How Do I Respond to a Family Law Action in the Provincial Court?

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While the new Provincial Court Family Rules and its forms no longer call one party the applicant and the other party the respondent, these terms are still used around the courthouse and in published reasons for judgment. Once you have been served with the other party's Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter, that person becomes the applicant, and you become the respondent. You have 30 days to file a form called a Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter, which is available at provincial court registries or online. A copy may have been delivered to you with the Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter.

As the respondent, you must file your Form 6 reply at the same court registry that the Form 3 application was filed, and you can tell which registry this is by looking at the box at the upper right-hand corner of the form. There are no fees charged to file your Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter.

You have 30 days to file your Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter from the date you were served, not 30 days from the date the Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter was filed in court.

When you fill out your Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter, you will be asked to indicate which parts of the Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter you agree with and which you disagree with. The form can also be used to make a claim of your own against the applicant, this is called a counter application and can be made by ticking the box at the top right-hand corner of the first page of the Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter. If you are the respondent don't need to file a Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter of your own.

After you have filed your Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter, the court may schedule a date for you to meet with a family justice counsellor and you may be required to attend a Parenting After Separation course or Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families course, depending on which registry the application was filed in. The registry will take care of scheduling your meeting with the family justice counsellor, but it's up to you to arrange for the Parenting After Separation course or Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families course.

If the applicant is making a claim for child support or spousal support, you will also have to fill out and file a Form 4 Financial Statement. If such a claim is being made, you will normally be given a blank Form 4 Financial Statement at the same time you are served with the Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter.

Once the applicant receives your Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter, and if you’ve made a counter application, they can file a Form 8 Reply to a Counter Application in which they can agree to one or more of the orders in the Counter Application or disagree with any order requested, stating their reason for disagreement and proposing a new order. The Form 8 Reply to a Counter Application must be filed within 30 days of them being served with the Form 6 Reply to Application About a Family Law Matter with a counter application.


This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Matt Ostrow, September 19, 2023.


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