The Supreme Court

If you are planning on starting your family claim in BC, you must first make sure either you or your spouse have lived in this province for at least 1 year before seeking a divorce or other claims. If you are new to BC and have been a resident for less than a year and are in a rush to obtain a divorce, I suggest you begin your claim in the province or city you resided in immediately before living in BC.

Filing your Family Claim at the BC Supreme Court

1. You must file a form in the BC Supreme Court called the Notice of Family Claim, and serve a copy of this form on your spouse by personal service. To find the form, please click here.
2. Personal Service means you must have someone who is not yourself or someone under 19 years of age to personally serve your spouse. You cannot serve your spouse by mail, registered mail, express mail, fax, email, etc. Process servers are best to serve your spouse because they are third parties who are neutral and have nothing to gain/lose by serving him/her.
3. Your spouse will then have 30 days to respond to your claim. He or she will have to file Form 4 or Response to Notice of Family Claim at the BC Supreme Court. To find the form, please click here.
4. If your spouse thinks he or she has a claim against you, he/she will have to file a Counter Claim which is in Form 5. The Form can be found here.
5. You will then have 30 days to respond to the Counter Claim. To find the appropriate form, click here.
6. Once all originating pleadings (the above-noted forms) are completed, you and your spouse will have to file Financial Statements. These forms provide a snapshot of your income, expenses, assets and debts for the judge and your spouse. These forms can be complicated especially when you have a company or work for yourself. It is always recommended to seek the assistance of a family lawyer to complete these forms because these are sworn forms so if you make a mistake or omit things, that can be used against you to discredit you in the future. Financial Statements can be found here.
7. Once that is done, you and your spouse will often have to attend a mandatory Judicial Case Conference before litigating. This is an informal meeting between you, your spouse, your lawyers and a judge who is in a confidential setting, will try to get you and your spouse to settle your claims. If no agreement is reached at the JCC, then you will have to book a trial and litigate until a decision is made on your case.