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Difference between revisions of "Starting and Responding to Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings"
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Starting and Responding to Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings (view source)
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Whether you are initiating or responding to a BC Supreme Court action, it helps to know the court forms that the other party needs to file in the BC Supreme Court. Every BC Supreme Court form has both a name and a form number. This section refers to both as much possible. This should help you to be sure you are identifying the correct court form. Where possible, the specific rules from the [https://canlii.ca/t/8mcr BC Supreme Court Family Rules] will also be referenced. | Whether you are initiating or responding to a BC Supreme Court action, it helps to know the court forms that the other party needs to file in the BC Supreme Court. Every BC Supreme Court form has both a name and a form number. This section refers to both as much possible. This should help you to be sure you are identifying the correct court form. Where possible, the specific rules from the [https://canlii.ca/t/8mcr BC Supreme Court Family Rules] will also be referenced. | ||
==The series of steps: starting and responding== | |||
You will see that this section discusses the entire process for both ''starting a claim'' and ''responding to a claim'' all together. Some steps are obviously more relevant to the person starting the claim, and other steps are more relevant to the respondent, but it is helpful for each side to know understand the process as a whole. | |||
* '''Steps 1-5 & 9''' are written from the perspective of the ''claimant''. | |||
* '''Steps 6-8''' are written from the perspective of the ''respondent''. | |||
* '''Steps 10 & 11''' are follow-up steps applicable to both parties. | |||
==Step 1: Complete the correct forms== | ==Step 1: Complete the correct forms== | ||
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===Can't find your ex or the other party?=== | ===Can't find your ex or the other party?=== | ||
If you are not sure where your ex or any other respondent you named in your F3 Notice of Family Claim lives or works, and if you do not know how to find them, see [[How Do I Find My Ex?]] in the [[Helpful Guides & Common Questions]] part of this resource. | If you are not sure where your ex or any other respondent you named in your F3 Notice of Family Claim lives or works, and if you do not know how to find them, see [[How Do I Find My Ex?]] in the [[Helpful Guides & Common Questions]] part of this resource. | ||
==Step 4: Claimant waits to receive response== | |||
The respondent has 30 days to file a Form F4 Response to Family Claim after being served with a Form F3 Notice of Family Claim. If the respondent doesn't do this, you may be able to get the orders you asked for by ''default judgment'', which is a final order the court makes when the respondent doesn't file a Form F4 Response to Family Claim. | |||
===Missed deadlines for response=== | |||
You should be aware that judges can be fairly lenient towards people who miss filing deadlines. As a claimant, you should not expect to win on a technicality like this. If the respondent files their Form F4 Response to Family Claim late, the court will usually give the respondent an extension of time and overlook the missed due date. If the respondent just ignores you and ignores your claim, however, at some point the court will make the order you're asking for. | |||
:Note for Respondents: Do not rely on the court's usual leniency as a reason for filing late. The court may decide that your delay is unacceptable and refuse an application to cancel any default judgment that a claimant obtained. And even if the court grants your application to cancel a default judgment, the court will likely tell you to pay the claimant's costs because of your delayed filing. Respondents should follow the guidance in this section if they are served with court papers. | |||
===Respondent asks for more time=== | |||
If the respondent asks a claimant for more time to file their Form F4 Response to Family Claim, Form F4, the claimant will normally give the Respondent a reasonable extension to file their response. What is reasonable in any given case depends on how urgent you want the court to make orders you ask for in your Form F3 Notice of Family Claim. The more urgent, the shorter the extension of time, the less urgent the more time you can give the respondent. As a rule of thumb, in non-urgent cases, two to three week extensions of time are commonly agreed to. | |||
===Respondent agrees with the claimant=== | |||
Sometimes a respondent will not reply to a Form F3 Notice of Family Claim because they agree to the orders the claimant is asking for. This often happens when the claimant is merely asking for a divorce, but it can also happen if you are asking for other orders. In cases like this, the court action will qualify as an "undefended family law case" and you can apply for a default judgment under Rule 10-10 of the Supreme Court Family Rules. For more information about the do-it-yourself divorce process (which can include a request for more than just divorce orders), see the [[Divorce and the Law on Getting Divorced]] section in the chapter on [[Separating and Getting Divorced]]. | |||
{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[Iris Turaglio]], 10 December 2024}} | {{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[Iris Turaglio]], 10 December 2024}} | ||
