How Do I Change Something in My Response to Family Claim or Counterclaim?

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The information below applies to claims in the Supreme Court, not the Provincial Court.

The pleadings[edit]

Pleadings are the documents that start a court proceeding or reply to a court proceeding. For the person who is replying to a court proceeding, the respondent, these documents are usually:

  • Response to Family Claim in Form F4
  • Counterclaim in Form F5

For the person who starts a proceeding, the claimant, this is:

  • Notice of Family Claim in Form F3
  • Response to Counterclaim in Form F6 (if the respondent has filed a Counterclaim in Form F5)

Sometimes a party's pleadings need to be changed, or amended. Usually, a change is required because a fact is wrong, like a date or a name. At other times, a change is required to raise a new defence or to make a new claim.

For example, say a spouse had a job when an action was started against them, but lost it halfway through the case. If that spouse now needs spousal support but didn't make that claim as the respondent in their Form F5 Counterclaim, they would need to amend their pleadings to include the new claim.

The rules[edit]

Pleadings are important because they describe the basic nuts and bolts of a party's claim or defence, and the facts that are said to support the claim or defence. They are the foundation of the court proceeding and the basis upon which each party will prepare for trial. As a result, there are special rules about amending pleadings. These are set out in Rule 8-1 of the Supreme Court Family Rules.

Firstly, you can't just amend your pleadings when you feel like it:

  • under Rule 8-1(1)(a), you can make one set of changes, however major or minor, at any time before the Notice of Trial has been filed,
  • under Rule 8-1(1)(b), you can make another set of changes with the written consent of the other party, and
  • to make changes in any other circumstances, you'll first need to get the court's permission.

Secondly, you must mark all of your amendments. All of the changes are to be underlined to make it obvious exactly what's been changed. When a lot of text has been changed, say the size of a whole paragraph or more, the lines can be made to run up the left and right sides of the amended text instead of under each and every line of text.

Next, the title of the changed document always starts with the word Amended, such as the Amended Counterclaim, to distinguish the new, changed document from the original. When an amended document is amended again, the title of the new document begins with the phrase Further Amended, as in the Further Amended Counterclaim.

You'll also need to add some information to the top of the first page to indicate why you were able to change your pleadings, and when the original document was filed. For example, for a change made before delivery of the Notice of Trial, you would write:

Amended pursuant to Rule 8-1(1)(a).

Original filed on 25 October 2012.

Finally, you must file the amended documents in the court registry where the action was started. You must then serve the new pleadings on the other side by ordinary service within seven days.


This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Mark Norton, September 14, 2023.


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