How Do I Tell Everyone That I'm Representing Myself?

It often happens that someone who was represented by a lawyer winds up representing themselves. When this happens, you must notify the other parties and the court of the change.

In cases before the Provincial Court, a Notice of Removal of Lawyer for Party in Form 43 is filled out and filed in court. You or your soon-to-be-former lawyer can take that step. Copies of the filed form then need to be served on the other parties. You don't have to personally serve the other parties; you can send the form by mail (or if applicable, email) to their addresses for service.

In cases before the Supreme Court, you have to fill out a Notice of Intention to Act in Person in Form F88, file it in court, and serve copies on the other parties by ordinary service to their official address for service, which could be by email or mail (or fax if they did not list an email address).

The forms are available online. See Legal Aid BC's Family Law website's online list of forms.

You can find more information about the procedure for serving documents from Legal Aid BC’s Family Law website and the information page on Serving Documents.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Elham Jalilian, September 18, 2023.

JP Boyd on Family Law © John-Paul Boyd and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.

Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."

A court established and staffed by the provincial government, which includes Small Claims Court, Youth Court, and Family Court. The Provincial Court is the lowest level of court in British Columbia and is restricted in the sorts of matters it can deal with. It is, however, the most accessible of the two trial courts and no fees are charged to begin or defend a family law proceeding. The Family Court of the Provincial Court cannot deal with the division of family property or any claims under the Divorce Act. See "Divorce Act," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

A person licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction by that jurisdiction's law society. See "barrister and solicitor."

In law, to formally deliver documents to a person in a manner that complies with the rules of court. Service may be ordinary (mailed or delivered to a litigant's address for service), personal (hand-delivered to a person), or substituted (performed in a way other than the rules normally require). See "address for delivery," "ordinary service," "personal service" and "substituted service."

Sending legal documents to a party at that party's "address for service," usually by mail, fax, or email. Certain documents, like a Notice of Family Claim, must be served on the other party by personal service. Most other documents may be served by ordinary service. See also "address for service" and "personal service."

The address at which a party to a court proceeding agrees to accept delivery of legal documents. An address for service must be a proper street address within British Columbia; additional addresses for service may include postal addresses, fax numbers, and email addresses.