Intro

Before you begin your Supreme Court application

---

Tip: You may want to watch Family Matters in Supreme Court: Judicial Case Conferences and Chambers Hearings, an online video for people who have to go to Supreme Court without a lawyer.

Working things out without going to court

Before you start using this guide, think about your situation. Is it possible that you and the other party can agree about custody, guardianship, or access, and/or child or spousal support?

If you can agree, you won't have to go to court and the judge/master won't decide these important personal issues for you. You can file a separation agreement with the court and the parts about custody, access, and child support will be legally binding in the same way as a judge's decision, or you can get a consent order. For more information about how to resolve your case without going to court, see our fact sheet Staying out of court and our self-help guide How to get a non-final family order in Supreme Court if you agree.

Consider the following options to help you to work things out:

• Parenting After Separation courses
  
• Family justice counsellors
  
• Private mediation
  
• Notice to Mediate
  
• Collaborative law

Another way to work out family law issues is to request a Judicial Case Conference (JCC). See our self-help guide How to deal with a Judicial Case Conference.

If you have a lawyer, discuss these options with him or her. If you can't afford a lawyer, there are other ways to get legal help, including the Lawyer Referral Service, free (pro bono) legal clinics, family duty counsel, or family advice lawyers. In Nanaimo and Vancouver, staff at Justice Access Centres can also answer your questions and help you fill out forms. See Staying out of court and Who can help? for more information.

If you can't agree

If you can't agree, you'll need to go to court. To learn more about the types of court orders you can get. See our fact sheet What makes an order final?.

If you can't agree about the details of the order, keep reading below.

^ Back to top

Why get a non-final order?

This guide will help you prepare an application for a non-final Supreme Court order. A non-final order stays in place until a final order is made. Final orders are made after a trial or by consent (if you both agree). It can take a very long time — up to a year or even longer — to have a trial. This is because the courts are very busy, and you need to go through many time-consuming steps and procedures to prepare for trial.

You can get a non-final order from a judge/master sitting in Supreme Court Chambers in a much shorter time, using a less formal and less expensive process that requires only written evidence. A non-final order can solve immediate problems, such as where the children will live and how they will be supported. Meanwhile you can work on finding final solutions. In some cases, this final solution is ordered by a judge at the end of a trial, but most often, people reach final solutions without going to trial. See Step 12 for more information about what to expect in Chambers.

Getting a non-final order can also be time consuming, unless your case is urgent. If you think your case is urgent, get legal advice as soon as possible.

Where do I go and how long will it take?

Generally the process will take at least seven weeks from the time the Notice of Family Claim (Form F3) is served to the day you appear in court. But the actual timing may be even longer depending on such issues as whether your ex-partner lives outside BC and how often your local Supreme Court hears family Chambers applications. The timing will also be affected by how long you take to prepare for and respond to each step of the process.

Before you can begin your application for a non-final order, you must start a family law case by filing and serving your Notice of Family Claim (Form F3) (see our self-help guide How to fill out a Notice of Family Claim).

The other party can respond to your Notice of Family Claim (Form F3) by filing and serving a Response to Family Claim (Form F4) (see Step 1) and by serving a Financial Statement (Form F8).

At that time you can begin the process of applying for a non-final order. Before you can file or serve your application, however, you and the other party must attend a Judicial Case Conference (JCC) (see Step 4). If you think you might have a reason to be excused from this step, see our fact sheet Judicial Case Conferences in Supreme Court. If you and the other party still can't agree on how to resolve your conflict after you've attended a JCC, you may proceed with the application for a non-final order.

The process to apply for a non-final order is quite complex. This guide contains information about the documents you need to collect, the documents and forms you need to prepare, the time periods you have to work with, and what you can expect in court.

Important: If your application is unsuccessful, costs may be awarded against you. This means you'll have to pay some of the other party's court costs and legal expenses, as well as your own.

^ Back to top

What are my chances of success?

In custody, guardianship, and access matters, a judge/master will look at the facts of the case and make a decision in your child's best interests. What is best for your child depends on your individual situation. For instance, the judge/master may make a joint guardianship order if it would be in your child's best interests to have you and the other parent communicating and working together.

Child support orders reflect the custody order and the financial circumstances of the parents. In a child support situation, the parent with whom the child lives will generally receive support from the other parent. The amount of support is based on the other parent's income, provided that the other parent has the minimum income necessary to pay support under the child support guidelines.

In spousal support cases, your chance of success will depend not only on your need for support, but also on whether your ex-partner is able to pay support. The judge/master looks closely at both of your circumstances when making an order. See also our Spousal support fact sheet.

What does the law say about support, custody, guardianship, and access?

For more information on what the law says about child or spousal support, custody, guardianship, or access, see the relevant fact sheets (links below). You may want to read all of these fact sheets, or you may only need to look at one or two of them, depending on your situation. Once you've done this, you'll be ready to start the application process.

• Child support
• Spousal support
• Custody
• Guardianship
• Access

How do I find a lawyer or get legal aid?

For information about where to get legal advice or how to contact a lawyer, see Who can help?

For information about legal aid, see Legal aid services on the Legal Services Society website.

^ Back to top