Resolution model works====
If you have a dispute about a family law matter, including child support, spousal support, parenting arrangements, contact, or guardianship, you will start by filing a form called the Notice to Resolve a Family Law Matter at the Victoria or Surrey registry, and by giving the other party a copy.
You will then be directed to the [https://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/helpmap/service/1019 Justice Access Centre (JAC) ] to make an appointment for your individual needs assessment.
At the needs assessment, a family justice counsellor will provide you with information about your options, about the court process, and about how to access legal advice and other resources. They will make an assessment about whether consensual dispute resolution is appropriate for you, taking into consideration whether there are power imbalances, issues of safety or family violence, or language barriers, and also taking into consideration the nature of the issues to be resolved and the ability of the parties to participate and/or accommodations that can be made to facilitate participation.
If it is appropriate, you and the other party will participate in at least one consensual dispute resolution session to mediate your issues.
When issues are resolved during early resolution, you can formalize your agreements by written agreement or consent order.
If you are served with a Notice to Resolve a Family Law Matter filed at the Victoria or Surrey registry, you’ll have to complete three steps before you can file your reply to an application about a family law matter. Those three steps are:
If there are still some issues that need to be resolved and you need the Court’s help, you then file a form called the Application About a Family Law Matter with all your supporting documents and serve it on the other party or parties.
When the other party has replied or the time for reply has passed, you can contact the Judicial Case Manager to schedule a Family Management Conference. At the Family Management Conference, you and the other party (or parties) will meet with a judge. The judge will work with you to see whether agreement can be reached on some or all of the issues. The judge can make interim (temporary) orders or final orders by consent.
If there are still issues to resolve, the judge can make case management orders to ensure the matter is ready for trial if one is needed. The usual process in provincial court for case conferences, trial preparation, trials, and enforcement of Family Maintenance matters still applies if your issues have not been fully resolved.
=====What else do I need to know about the Early Resolution modelProcess? =====The Early Resolution Model Process also includes changes to the rules and forms for applications about: protection orders, enforcement of existing orders, giving, refusing, or withdrawing consent to medical, dental, or other health-related treatments for a child, if delay will result in risk to the health of the child,
* protection orders* enforcement of existing orders* giving, refusing, or withdrawing consent to medical, dental, or other health-related treatments for a child, if delay will result in risk to the health of the child * applying for a passport, licence, permit, benefit, privilege, or other thing for the child, if delay will result in risk of harm to the child’s physical, psychological, or emotional safety, security, or well-being, * relocation of a child, * preventing the removal of a child from a certain location, or location * determining matters relating to interjurisdictional issues. issues
Parties involved in these matters will file and serve an application and proceed to a hearing without having to participate in the early resolution processes. If the parties have one of these types of matters and an early resolution family law matter, they can go through court to get the one issue resolved and proceed through early resolution and case management on the other issues. The model recognizes that protection orders and some parenting matters are urgent and need to proceed directly to court.
===Family Justice Registries===
If your family law dispute is in Kelowna, Nanaimo, or Vancouver (Robson Square), the provincial court registries in those locations fall under the Family Justice registry model.
To start a proceeding in a Family Justice registry, you file specific forms based on what you’re asking a judge to ultimately decide. Some of the most common things people ask for are guardianship, parenting responsibilities, decision-making authority, parenting time (sometimes called “custody”''custody'', though Canadian courts don’t use that word anymore), contact , child support and special expenses, and spousal support. There are also conduct orders which can help parties set boundaries to assist them in working towards resolution, and there are protection orders, which follow a different process due to their often-urgent nature. ====What Form do I file?====Since you've already determined which registry to use and that you're using the Family Justice model, the next step is to determine what you're asking a judge to decide. =====Family Law Matter=====Your case is a ''family law matter'' if you are seeking an order about: *parenting arrangements*child support*contact with a child*guardianship of a child, or*spousal support
In these circumstances you will start by filing a form called the Application About a Family Law Matter (Form 3), and by having someone other than you and who is over 19 serve the other party in person with a copy of the application and instructions from the registry on how to reply.
Applying for Other Orders