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Difference between revisions of "Trials and Provincial Court Family Law Proceedings"
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Trials and Provincial Court Family Law Proceedings (view source)
Revision as of 16:55, 2 April 2025
, 2 April→Consider a Hear the Child report, a Views of the Child report, or a full Section 211 (Parenting Capacity) report
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**which specific arrangement is in the child's best interest. | **which specific arrangement is in the child's best interest. | ||
Depending on the type of report, a trained lawyer, social worker, clinical counsellor, family justice counsellor, or a psychologist may be appointed. A Hear the Child report only interviews the child, while most section 211 reports involve the appointed person conducting interviews with both parents as well as the children and may involve additional steps such as observing each parent with the children (either in each parent’s home or at the psychologist's office), conducting interviews with collateral witnesses, conducting psychological testing of the parents (if the person is a psychologist and qualified to do so), and then preparing a written report of the observations and opinions (if an opinion is asked for). Not all Views of the Child reports provide the report writer's evaluative opinion of what would be best for the children, so you will need to carefully consider what report you think you need. | Depending on the type of report, a trained lawyer, social worker, clinical counsellor, family justice counsellor, or a psychologist may be appointed. A Hear the Child report only interviews the child, while most section 211 reports involve the appointed person conducting interviews with both parents as well as the children and may involve additional steps such as observing each parent with the children (either in each parent’s home or at the psychologist's office), conducting interviews with collateral witnesses, conducting psychological testing of the parents (if the person is a psychologist and qualified to do so), and then preparing a written report of the observations and opinions (if an opinion is asked for). Not all Views of the Child reports provide the report writer's evaluative opinion of what would be best for the children, so you will need to carefully consider what report you think you need. You can also read these pages from the [[JP Boyd on Family Law — Helpful Guides and Common Questions|Helpful Guides and Common Questions]] part of this resource: | ||
*[[How Do I Get a Child's Views in a Report for the Court?]], and | |||
*[[How Do I Get a Needs of the Child Assessment?]] | |||
The cost of reports can vary greatly, usually a few thousand dollars for interviews of the children only and a Hear the Child report. Views of the Child reports and full Section 211 Reports are free if done by family justice counsellors, but this requires waiting. These publicly funded reports are available through the province but are less extensive, often take longer to prepare, and require a court order. Publicly funded reports do not provide the psychological testing because they are done by family justice counsellors rather than psychologists. Privately prepared Views of the Child reports range from a few thousand dollars to generally not more than $10,000. For full Section 211 Reports prepared by private professionals, very few cost less than $15,000, and $20,000 is a more realistic expectation. A considerable number of private Section 211 Reports cost $30,000 or more. | The cost of reports can vary greatly, usually a few thousand dollars for interviews of the children only and a Hear the Child report. Views of the Child reports and full Section 211 Reports are free if done by family justice counsellors, but this requires waiting. These publicly funded reports are available through the province but are less extensive, often take longer to prepare, and require a court order. Publicly funded reports do not provide the psychological testing because they are done by family justice counsellors rather than psychologists. Privately prepared Views of the Child reports range from a few thousand dollars to generally not more than $10,000. For full Section 211 Reports prepared by private professionals, very few cost less than $15,000, and $20,000 is a more realistic expectation. A considerable number of private Section 211 Reports cost $30,000 or more. | ||
If the other party doesn't want a report | If the other party doesn't want a report — or doesn’t want to pay for a report — you will need to apply to court for an order that a report be conducted. Apply to court for this using the Form 10 Application About a Case Management Order and make sure you have as much information as possible: | ||
* who you want to write the report, | |||
* how much it will cost and how you think it should be paid for, and | |||
* what the timelines are. | |||
If you want a publicly funded report, you will need to apply to court using the Form 10 Application About a Case Management Order even if you and the other party agree that this report should be done. See the section on [[Interim Applications and Provincial Court Family Law Proceedings]] in this chapter for more details on applications for ''case management orders''. | |||
Any of these reports must be filed and served on each party at least 30 days before the trial. | Any of these reports must be filed and served on each party at least 30 days before the trial. | ||
Because these reports can take time to complete | Because these reports can take time to complete — and because you may have to ask for one at court — you should consider starting this process as early as possible. | ||
While the report writer's recommendations (if applicable keeping in mind that not all reports contain recommendations) are not binding on the court, the recommendations are often very persuasive at trial and therefore often assist in moving settlement discussions forward. | |||
=== Consider expert evidence === | === Consider expert evidence === | ||
