Step 5

Prepare the Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38) and Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if applicable

Since your divorce will not require an appearance before a judge, you must fill out and swear special affidavits. The Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38) sets out all the facts of your marriage and separation, and gives information about the children, if any. The Child Support Affidavit (Form F37) gives information about the children and child support.

You will notice that some of the information in these affidavits is the same as the information in your Notice of Family Claim (Form F3). The difference is that you must swear or affirm that the information in these affidavits is true and they become evidence for the court.

Important: If you have children and your current custody and access arrangements are different from what was set out in the most recent court order or agreement filed with the court, you will have to update that order or agreement before you can proceed. See one of our other self-help guides if you need to change an order.

You need to fill out:

• an Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38), and
• a Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if there are children of the marriage.

These forms have instructions to help you fill them out. You can either fill the forms out online or print them and fill them out by hand (print neatly using dark-coloured ink).

Tip: To find out how the forms work, see the Supreme Court Civil and Family Forms "How To" Guide on the Court Services Branch website.

If you need help, see Filling out court forms — Who can help.

If you are in Vancouver and need help with these forms, the Vancouver Justice Access Centre Self-Help and Information Services can help you.