Contested (defended) divorce
If you and your spouse want to get divorced but can't agree about custody, access, guardianship, support, and/or property division, you may have to apply for a defended divorce (also known as a "contested" divorce). When you do so, you ask the judge to decide these questions for you.
However, only a small number of family cases are actually resolved by a full trial in front of a judge; the process can be very time-consuming, expensive, and stressful. So before you begin, consider other options for settling your differences, which you can read about below. Some of these options are free, and all of them cost less than a trial.
Alternatives to court
Collaborative law
This is a new process in which you and your spouse each hire a lawyer, and you all sign an agreement promising to work together to try to resolve your case without going to court. For more information, see our fact sheet Staying out of court.
Family justice counsellors
You may be able to consult with a family justice counsellor, who can provide legal information and mediation services for free.
Judicial Case Conference or Family Case Conference
Another way to work out changes to a family order if you can't agree is to request a Judicial Case Conference (JCC) in Supreme Court or a Family Case Conference (FCC) in Provincial Court. In either court, you can ask to have a case conference to settle your differences; in some cases, you'll have to attend a conference before your case can go forward.
Mediation
You could hire a private mediator, a neutral professional who is trained to help people settle their differences. Although you would have to pay for this service, the cost of a successful mediation is normally much lower than the cost of going to court.
Under some circumstances, you can force your spouse to attend mediation if your case is in Supreme Court.
Parenting After Separation course
You might find a Parenting After Separation course very helpful. It's a free, three-hour-long information session for BC parents — and other family members, such as grandparents or guardians — who are dealing with child custody, guardianship, access, and support issues. In some places, you must attend this course before going to Provincial Court to get an order.
If you reach an agreement outside of court: next steps
One of the alternatives listed above might help you and your spouse come to an agreement. If so, the easiest way to proceed is to file a signed, written agreement with either the Provincial or Supreme Court. The court can then enforce the sections about custody, access, guardianship, child/spousal support, and/or property as if they were a court order. You can choose this option even if you haven't filed any court documents related to your case. It's important to get legal advice before signing any agreement.
If you've already filed documents to start an action (an application in Provincial Court or a Notice of Family Claim in Supreme Court), you can apply for a consent order (also known as an "initial" order) that reflects the agreement you've made. For more information, see our self-help guide How to get a final family order in Supreme Court if you agree. If your case is in Provincial Court, you can get a consent order there under Rule 14.
Once all of the other issues are settled, you can apply for an undefended divorce in Supreme Court. The judge will make a desk order, which means you won't have to appear in court. To fill out the papers yourself, use our self-help guide.
Tip: If you need a divorce, it's simpler and less expensive to get orders for custody, access, guardianship, and/or support first in Provincial Court, and then apply only for a divorce and a property settlement in Supreme Court. For more information, see the fact sheet Do you need to go to Provincial (Family) Court or Supreme Court?
If you still can't agree
If none of the options just described works for you, and you still need help to get or change a family order for custody, access, guardianship, and/or support, use one of our self-help guides. The process for getting a contested divorce is complicated and can take many paths, so we don't offer a guide for it on this website.
You don't have to have a lawyer to get a divorce, whether defended or undefended, but it's strongly recommended that you get some form of legal advice, especially if you need to settle issues about property, custody, access, guardianship, or support.
If you don't have a lawyer to represent you, the Justice Access Centre Self-Help and Information Services in Vancouver can help you get the information you need to prepare your own case for a contested divorce. You'll need to go to the centre in person, or you can use their online self-help resources.
If you live in other parts of the province, your nearest BC Courthouse Library might be able to help you research how to do a contested divorce.
To download the forms, go to our Court forms page.
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