If you can't agree

How to get an non-final family order in Supreme Court

Before using these guides — staying out of court

Before you start using these self-help guides, think about your situation. Is it possible for you and the other party to agree about custody, access, guardianship, and/or child or spousal support?

If you can agree, you won't have to go to court and a judge or master won't make these important personal decisions for you. Instead, you can file a separation agreement with the court that will be as legally binding as a judge's decision, or you can get a consent order.

Consider the following options to help you work things out:

If you must go to court — Is Supreme Court the right place for you?

If you've tried to resolve your issues on your own or with the help of a mediator or other service and can't, or if you don't think it will be possible to resolve your issues, you can apply for support, custody, guardianship, or access in either the Provincial (Family) Court of British Columbia or the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Is Supreme Court the right place for you? See the multimedia presentation If you need to choose a court to check which court would be best for your case. Also read our fact sheet Do you need to go to Provincial (Family) Court or Supreme Court?, watch the video Choosing a Court (six minutes), or listen to our audio clip (five minutes) to find out which court would be best for your case.

You can also read our fact sheet Which laws apply to your case? or watch our audio-visual clip Which laws apply to your family law case? for more information about which court you should go to and which law(s) you can use to get your order.

If you decide that Supreme Court is the right one, select the link below to go to the self-help guides.