Get a final family order in Provincial Court if you both agree

Going to trial to get a final order from a judge can take a long time and can be very expensive. But if you and the other person can agree about how to settle your issues, you can get final orders without going through a trial and, sometimes, without even going to court or starting a court action. You have three options for getting a final order:

Do you have to go to court?

If you and the other person agree on what you want in your family order, then you may not have to go to court. It's often possible to agree on the terms of an order, especially for child support. This is partly because the child support guidelines clearly set out the amount of support that must be paid.

The procedure for getting a family order when both parties agree is easier and less stressful than preparing for a hearing if you don't agree. It usually doesn't require you go to court. However, consider getting legal advice about your specific situation before committing to an order in a family case.

You'll need:

• a Request (Form 18),
• a Consent (Form 19),
• a draft Consent Order (Form 20) containing the details of the order you want, and
• affidavits to support the order.

Complete a Request, a Consent, a draft Consent Order, and affidavits to support the order. You can do this at any time after

• you've filed your Application to Obtain an Order and the required financial information,
• and the other person has filed a Reply and their financial information.

f you need help with these forms, see Where can you get help with filling out court forms?.

See Checklist of information to include in an affidavit or bring to court and How do you write an affidavit? if you aren't sure what to put into your affidavit.

Make three complete sets of the forms you prepared in Step 1.

Keep all the original forms (with any attachments) as one set. This will be the set that you give to the registry (the Court file copy). Then make two sets of photocopies:

• A set for you (the Applicant’s copy)
• A set for the other person (the Respondent’s copy)

You'll need:

• all three sets of copies of your completed documents

Take the completed forms (and the copies you made of them) to the Family Court Registry.

Give the documents to the registry clerk. (If the registry clerk won't accept your documents, find out why and get some legal advice.)

The registry clerk will keep one set of the documents for the court file copy, and will stamp the other copies and return them to you.

A judge will review your filed documents. You must provide enough information to the judge to support your request, especially if parenting and support are involved.

The judge may approve and sign your order if they are satisfied that your order is appropriate and that you and the other person agree.

If the judge isn't satisfied or needs more information, registry staff will contact you to tell you that you have to appear before a judge and ask for the order (see Step 5).

If the judge wants more information or has concerns about the arrangements you've agreed to, one or both of you may be asked to appear before the judge to explain your application.

If this happens, bring along copies of all your completed forms and financial records so you can explain your application.

If the judge finds your application all in order, they will sign the order. Registry staff will send you a certified copy of the consent order.

The order is effective as soon as the judge makes it, unless the judge specifies a different date.

You've now gone through all the steps required to get a final family order in Provincial Court.

Thank you for using our step-by-step guide.