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

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.

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."

In law, a person named as an applicant, claimant, respondent, or third party in a court proceeding; someone asserting a claim in a court proceeding or against whom a claim has been brought. See "action" and "litigant."

A party who brings an application to the court for a specific order or remedy. Usually refers to the party making an interim application, but in the Provincial Court applicant also means the person who starts a court proceeding. See also "court proceeding," "application respondent," and "interim application."

The person against whom a claim has been brought by Notice of Family Claim. See “application” and “Notice of Family Claim."

A judge's conclusions after hearing argument and considering the evidence presented at a trial or an application; a decision, the judge's reasons. A judge's written or oral decision will include the judge's conclusions about the relief or remedies claimed as well as the judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law. A written decision is called the judge’s "reasons for judgment." See "common law," "conclusion of law," "finding of fact" and "final judgment."

A legal document required by the Provincial Court Family Rules to respond to a claim made in an applicant's Application to Obtain an Order. See "applicant," "Application to Obtain an Order," "claim" and "Counterclaim."

In law, an answer or rebuttal to a claim made or a defence raised by the other party to a court proceeding or legal dispute. See "action," "claim," "defence" and "rebut."

A central office, located in each judicial district, at which the court files for each court proceeding in that district are maintained, and at which legal documents can be filed, searched and reviewed.

(1) A central office, located in each judicial district, at which the court files for each court proceeding in that district are maintained, and at which legal documents can be filed, searched, and reviewed, or (2) a courthouse.

(1) The assertion of a legal right to an order or to a thing; (2) the remedy or relief sought by a party to a court proceeding.

A request to the court that it make a specific order, usually on an interim or temporary basis, also called a "chambers application" or a "motion." See also "interim application" and "relief."

Money paid by one parent or guardian to another parent or guardian as a contribution toward the cost of a child's living and other expenses.

A payment made by one spouse to the other spouse to help with the recipient's day-to-day living expenses or to compensate the recipient for the financial choices the spouses made during the relationship.

A legal document required by the rules of court in which a party to a court proceeding involving child support, spousal support, the division of property, or the division of debt must describe their income, expenses, assets, and liabilities under oath or affirmation. The Provincial Court Family Rules and the Supreme Court Family Rules each have a form called Financial Statement. See "affirm," "oath," and "perjury."

A mandatory direction of the court that is binding and enforceable upon the parties to a court proceeding. An "interim order" is a temporary order made following the hearing of an interim application. A "final order" is a permanent order, made following the trial of the court proceeding or the parties' settlement, following which the only recourse open to a dissatisfied party is to appeal. Failing to abide by the terms of an order may constitute contempt of court. See "appeal," "consent order," "contempt of court," "decision" and "declaration."