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Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Family Law in British Columbia"

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To get to court, you must start a court proceeding and tell the court what you want. In the Provincial Court, proceedings are started with a court form called an Application to Obtain an Order. In the Supreme Court, the court form is called a Notice of Family Claim. In the Provincial Court, the person who starts a court proceeding is called the ''applicant''; in the Supreme Court, this person is the ''claimant''.
To get to court, you must start a court proceeding and tell the court what you want. In the Provincial Court, proceedings are started with a court form called an Application to Obtain an Order. In the Supreme Court, the court form is called a Notice of Family Claim. In the Provincial Court, a person who starts a court proceeding is called the ''applicant''; in the Supreme Court, this person is the ''claimant''.


Once a court proceeding has started, the person whom the proceeding has been brought against can answer the claims being made and make new claims. In the Provincial Court, this answer is called a Reply. In the Supreme Court, two court forms can be used: a Response to Family Claim and a Counterclaim. In the Provincial Court and in the Supreme Court, the person answering a court proceeding is called the ''respondent''.
Once a court proceeding has started, the people against whom the proceeding has been brought can answer the claims being made and make new claims of their own. In the Provincial Court, this answer is called a Reply. In the Supreme Court, two court forms can be used: a Response to Family Claim and a Counterclaim. In the Provincial Court and in the Supreme Court, a person answering a court proceeding is called the ''respondent''.


Applicants and respondents (in the Provincial Court), and claimants and respondents (in the Supreme Court), are called the ''parties'' to the court proceeding.
Applicants and respondents (in the Provincial Court), and claimants and respondents (in the Supreme Court), are called the ''parties'' to the court proceeding.


After the respondent has filed a reply to the claim, both parties can ask the court to make an ''order'' about some or all of the issues raised in the court proceeding. An order is a decision of a judge that requires someone to do something or not do something. For example, a court can make an order that a child live mostly with one party, an order that one party not harass the other, or an order that one party have the family car.
After the respondent has filed a reply to the claim, any of the parties can ask the court to make an order about some or all of the issues raised in the court proceeding. An ''order'' is a decision of a judge that requires someone to do something or not do something. For example, a court can make an order that a child live mostly with one party, an order that one party not harass another party, or an order that one party have the family car.


Orders can be made ''by consent'', which means that they are made with the agreement of both people. If the couple can't agree on the terms of the order, they must go to a hearing before a judge and have the judge decide the terms of the order. There are two types of order: an ''interim order'', which is any order made before trial; and, a ''final order'', which is an order made at the end of a trial. A ''trial'' is the final hearing before a judge that concludes the court proceeding.
Orders can be made ''by consent'', which means that they are made with the agreement of the parties. If the parties can't agree on the terms of the order, they must go to a hearing before a judge and have the judge decide the terms of the order. There are two types of order: an ''interim order'', which is any order made before trial; and, a ''final order'', which is an order made at the end of a trial. A ''trial'' is the final hearing before a judge, where the parties present their arguments and evidence, that concludes the court proceeding.


If you don't like the order you get from the judge, you cans sometimes challenge the order before a higher level of court in a court proceeding called an ''appeal''. An order of the Provincial Court is appealed to the Supreme Court. An order of the Supreme Court is appealed to the Court of Appeal. You cannot appeal an order that you agreed to.
If you don't like the order you get from the judge, you cans sometimes challenge the order before a higher level of court in a court proceeding called an ''appeal''. An order of the Provincial Court is appealed to the Supreme Court. An order of the Supreme Court is appealed to the Court of Appeal. You cannot appeal an order that you agreed to.