Difference between revisions of "The Court System for Family Matters"

The applicant starts a proceeding by filing in court an Application to Obtain an Order (Form 1 of the Provincial Court Family Forms)and serving it on each respondent. The Application to Obtain an Order must be personally served on the respondent by an adult other than the applicant. The respondent has 30 days to answer the claim by filing a Reply (Form 3); the court clerk will send a copy of the Reply to the applicant. The Reply can also be used to make a counterclaim, the respondent's own claim against the applicant. A respondent who does not file a Reply is not entitled to notice of further hearings in the case.

Depending on which courthouse the proceeding is started at, one or both parties may have to attend the parenting after separation course, and possibly also meet with a family justice counsellor, before they can go before a judge. Family justice counsellors are government employees trained in mediation who can help with issues about the care of children, child support and spousal support.

At the parties' first appearance before a judge, the judge may order the parties to attend a family case conference. A family case conference is a private meeting between the parties, their lawyers (if lawyers have been hired) and a judge to talk about the legal issues and see whether any of them can be settled. In general, a judge will not make orders at a family case conference except with the parties' agreement. Family case conferences can be very helpful; there's more information about family case conferences in the chapter [[Resolving_Family_Law_Problems_in_Court|Resolving Problems in Court]] in the section on [[Case Conferences in a Family Law Matter|Case Conferences]].