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→A few definitions
*'''Parties:''' The claimant and the respondent are, together, called the ''parties'' to the court proceeding.
*'''Claim or Application:''' The document that is filed to start a court proceeding in the Supreme Court is a ''Notice of Family Claim'' or, less often, a ''Petition''. In the Provincial Court, court proceedings are started with an ''Application to Obtain an Order'' or an ''Application to Change or Cancel an Order.'' (In this section, "claim" refers to all of these documents.)
*'''Reply and Counterclaim.:''' A respondent who objects to all or some of the orders sought by a claimant in the Supreme Court will file a ''Response to Family Claim'' and sometimes a ''Counterclaim:''. A Counterclaim lets a respondent make claims of their own against a claimant. In the Provincial Court, a respondent will file a ''Reply'', which includes a section to make a counterclaim against an applicant. (In this section, "reply" refers to all of these documents.)*'''Pleadings.:''' The basic documents that are used to start and reply to a court proceeding are called the ''pleadings''. In most Supreme Court family law proceedings, the pleadings are the Notice of Family Claim, the Response to Family Claim, and, usually, a Counterclaim. In most Provincial Court proceedings, the pleadings are the Application to Obtain an Order and the Reply.
*'''Trial:''' The formal hearing of a claim, a response to a claim and a counterclaim by a judge, following which the judge makes an order resolving all of the claims and counterclaims made in the court proceeding.