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Depending on which courthouse the proceeding is started at, the parties may have to attend the ''parenting after separation course'', and possibly also meet with a ''family justice counsellor'', before they can go to see 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 they have lawyers — 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 as they provide a great opportunity to talk about the legal issues and explore potential areas of compromise. There's more information about family case conferences in the chapter [[Resolving_Family_Law_Problems_in_Court|Resolving Family Law Problems in Court]] in the section on [[Case Conferences in a Family Law Matter|Case Conferences]].
After the first appearance, ''interim applications'', applications for temporary orders, can be made by filing a Notice of Motion (Form 16). It is always best to file an Affidavit (Form 17) with the Notice of Motion. An affidavit is a person's written evidence which the person swears or affirms is true before a lawyer, notary public, or court staff member able to take oaths. There's more information about interim applications in the chapter [[Resolving_Family_Law_Problems_in_Court|Resolving Family Law Problems in Court]] in the section on [[Interim_Applications_in_Family_Matters|Interim Applications]].