I Have a Notice of Application…how do I get it heard?

If you have an interim Family Law Notice of Application to be heard at the BC Supreme Court (and you have no BC family lawyer to assist), you should follow these 6 steps which will ensure your Notice of Application will be heard and not bounced or not heard!

Family Law Notice of Application Record at the BC Supreme Court

1. Be sure to include the Notice of Application and all the materials that you would be relying on, such as family law affidavits, financial statements, and any previous Orders. So if you go in front of the judge and give evidence that is not already included in your materials or binder, the court may not allow your evidence to go in or be given any weight.
2. Make sure that you put each document under a separate tab in your Chambers Binder and make an index so that you, the judge and the opposing party can flip through the binder with ease when you are referencing evidence.
3. You should also include the opposing party’s Application Response and their response affidavits so that the Judge has easy reference to both arguments. The judge needs to have your evidence and the other party’s evidence in front of him/her. Remember, Chambers is always very busy so you need to be organized and make sure the judge can navigate through your family law stuff easily.
4. Create a cover sheet that includes the style of cause of your family law matter, contact information for both parties and their lawyers (if there are any) date, time and the time estimate of the Application.
5. Be sure to have an extra copy of the Notice of Application attached to the top of the binder. This gives the registry a quick reference to the date, time, issues and time estimate is for your Application.
6. You will need to serve the opposing party at the same time with the index to your Application Record so that they can prepare their own binder for the hearing.

Filing your Application Record

1. Your Application Record must be filed with the court registry no later than the date that is “one full business day before the date set for the hearing”. For example, your Application is set for Friday, October 17 at 9:45 am. You will need to file your Application Record by no later than 4:00 pm on Wednesday, October 15. If your Application Record is not provided to the Registry on time, your matter will not be placed on the hearing list and it will not get heard which is tragic.

Bonus tip for adjourning your Family Law Notice of Application:

If you and the other party have agreed to adjourn the hearing to a later date, you will have to file a Requisition in Form 17 found here with the Registry informing them of the new date set. You can file this Requisition up until 9:00 am on the date of the hearing. After 9:00 am, you need to attend in person before chambers commence and inform the clerk and/or speak before the judge or master that you have agreed to adjourn the matter.

Family Law at the BC Supreme Court can be extremely complicated. For more information or to set up an INITIAL CONSULTATION with a Family Lawyer in BC, contact us at 604-974-9529 or email us!