How Do I Waive Filing Fees in the Supreme Court?
Substantive edits complete, but this page requires further editing. Formatting and links need to be checked. Content has passed substantive edits and should be up-to-date for the new Family Law Act, but may contain mistakes, broken links, formatting problems and other errors. |
"Indigent" means being broke, flat broke.
The Supreme Court registry charges certain fees for a whole host of common court activities, such as for filing court forms and making applications to a judge. Some of these fees can be quite high and become a barrier to someone seeking access to the justice system. These fees are set out in Appendix C of the Supreme Court Family Rules.
Rule 20-5 allows the court to waive all or some of these fees for all or part of a court proceeding if the court is satisfied that you are indigent. You must make application for a finding that you are indigent.
Making the Application
Most people apply for indigent status at the same time that they're filing their Notice of Family Claim, a Response to Family Claim or Counterclaim. The point, of course, is to avoid the fees that you'd normally pay to file these documents. You can also apply for indigent status in the middle of a court proceeding if need to.
The court registry will have blanks of the forms you need to fill out. You'll need a Requisition in Form F17 and an Affidavit in Form F86. The Affidavit will require you to describe the amount and sources of your income, your monthly expenses, your job skills and your education.
If you file your materials before 10:00am, the registry will likely send you before a judge that morning, otherwise you may have to wait for the next day chambers is held. You do not have to give notice to the other side of your intention to make this application, and no fees are charged to apply for indigent status.
When your application is called, you'll have to explain to the master or judge why it is that you can't afford the court fees. Living on welfare, Employment Insurance, Old Age Security or CPP benefits is usually enough; it will be helpful if you can provide copies of your welfare statements, EI statements or other evidence to prove your income. If the court allows your application, you can then go back to the registry and file your pleadings — and all future materials — free of charge. If the court doesn't allow your application, well, you'll have to pay and that's that.
Exceptions to the Rule
It is important to know that the court has an unlimited discretion to grant or refuse applications for indigent status. More importantly, even if you are broke, Rule 20-5(1) sets out three specific grounds for the court to refuse your application:
- if your claim is unreasonable, or if your defence to the claimant's claim is unreasonable;
- if your claim is "scandalous, frivolous or vexatious"; or,
- if your claim or your defence is, for any other reason, an "abuse of the process of the court."
In other words, if you're one of those people who sues the Queen, the Prime Minister, the Premier and the Attorney General every time they sue their neighbour for playing their music too loudly, you can expect that your application for indigent status will be turfed. If your claim is legitimate and well-founded, and you meet the general criteria for indigency, you should expect to be awarded indigent status.
|