Introduction
Court operations during COVID-19
Because of COVID-19, many conferences, hearings, and proceedings are being held by phone or videoconference at this time. For more information, see:Before you begin
- If you don't have an order already, Start a family law case to get a new order in Provincial Court.
- To change an existing court order, Start a family law case to change an order in Provincial Court.
Who this guide is for
This step-by-step guide is for people who want to apply for an interim order in the Provincial (Family) Court of BC if you and the other person don't agree on what the order should say. This includes orders about:
- parenting,
- child support, or
- spousal support.
Get legal help
It's a good idea to get some legal help before you begin a guide. If you can't afford a lawyer, there are other ways to get legal help, including:
Fill out the forms
You'll need:
- a copy of the Application to Obtain an Order used to open your family law case
- the Notice of Motion (Form 16)
- an Affidavit (Form 17)
- a Financial Statement (Form 4), if needed
For example, if you're asking for an interim order about parenting, child support, and spousal support, but your Application to Obtain an Order (or the counterclaim on your Reply) doesn't say you want spousal support, you'll have to file another Application to Obtain an Order (or counterclaim) saying you're asking for spousal support before you can file the Notice of Motion.
Make copies of the documents
You'll need:
- Four complete sets of the documents you've prepared.
Keep all the original forms (with any attachments) as one set. You will give this set to the court (called the Court file copy).
Make three sets of photocopies:
- A set for you (the Applicant's copy)
- A set for the other person (the Respondent's copy)
- A set for the person who will serve the application (called the Proof of service copy)
File the documents and get a date for the hearing
You'll need:
- All four complete sets of your documents
You file your documents at the Family Court registry where the Application to Obtain an Order was filed.
Take your documents to the Family Court registry and give them to the registry clerk.
The registry will give you a date for your court hearing. Write that each copy of on the Notice of Motion.
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.
Give the documents to the other person
You'll need:
- the other person's address for service
- the respondent's copy of the documents
- the proof of service copy of the documents
You can serve the documents on the other person by sending or delivering them to their address for service. That is the address the other person listed on the Reply or the Application to Obtain an Order.
If the address for service includes an email address, you can email the documents. If the address for service doesn't include an email address, don't email the documents, even if you know the other person's (or their lawyer's) email address.
See our guide Serve Provincial Court documents for information about how to serve a document and complete the Affidavit of Personal Service
Prepare for and attend the hearing
Prepare for the hearing
To be properly prepared for your hearing, you need to:
- know what happens in court, and
- prepare a trial book.
These are described in detail in Preparing to attend a Provincial Court trial. (Your hearing will be more informal than a full trial. But the general information about what to expect in the courtroom and how to prepare will apply.)
Attend the hearing
For a detailed description of what you can expect at your trial, see What happens at a Provincial Court family law trial?
Get the order
At the end of the hearing, the judge either:
- gives a decision right away, or
- reserves their decision to a later date.
If the decision isn't made that day:
- the clerk will give you a date to come back to court and hear the judge give their decision, or
- the registry will contact you later to give you a date to come and hear the decision.
Sometimes the judge writes a decision that's mailed to you both. Written decisions can be long. Usually the judge will state at the end what orders are being made.
The registry clerk will prepare the order if neither party has a lawyer, as required by the Provincial (Family) Court Rules. If only one party has a lawyer, usually that lawyer will draft the order.
The order is effective as soon as the judge makes it, unless they specify a different date.
Register the order with the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (if you want)
If you receive a child or spousal support order, you may wish to register your order with the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP). FMEP is a provincial government service that helps people get the support (maintenance) payments the judge orders.
For more information, see Family Maintenance Enforcement Program on the Family Justice (Attorney General ministry) website.
For information about how to contact the FMEP, see the FMEP website.
You've now gone through all the steps required to get an interim family order in Provincial Court. Thank you for using our step-by-step guide.