I Received a Notice of Family Claim. What Now?

What do you do when some stranger shows up at your door and serves you with your ex-spouse’s Notice of Family Claim (BC Supreme Court) or an Application to Obtain an Order (in the Provincial Court)? First, take a deep breath! Second, pick up the phone and call a Vancouver Family Lawyer before doing anything. It is crucial to start your case right. 

Getting served with court documents is one of the most stressful and heart-wrenching experiences you may have in your family proceedings. You may have never walked inside a courtroom in your life or been involved in litigation. Litigation is serious and stressful. So the first thing you should do is to accept that there are issues you should deal with. The second thing is to know how to deal with them.

Here are four things you need to know or do when you are served with a Notice of Family Claim:

1. Carefully Read the Notice of Family Claim – You often Have 30 days to Respond

What is it that your spouse is asking from you? Is it child support, spousal support, divorce or property division? Each of these issues needs to be dealt with separately and you need to fully know your rights and limitations before you respond to the Notice of Family Claim. You have 30 days to respond and it is crucial to know whether your ex-spouse is even entitled to ask what they are asking from you.

If the issue is:

1. Divorce – check to see if your spouse has filed your marriage certificate. If not, you need to do it if you agree with Divorce.
2. Spousal Support – you will need to fill out a Financial Statement of Statement of Finances within 30 days of being served with the Notice of Family Claim.
3. Child Support – you will need to fill out a Financial Statement of Statement of Finances within 30 days of being served with the Notice of Family Claim.
4. Property Division – you will need to fill out a Financial Statement of Statement of Finances within 30 days of being served with the Notice of Family Claim.

2. Respond to the Notice of Family Claim by Filling and Serving the Response Form.

You can find the Response form here for the BC Supreme Court or here for the BC Provincial Court. In this form, you need to say whether you agree or disagree with the claims your ex-spouse is making against you. So if you do not agree with Divorce, you check: disagree in front of the divorce claim.

If there are other claims made against your in the Notice of Family Claim, then you need to summarize the claims and indicate whether you agree or disagree with them.

3. File and Serve a BC Counter Claim if you have Claims Against your Spouse

The Counter Claim is where you can make your own claims against your ex-spouse. So for example, your spouse may only claim divorce and spousal support against you. But if the children are with you, you are entitled to make a child support claim against your spouse or a claim for division of property if you and your spouse have family property together.

Take extreme care when you are completing your counterclaim. If you do not claim for things you are entitled to in the counterclaim, the court may not grant everything you are entitled to in your family law case.

4. Your Spouse will then have 14 days to Respond to your Counter Claim

Once you have filed and served your BC Counter Claim on your spouse, he or she will have 14 days to respond to your counterclaim and say whether he or she agrees with the claims you have made against him or her.

Your spouse will also have to complete a Financial Statement or Statement of Finances if there are monetary claims made against or on behalf of him/her.

Once the above 4 steps are completed, you and your spouse will need to take the next court steps such as setting down a Notice of Application, Attending a Judicial Case Conference, booking a trial date, etc.

Family litigation is complex and requires the assistance of a BC family lawyer who is familiar with the court rules and procedures. Make sure you take steps to fully protect your rights.

For questions or to set up an initial consultation, call us at 604-974-9529 or contact us.