Step 6

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

You can start your divorce before you've been separated for one year, by filing the Notice of Family Claim (Form F3) and serving it on your spouse. But there are some important rules about the timing for swearing or affirming the Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38) and Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if applicable. You can't swear or affirm these affidavits until after:

• you and your spouse have been separated for one year,
• your Notice of Family Claim has been sworn and filed at the court registry, and
• the time period for the other party to submit a Response to Family Claim (Form F4) or a Response to Counterclaim (Form F6) has passed.

You must also swear or affirm the affidavits within 30 days of filing them with your Requisition (Form F35).

To swear or affirm the documents, take the Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38) and Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if applicable, to a lawyer, notary public, or commissioner of oaths (found in courthouse registries, at both Supreme Court and Provincial Court).

If you're going to a lawyer or a notary public, call ahead to make an appointment and to make sure that he or she can swear or affirm the document for you. Say the documents are an Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38) and Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if applicable, for your divorce. Make sure you tell the person that you don't need any advice.

When you go to have the documents sworn or affirmed, take photo identification with you. The person who will swear the documents for you must be sure you are who you say you are. After identifying you, he or she will ask if you have read the documents, and if you swear or affirm that the contents are true to the best of your knowledge and belief. If you answer yes, then you sign the documents, and the person witnesses your signature.

When to file the documents

Once the Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38) and Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if applicable, have been sworn or affirmed, file them at the court registry along with the Requisition (Form F35), Certificate of Pleadings (Form F36), and the draft Final Order (Form F52) that you'll file in Step 8. (See Step 7 for help preparing these documents.)