8 Unknown
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.51
15. Click in the box beside This form is complete and ready for submission.
16. For the jurat: the Affidavit is being sworn at Vancouver before Gail B. Amherst. Leave the date open.
17. Click on Save Form.
ASSUME: You file Forms F35, F52, F15, F17, F36, F38 and F37
ASSUME: You have prepared a cheque for filing fees
CLIENT FOLDER ASSEMBLY
For this simulation you would file documents at the court registry three times: 1. The first time you go to the registry to file the F3 and the F8. The court clerk would stamp the court case number on the first page of each document. You would fasten a copy of these documents on the left side of the folder and a copy of the cheque on the right side. (You ASSUMED that you made a cheque this time.) 2. The second time you would take the F35 along with the rest of the required documents to the court registry along with a cheque to pay for filing the Requisition for Desk Order Divorce.
As you prepare documents for filing for divorce, you would fasten a copy of each of the court documents on the left side of the folder.
3. After the Final Order has been made, you would then prepare the Bill of Costs and take it to the court registry.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.52
RE Divorce
DATE November 17, 2023
CLIENT IDENTIFICATION
FULL NAME OF CLIENT: MEGHAN PEARL BAUER (she/her/hers)
TELEPHONE
(Home) 778-397-1372
(Cell) 778-397-2241
ADDRESS
#5-1820 Mary Hill Road
E-MAIL: bauer_mp@telus.net
Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3C 1A5
At this residence since August 1, 2017
BIRTH DATE
November 12, 1988
BIRTHPLACE: Rosthern, SK
BC RESIDENT SINCE
August 1, 2017
SIN
648-093-122
OCCUPATION
Correctional Officer
INCOME:
$67,233.55
EMPLOYER:
B.C. Public Service
TELEPHONE: 604-468-3500
North Fraser Pretrial Centre
1451 Kingsway Avenue
Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 1S2
PARTICULARS OF MARRIAGE/RELATIONSHIP
COMMENCEMENT DATE OF COMMON-LAW RELATIONSHIP, if any:
DATE OF MARRIAGE
June 30, 2017
Place: Hague, SK
DATE OF SEPARATION
November 7, 2022
SEPARATION AGREEMENT
N/A
PARTICULARS OF THE PAST, CARE OF CHILDREN
CLIENT
SPOUSE
STATUS BEFORE MARRAGE
SINGLE
SINGLE
NAME BEFORE MARRIAGE
MEGHAN PEARL BEUKERT
LUCAS PAUL BAUER
SURNAME AT BIRTH
BEUKERT
BAUER
SPOUSE IDENTIFICATION
NAME OF SPOUSE
LUCAS PAUL BAUER (he/him/his)
TELEPHONE
(Cell) 778-668-1234
(Work) 604-882-5051
ADDRESS
# 12 2488 Pitt River Road
E-MAIL: lpbauer@shaw.ca
Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 1L3
At this residence since November 15, 2019
BIRTH DATE
May 2, 1984
BIRTHPLACE: Wakaw, SK
BC RESIDENT SINCE
August 1, 2017
SIN 643-688-931
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.53
Heavy Duty Mechanic
INCOME $75,000
EMPLOYER:
Great West Equipment
TELEPHONE: 604-882-5051
19067 – 94th Ave
Surrey, BC V4N 3S4
CHILDREN
NAME
SEX
BIRTH DATE
PLACE OF BIRTH
Jacob Michael Bauer
Male
March 23, 2018
Wakaw, SK
Caden Brody Bauer
Male
December 30, 2019
Saskatoon, SK
Noah Nicholas Bauer
Male
September 17, 2020
Coquitlam, BC
REAL PROPERTY: None
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.54
GA 7 SIMULATION—FLEURY UNDEFENDED DIVORCE
In this simulation you are legal administrative assistant for Gail B. Amherst of Amherst Brown & Company. Ms. Amherst has interviewed John Fleury and has given you the Fleury Client Information Sheet she has prepared. She asks you to open a client folder.
(On-campus classes will submit the client folder for grading when GA 7 has been completed.
Online classes will submit the File Contents List and the required documents.) Documents/files you need:
• Fleury Client Information Sheet, from the data file folder
• Go to: Google “Family Forms Supreme BC” and download and save: o F3; F15; F 17; F35; F52; F36; F38
Note: because forms are revised without notice, it is important to always download the
forms from the Supreme Court or the AG of BC Website.
You open the Fleury Client Folder
1. Prepare the client folder and File Opening Card
a. Use the format given to you in the instructions at Appendix 1, pages 2-4. The matter will be Divorce. The file number is on the Client Information Sheet.
2. Fasten the Fleury Client Information Sheet to the right side of the client folder.
Fleury File: Commencement, Notification, and Disclosure
Today is November 20, 2023
Ms. Amherst stops by your desk to let you know she will be in court for the morning and early afternoon. She hands you the following notes and asks you to prepare the F3 on the Fleury file.
She would also like you to call the agent who files documents for the firm to pick up at about 3
p.m. all of the documents that must be filed at the Vancouver Registry. The agent will take the Fleury F3 along with the other documents to the Court Registry for filing.
Ms. Amherst will return to the office at about 2 p.m. and will sign any documents that need to be signed then.
You prepare the Fleury F3 Notice of Family Claim.
1. Open the F3 pdf file and save it as GA7F3YourName.
2. Leave the Court File No. blank: the court clerk will assign a number and stamp it on the document when it is filed.
3. Select the Vancouver Registry from the dropdown menu. (Note: this information will be automatically added to section 6.
4. Fill information about the Claimant.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.55
b. Click on Relationship and key: married to the Respondent, Carol Anne Fleury.
c. Click on Address for Service and select the box next to Counsel Address.
i. Key in the address for Amherst Brown & Company, inserting Gail’s name for
“Counsel Name” and the name of the firm for “Address Line 1”: 5432 Pender Street West, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V3L 5B2. Note that this information automatically fills in section 7.
ii. Include the fax number—604-555-0151, but do not key in the e-mail address because Ms. Amherst does not want to receive e-mail messages about client files.
d. Click the blue Close button.
5. Fill information about the Respondent
a. Fill in the name.
b. Click on Relationship and key: married to the Claimant, John Joseph Fleury.
6. Complete the next 7 sections of the Notice of Family Claim (note: these section numbers will change in the print preview screen, the below noted section numbers correspond to the data entry screen)
Section 4—Information about the parties.
Notice that this has filled in automatically.
Section 5—Spousal relationship history
Get the information from the Fleury client information sheet.
Section 6—Prior court proceedings and agreements
There are none
Section 7—The Claimant’s Claims
The only relief Mr. Fleury is asking for is divorce.
Section 8—Place of trial
At the dropdown menu, choose Vancouver Law Courts.
Section 9—Address of the registry
Notice that this has filled in automatically.
Section 10—Address for service
Notice that this has filled in automatically when you chose Counsel Address. You can edit the address so that it is properly formatted (see page 7.12 for example).
Certificates: click on boxes beside both certificates and fill out corresponding names
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.56
Section 1—Personal Information—use the Client Information Sheet Section 2—Grounds for divorce—separation for one year—no attempt to reconcile Section 3—There is no possibility of reconciliation. There has been no collusion Section 4—Proof of Marriage–A marriage certificate has been filed.
Section 5—Children—There are no children of the marriage.
8. Click on “Preview and Sign Document”:
• Ms. Amherst will be signing for the claimant (complete signature spots on pages 3 and 4, date it November 20, 2023 using the correct format for the date)
• Check the box for the Party’s Certificate on page 7 and complete any missing information
• Check the box for the Legal Adviser’s certificate on page 8 and complete any missing information
9. Save the changes.
10. Print one copy of the Fleury F3. Fasten one copy on the left side of the client folder. In the next paragraph you will see that we are assuming that a second and perhaps more copies of the F3 were printed and Gail takes it for filing.
Ms. Amherst returned to the office at 2 p.m. on November 20. She signed the F3 and the agent picked up the documents to file at the Vancouver Court Registry. A few days later, the agent returns the filed documents to the office. The Court Registry clerk has stamped the number E90143 on the Fleury F3.
When Ms. Amherst notices that you live close to Carol Anne Fleury’s address, she asks if you would mind serving the F3 on Ms. Fleury on your way home, and prepare an F15 tomorrow.
You’ve never served a document on a respondent before and jump at the opportunity.
Today is November 26, 2023
You serve the Respondent with the F3 Notice of Family Claim.
You are a legal administrative assistant. Use your own name and the firm address for this assignment.
You knocked on Ms. Fleury’s door at 7:30 p.m. on November 26, 2023. She answered and you explained that you had a court document to give her and asked her for identification.
She produced her BC driver’s license numbered 916420. The photo on the driver’s license was a likeness of her. You handed her the F3 and a blank F4 Response.
Today is November 27, 2023
You prepare Form F15 Affidavit of Personal Service.
1. Open the F15. Save it with the name GA7F15YourName.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.57
a. In the footer on the left side of the form you should see “Last Updated 2/15/2019”. If what you see is different from that, please inform the instructor.
2. In the applicable field:
a. Key in the Court Registry number and select the Court Registry.
b. Key in the full legal names of the Claimant and the Respondent (this must match what was keyed in on the Form 3).
c. Key in your full legal name and the firm address.
d. Your occupation is Legal Administrative Assistant.
e. Fill in the date you served the document (November 26, 2023) and the time you served the document (7:30 p.m.)
f. Fill in the full legal name of the respondent.
g. Fill in Notice of Family Claim.
h. Fill in address of Respondent.
i. Select the box that says “I do not know the person served”.
j. Select the box that starts with “the person I served produced the following identification, and provide details of the identification
k. You will swear this information at the office (Vancouver) before Gail B. Amherst on November 27, 2023. To complete the affidavit you would photocopy a copy of the filed Notice of Family Claim of the clamant and attach it behind the numbered paragraphs of the Form F15, placing an exhibit stamp on the first or last page of the document. You would then number the pages of the exhibit by hand, add a backing sheet if desired by your lawyer, and staple the whole of it together to make a complete affidavit. For purposes of this exercise you are not required to fully complete this affidavit as described.
3. Save the changes.
4. Print one copy of the F15 and fasten in the client folder. If no Response is filed, you will file this original affidavit (keeping a photocopy in your file) at the Court Registry to prove the F15 was served on the Respondent.
Fleury File: Hearing
Carol Anne Fleury had 30 days to file an F4 Response to Family Claim. The court registry has 21 days to send the Claimant a notice that the Response has been filed.
How are days counted?
• RULE 21-2(1) Time periods of less than 7 days exclude holidays in counting the time period unless a specific rule says otherwise. (“Holiday” is defined in the Interpretation Act as including Sundays and the usual major holidays.) Time periods of 7 days or more count weekends and holidays.
• RULE 21-1(2), 21-2(2) The court may extend or shorten any period of time on application, and applications to extend a time period may be brought after the period has expired.
More than 51 days have passed, and Ms. Amherst asks you to prepare the documents needed to apply for the undefended divorce.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.58
For the Fleury file you will prepare: F35 Requisition; F52 Final Order; F17 Requisition; F36
Certificate of Pleading; F38 Affidavit—Desk Order Divorce.
Today is February 3, 2024
You prepare the Claimant’s F35 Requisition.
1. Open the F35 and save it with the name GA7F35YourName. In the footer on the left side of the form you should see “07/2010”. If the date is different from that, please inform your instructor.
2. Enter the court file number and registry, then the names of the Claimant and Respondent (this must match what was keyed in on the Form 3).
3. The document is being filed by the claimant, JOHN JOSEPH FLEURY.
4. Under the heading FILED WITH THIS REQUISITION ARE, select the boxes in front of draft of the order sought; proof that the case is an undefended family law case; certificate of the registrar in Form F36; filing fee; proof of service of the Notice of Family Claim; affidavit in Form F38.
5. This document will be signed by Gail B. Amherst. Leave room for the date.
6. Key Xs in the appropriate boxes. Be sure to include the name or the role of the Claimant where it says “lawyer for ______________”
7. Save the changes.
8. Print two copies of the F35. Fasten one to the left side of the Fleury client folder. Place the second copy loosely in the Fleury client folder.
You prepare the Claimant’s F52 Draft of Final Order.
Open the F52 and save it with the name GA7F52YourName. In the footer on the left side of the form you should see “last updated February 27, 2021”. If the date is different from that, please inform the instructor.
1. Enter the names of the Claimant and Respondent (this must match what was keyed in on the Form 3).
2. Select “A Master of the Court”.
3. Click on the field for 3. You should see a statement that starts with “as an undefended family law case…..”
4. Choose “Yes”.
The next field should fill in with a statement that starts with “the 31st day after….”
5. Choose “No”.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.59
7. Choose “1”.
8. Click on Generate Form and fill in the Court No. and choose the Court Registry.
9. Fill in the names of the Claimant and the Respondent, and the details of the marriage.
10. This document will be signed by Gail B. Amherst.
11. Be sure to include the name of the claimant or their role where it says “lawyer for ______________”
12. Click in the box beside This form is complete and ready for submission.
13. Click on Save Form.
14. Click on Print Form.
15. Print two copies of the F52, and fasten one to the left side of the Fleury client folder.
Place the second copy loosely in the Fleury client folder.
You prepare the Claimant’s F17 Requisition – General
1. Open the F17 Requisition-General, and save it with the name GA7F17YourName.
a. In the footer on the left side of the form you should see “last updated 07/2020”. If what you see is different from that, please inform the instructor.
2. Fill in the Court No. and choose the Court Registry.
3. Fill in the names of the Claimant and the Respondent.
4. The document is being filed by the Claimant, JOHN JOSEPH FLEURY.
5. Required is a Search for a Response to Notice of Family Claim.
6. There are no documents filed in support of the Requisition because none are needed.
Just leave this part of the F17 blank.
7. This document will be signed by Gail B. Amherst.
8. Leave room for the date.
9. Save the changes.
10. Print two copies of the F17 and fasten one to the left side of the Fleury client folder.
Place the second copy loosely in the Fleury client folder.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.60
You prepare the Claimant’s F36 Certificate of Pleadings
1. Open the F36 and save it with the name GA7F36YourName.
a. In the footer on the left side of the form you should see “last updated May 25, 2021”.
If what you see is different from that, please inform the instructor.
2. Fill in the Court No. and choose the Court Registry.
3. Fill in the names of the Claimant and the Respondent (this must match what was keyed in on the Form 3)..
4. Leave the rest of the document blank for the Register to fill in. Leave room for the date.
5. Save the changes.
6. Print two copies of the F36 and fasten one to the left side of the Fleury client folder.
Place the second copy loosely in the Fleury client folder.
Today is February 7, 2021
You prepare the Claimant’s F38 Affidavit—Desk Order Divorce.
Open the F38 and save it with the name GA7F38YourName.
a. In the footer on the left side of the form you should see “last updated 17-October-2017”. If what you see is different from that, please inform the instructor.
1. Enter the names of the Claimant and Respondent (this must match what was keyed in on the Form 3).
2. Choose “Claimant”.
3. Choose “Yes”.
4. Choose “the grounds for divorce are separation for more than one year”.
5. Choose “0”.
6. At paragraph 6 select “No name changes”. Click on Generate Form.
7. Fill in the Court No. and choose the Court Registry.
8. Choose “Affidavit 1” and key in “JOHN JOSEPH FLEURY”.
9. Mr. Fleury is swearing the Affidavit on February 7, 2024.
10. Fill in the rest of the required information with what you know from the other forms you have completed. Use Mr. Fleury’s home address and occupation to identify him further. There are no additional details.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.61
11. For the jurat: the Affidavit is being sworn at Vancouver on February 7 before Gail B.
Amherst.
12. Click in the box beside This form is complete and ready for submission.
13. Click on Save Form.
14. Print one copy of the F38 by clicking on Print Form. Place this complete copy loosely in the Fleury client folder. Then, print the first page only of the F38 and fasten it to the left side of the Fleury client folder. (Normally you would file the complete F38 in the client folder, however, to save paper for this assignment you only need to file the first page).
ASSUME: You prepare a cheque for filing the Requisition for Desk Order Divorce. The
cheque is not keyed. (Online Students will include it in the File Contents List.)
You assemble a filing package.
The documents that are currently loose in your file are for your filing package. Recall that you have already filed the F3. With the F35 on top, place the documents behind it in the order they are listed in the F35:
1. draft of the final order sought (F52)
2. proof that the case is an undefended family law case (F17) 3. certificate of the registrar in form F36
4. filing fee (cheque, you are assumed to have done this. Online students should list it in their File Contents List)
5. proof of service of the notice of family claim (F15)
6. affidavit in form F38
Paperclip these documents together and place the package loosely in the client folder.
For this simulation you would go to the court registry twice to file documents.
1. The first time you would take the F3 along with a cheque for filing the Notice of Family Claim. ($200 plus $10 to file the Registration of Divorce.) The court clerk would stamp the court case number on the first page of each document. The original stamped document would be placed loosely in the folder. Original documents are never punched.
A copy of the cheque would be fastened to the right side of the folder; in this case you are assuming that you have made the cheque.
2. The second time you would take the F35 along with the rest of the required documents to the court registry along with a cheque to pay for filing the Requisition for Desk Order Divorce, ($80). Again, we are assuming you have made this cheque.
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.62
RE Divorce
DATE November 19, 2023
CLIENT IDENTIFICATION
FULL NAME OF CLIENT
JOHN JOSEPH FLEURY (he/him/his)
TELEPHONE
(Home) 778-397-9087
(Cell)
604-230-0904
ADDRESS
#303-115 West Cordova Street
E-MAIL: john_fleury@telus.net
Vancouver, BC V7X 2T9
At this residence since October 1, 2021
BIRTH DATE
June 15, 1990
BIRTHPLACE: Victoria, B.C.
BC RESIDENT SINCE
June 15, 1990
SIN
967-318-587
OCCUPATION
Crane Operator
INCOME: $87,000
EMPLOYER:
Ledcor Foundations
TELEPHONE: 604-681-7500
1200 – 1067 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC
PARTICULARS OF MARRIAGE/RELATIONSHIP
COMMENCEMENT DATE OF COMMON-LAW RELATIONSHIP, if any:
DATE OF MARRIAGE
August 31, 2018
PLACE: West Vancouver, B.C.
DATE OF SEPARATION
September 19, 2021
SEPARATION AGREEMENT
None
PARTICULARS OF THE PAST, CARE OF CHILDREN
CLIENT
SPOUSE
STATUS BEFORE MARRAGE
DIVORCED, NO CHILDREN
SINGLE
NAME BEFORE MARRIAGE
JOHN JOSEPH FLEURY
CAROL ANNE WIGGINS
SURNAME AT BIRTH
FLEURY
WIGGINS
SPOUSE IDENTIFICATION
NAME OF SPOUSE
CAROL ANNE FLEURY (she/her/hers)
TELEPHONE
(Home) 604-223-6731
(Cell)
604-200-4774
ADDRESS
3936 Meadfield Road
E-MAIL: fleuryca@yahoo.com
West Vancouver, B.C. V7W 2Y6
At this residence since December 23, 1998
BIRTH DATE
December 23, 1995
BIRTHPLACE: North Vancouver, BC
BC RESIDENT SINCE
December 23, 1995
SIN
876-452-917
OCCUPATION
Photographer’s Agent
INCOME
$180,000
EMPLOYER:
Self Employed
TELEPHONE
604-947-0012
REAL PROPERTY: None
Family Law—Chapter 7
7.63
DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS—Defended Divorce
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 7 examined the procedure for an undefended divorce from the perspective of the claimant. This chapter will expand the proceedings to cover what happens if the respondent chooses to defend the divorce. While there are elements unique to a family litigation proceeding, many of the procedures are the same as those found in non-family civil litigation proceedings.
DEFENDED PROCEEDINGS
The claimant files a Notice of Family Claim laying out the grounds for a divorce, and possibly, the request for corollary relief. The respondent may defend the proceeding because they do not agree with the grounds or the corollary relief being requested. For example, if the claimant is claiming a divorce on the grounds of physical cruelty, the respondent might defend the divorce to avoid the stigma of a divorce being granted on those grounds. Or, if the claimant is claiming spousal support, the respondent, although they also want a divorce, might defend the proceeding because they do not believe the claimant is entitled to spousal support.
And, although a divorce proceeding is an indication that a relationship has ended or is close to ending, the respondent might not be ready to accept that the relationship has ended and might defend the proceeding for emotional reasons. Reconciliation is allowed in divorce proceedings until the final order has been granted.
Defending the divorce merely means that the respondent is saying they do not agree with what is being asked. The respondent also has the option of putting forward their own claims. The respondent could ask for the divorce on other grounds, or request their own corollary relief.
STAGE ONE – Commencement and Notification
STAGE TWO – Definition
Response to Family Claim
Commencement and notification for the claimant is exactly the same as that for an undefended divorce. The claimant must file and serve a Notice of Family Claim. What makes a proceeding defended or not depends on how the respondent responds to the Notice of Family Claim.
Rule 4-3(1) of the Family Rules states:
Filing a response to family claim
(1) To respond to a notice of family claim, a person must, within 30 days after being served,
(a)
file a response to family claim in Form F4, and
(b)
serve a copy of the filed response to family claim on the claimant and on the other persons named in the notice of family claim as respondents.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.1
The claimant must file a Notice of Family Claim and serve it on the respondent who has 30 days after being served with a Notice of Family Claim to file a Form F4 Response to Family Claim.
Once the Response to Family Claim is filed the respondent must serve a copy to the claimant by ordinary service to the address the claimant provided in the Notice of Family Claim.
In the Response to Family Claim, the respondent indicates what information and claims in the Notice of Family Claim they agree or disagree with. Combined, the Notice of Family Claim and
Response to Family Claim define the issues raised by the claimant in the proceeding.
An example of the Response to Family Claim is shown on the following page:
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.2
The Response to Family Claim is an XML enhanced
document.
Click Address for Service to insert an address for service.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.3
The respondent must indicate what information on Schedules 1, 2, and 3 the respondent agrees or disagrees with. If the respondent disagrees, the reason must be given. The respondent can only agree with schedules that the claimant completed.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.4
If no claim was made for a particular schedule, do not select it. In this example, assume the claimant made no child support claims so this section is blank.
Indicate whether or not the
respondent agrees or disagrees
with claims made by the
claimant in the Notice of Family
Claim. If an item was not
claimed, leave blank.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.5
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.6
Choose the respondent lawyer’s name from
the drop-down menu.
Click on the “Preview and Sign Document”
button to complete the signature blocks and
check the required boxes for the
certificates.
Counterclaim
If the respondent wants to make their own claims against the claimant, the respondent must file and serve a Form F5 Counterclaim. The Counterclaim serves the same purpose for the respondent as the Notice of Family Claim serves for the claimant. The respondent can ask for a divorce under the grounds the respondent thinks is appropriate. For example, the respondent may ask for a divorce under the grounds that the parties have lived separate and apart for one year, while the claimant might have asked for one on the grounds of adultery. The respondent can also ask for corollary relief or make claims for non-family issues, if they are related to or connected with the family law claims.
Because the respondent is using the Counterclaim to advance the same sort of claims as contained in the Notice of Family Claim for any parties who are already named in the Notice of Family Claim, the layout of the Counterclaim is also the same and the same sort of information is required.
The respondent must file and serve a Counterclaim within 30 days of being served the Notice of Family Claim. This is the same period of time as the period to file a Response to Family Claim.
The practical procedure would be to file the Response to Family Claim and Counterclaim at the same time when possible. The Counterclaim must be served on the claimant using ordinary service to the address provided in the Notice of Family Claim. If the counterclaim brings in new parties, the new parties must be personally served with the Counterclaim and all the pleadings thus far, within 60 days of the respondent being served with the Notice of Family Claim.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.7
Response to Counterclaim
Because the Counterclaim serves the same purpose of making claims for the respondent as the Notice of Family Claim did for the claimant, the claimant and any new party brought in, must respond to the Counterclaim. They must respond by filing a Form F6 Response to Counterclaim within 30 days of being served the Counterclaim. The Response to Counterclaim must be served by ordinary service on the respondent to the address provided in the Response to Family Claim.
The layout and required information of the Response to Counterclaim is very similar to the layout and required information in the Response to Family Claim. Combined, the Counterclaim and
Response to Counterclaim define the issues raised by the respondent in the proceeding.
STARTING TIMELINES
NOTICE OF FAMILY CLAIM
30 Days
RESPONSE TO FAMILY CLAIM
Served together
COUNTERCLAIM (Optional)
30 Days
RESPONSE TO COUNTERCLAIM
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.8
JUDICIAL CASE CONFERENCE (JCC)
Once the Response to Family Claim (or if a Counterclaim is also filed, the Response to Counterclaim) has been filed, the pleadings are said to be “closed”. The issues in dispute have now been defined. Failing a settlement of these issues, they will have to be litigated in a trial (to occur many months down the road) or they will have to be decided through interlocutory applications (like the Priority Applications in the Provincial Court discussed in Chapter 4) if they can’t wait that long. Family proceedings, by their nature, are very emotional and can give rise to extremely contentious proceedings. In the past, parties could end up fighting over each stage of the proceeding before the trial, increasing the time and cost. For example, a party may refuse to disclose financial information forcing the other party to make application after application to obtain each piece of information. If the party then failed to fully comply, additional applications would be needed to force compliance. Interlocutory applications for maintenance, support and parenting issues are also common. Each application might be before a new master or judge which would require court time to become familiar with the facts of the case.
Judicial case conferences (JCCs) were created to help remedy these situations. A JCC is a meeting of the parties and their counsel with a judge or master to settle outstanding issues. The judge or master can: give orders requiring a party to fully define their position if their pleadings are unclear; clarify which issues are settled and which are outstanding; make orders regarding disclosure of documents; or make orders regarding examinations for discovery. The judge or master can also facilitate settlement by mediating outstanding issues, refer the parties to private mediators or to educational programs such as “Parenting After Separation”, and also give their opinion as to probable outcomes for issues in dispute. Finally, the judge or master can give orders to set concrete time lines for the proceeding or can schedule dates for trial management conferences, trial dates, or set deadlines for applications or other steps in the proceeding. There is a long list of possible orders a judge or master can make at a JCC given in Rule 7-1 (15).
Allowing parties to file applications before attending a judicial case conference would defeat one purpose of the conference, which is to cut down on applications. Rule 7-1(2) of the Family Rules
requires a judicial case conference to be held before any applications can be filed on a proceeding. There are exceptions to this rule that are set out in 7-1(3). For example, if it is a without notice application or one to preserve property, or the application involves issues of an individual’s safety, then the application would be allowed before the judicial case conference is heard.
Apart from this mandatory initial JCC, any party may at any time request a JCC, whether or not one has already been held. The court can require a JCC at any time, even if it has not been asked to do so by the parties.
Scheduling a Trial Date
After the pleadings are complete a trial date can be set by obtaining a date from the registry. The date the registry gives is the earliest a trial date can be set, but the parties may delay scheduling the trial if they wish. Often setting the matter down for trial is delayed while the parties try to settle the issue(s).
Because the registry must allocate limited court availability to many different cases, they need an estimate of how much time the trial will take. Since time estimates are better defined after the disclosure stage the matter is usually set down for trial after Stage 3 of the litigation process.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.9
When a party wishes to obtain a trial date, they must contact the registry, obtain a date, and then file a Form F44 Notice of Trial. The Notice of Trial must be served on the other party.
If the other party does not agree with the scheduled date, they must apply to the court within 21
days of being served the Notice of Trial to have the trial rescheduled. Disputing the trial date within 3 weeks prevents undue delay later.
If both parties are represented by a lawyer, the courtesy practice is for the lawyers to contact each other to try to arrange a mutually convenient date for the trial before setting it down. The lawyers also try to agree on the time required for the trial.
Once a matter has been set down for trial, the parties have a continued obligation to advise the registry if the matter is settled or if the estimated time of trial changes. Again, this is to help the registry better allocate available court time.
An example of the Notice of Trial is shown on the following page:
Family Law—Chapter 8
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Family Law—Chapter 8
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Family Law—Chapter 8
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The disclosure stage is intended to inform each party of the evidence that the other has. If the claim is defended, there are three potential areas for disclosure: 1. Finances
2. Documents
3. Testimony (Examinations for Discovery)
There are a variety of methods to obtain disclosure. This textbook will only examine three of them: Financial Statements, List of Documents, and Examinations for Discovery.
Financial Disclosure
The Financial Statement was previously discussed in Chapter 7.
If the Notice of Family Claim contains claims for child support, spousal support, or division of assets, the claimant must also file and serve a Financial Statement along with applicable income documents within 30 days of filing the Notice of Family Claim. The respondent must also file and serve a Financial Statement along the respondent’s applicable income documents within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Family Claim.
Although the claimant may not have made any claims for support or division of assets, the respondent could make those types of claims in the Counterclaim. In that case, the respondent must file the Financial Statement and applicable income documents within 30 days of filing the Counterclaim, and the claimant must do so within 30 days of receiving the Counterclaim.
Simple Rule of Thumb
A simple rule of thumb for financial disclosure is:
A party must make financial disclosure within 30 days from when they became aware there is a claim for child support, spousal support, or division of assets.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.13
STARTING TIMELINES with Financial Statement
NOTICE OF FAMILY CLAIM
Claimant’s
Financial
Statement must
be filed and
served in this
30 day period.
30 Days
RESPONSE TO FAMILY CLAIM
COUNTERCLAIM (Optional)
Respondent’s
Financial
Statement must
be filed and
served in this
30 day period.
30 Days
RESPONSE TO COUNTERCLAIM
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.14
The parties to the proceedings are automatically required to disclose the documents they possess or have control enough to get, if they are relevant to the pleadings. This can be a time consuming and costly process and in recent decades this has become extremely costly with the proliferation of recording and backup devices in our society. Because the disclosure of every recording and backup would be overkill in many cases, a two stage test of relevance has been instituted. The first stage is given in Family Rules 9-1(1)(a)(i) and (ii): List of documents
(1) Unless all parties consent or the court otherwise orders, each party to a family law case must
(a) prepare a list of documents in Form F20 that lists
(i)
all documents that are or have been in the party’s
possession or control and that could, if available, be
used by any party at trial to prove or disprove a
material fact, and
(ii)
all other documents to which the party intends to refer at trial, and
These requirements necessarily mean that the party must reveal at least some of the documents that may be useful for the other side and harmful to their own case. If the other party wants a copy of that document, they must request it and pay the photocopying cost for it.
The parties only need to prepare the List of Documents if the other party is intending to participate in the proceeding. Therefore, the claimant does not have to provide the List of Documents until after they have received the Response to Family Claim which makes the claimant aware that the respondent is participating in the proceeding. Since the claimant started the proceeding, the respondent knows the claimant is participating so the respondent must provide a List of Documents after the claimant is served with a Response to Family Claim.
Rules 9-1(1)(b)(i) and (ii) sets out the time limit for serving a List of Documents. Both the claimant and the respondent have 35 days (5 weeks) from the date the Response to Family Claim is served on the claimant to serve the other side with a List of Documents. If the claimant is also served with a Counterclaim they can serve their List of Documents as above or they can serve it within 35 days of serving their Response to Counterclaim.
The List of Documents is NOT filed with the court registry.
Family Law—Chapter 8
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STARTING TIMELINES with List of Documents
NOTICE OF FAMILY CLAIM
30 Days
RESPONSE TO FAMILY CLAIM
COUNTERCLAIM (Optional)
Both parties must
serve their List of
30 Days
Documents in this
35 day period
after the
Response to
Family Claim*.
RESPONSE TO COUNTERCLAIM
5 Days
*If the Claimant is also served with a Counterclaim, they can serve their List of Documents as above or they can serve it within 35 days of serving their Response to Counterclaim.
A Simple Rule of Thumb (SCFR 9-1 (1)(b))
A party must serve the list of documents within 35 days of knowing what the case is about on the face of the pleadings.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.16
STARTING TIMELINES with Financial Statement and List of Documents NOTICE OF FAMILY CLAIM
Claimant’s
Financial
Statement must
be filed and
served in this
30 day period.
30 Days
RESPONSE TO FAMILY CLAIM
COUNTERCLAIM (Optional)
Respondent’s
Financial
Statement must
be filed and
served in this
30 day period.
30 Days
Both parties must
serve their List of
Documents in this
35 day period*.
(5 days more than
30 day period)
RESPONSE TO COUNTERCLAIM
5 Days
*If the Claimant is also served with a Counterclaim, they can serve their List of Documents as above or they can serve it within 35 days of serving their Response to Counterclaim.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.17
The court does not want to be involved in the disclosure of evidence unless that is necessary.
However, it will become involved, for example, if one side refuses to provide documents properly.
In that case, the seeking party will make an interlocutory application. The judge hearing that application, will not be the trial judge unless all of the different parties later so consent. The general rule is that the court does not want to see or hear any of the evidence until trial. The idea is that the judge should start a hearing as unbiased as possible and allow each side to present their case.
When one side accepts documents from the other party during the course of litigation, they are undertaking to the court that they will only use the documents for the purpose of the present litigation. This undertaking not to use the documents for any other purpose lasts beyond the settlement or completion of the litigation.
The List of Documents has four sections for identifying documents. Sections 1, 2, and 4 must be completed for the first stage test. Section 3 and any changes to 1, 2, and 4 must be completed with the second stage test:
1. Documents the party currently has or once had, but are now in the control of
someone else and that could be used by either party to prove or disprove a material
fact. If a document helps the opponent to prove a material fact, it must be listed here along with the documents that your party likes. The other side should request a copy of these unless they already have them. The reason for identifying documents in the control of someone else is twofold: the first is to prevent a party from handing a vital document to someone else and then saying they do not have it, and the second is to provide information in case the other side wants to obtain that document. The other party can apply to the court for an order asking for someone else to produce a document if neither party has it in their possession.
2. Documents the party intends to refer to at trial. There may be documents the party is aware of and plans to use, but that they have never had control over, so they would not be listed in the first section. The List of Documents is produced very early in the proceeding, so a party may not have obtained a document yet. For example, they may be aware of accounting records that exist and intends to use them but they have not obtained the records yet.
3. Documents that relate to a matter in question. The List of Documents initially will only have parts 1, 2, and 4 filled in and part 3 will be blank. If the receiving party has reason to believe (by the older and broader second stage test of simple “relevance” ) that there are additional relevant documents (or at least documents that may lead one on a course of inquiry to other relevant documents (SCFR 9-1 (8))) then they can demand that those documents be listed in part 3 by writing a letter demanding them. If the possessing party has any such documents then they are required to list them in part 3 and give an amended List of Documents to the demanding party. The lawyer for the party is the arbiter of whether the document must be listed, not the client, as the lawyer is an officer of the court and has as their first duty, to uphold the law and only as their secondary duty, to vigorously represent their client. If the party doesn’t list the demanded documents, then the demanding party can apply to the court for an order that those documents be disclosed under the older, broader test. The challenge here is for the seeker of the documents, to know what to ask for.
Family Law—Chapter 8
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4. Documents that are privileged. In the process of preparing for a court proceeding, some documents are prepared that are protected by privilege and do not need to be provided to the other side. Solicitor and client privilege is really the only privilege that is recognized (Crown privilege/national security or spousal privilege are only sometimes recognized and there really are no others). Doctor-patient privilege, priest-confessee privilege, and privacy type requirements, are only some of a long list of alleged privileged relationships that are not recognized by the law in this rule. Those documents have to be listed in parts 1, 2, or 3. Any allegedly remaining privileged documents must be minimally described in part 4, to give the other side the opportunity to determine whether or not privilege has been fairly claimed. Those documents should be described, but the information contained in the documents should not to be revealed when they are listed. An example of the List of Documents is shown below:
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.19
Documents are listed in chronological order
by the date they were created with enough
of a description so that the other parties can
determine what the document is about.
Often if there are related types of
documents, they are organized
chronologically in groups.
Family Law—Chapter 8
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The parties have a duty to update
the list if more documents are
found, created or become
relevant later. The date a new
document is added to the list
goes in this column
Indicate if the document is not in
party possession or control. If
possible, indicate who has the
document.
Family Law—Chapter 8
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Indicate the grounds for privilege.
Like many court documents, the List of Documents
ends with the lawyer’s signature.
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A person’s recollection can be presented in court through their testimony under oath on a witness stand. Before the trial though, the parties may want to learn what testimony the other side will be giving. To obtain disclosure of testimonial evidence, the party wanting disclosure requests an opportunity to examine the other party under oath. Only parties can be examined not mere witnesses as in many US jurisdictions.
The Examination for Discovery is conducted under oath to “bind” the other party’s testimony. If the examination is under oath and at trial the person would be a witness under oath, the presumption is the person being examined must give the same testimony in both. If they do not, their credibility will be damaged since they will have lied or been an inaccurate historian in one of them.
The examination is attended by the party wishing to conduct the examination (and their lawyer), the examinee, and the examinee’s lawyer. Any party to a proceeding must be available to be examined if requested. The examination is conducted in the presence of a reporter who records the questions asked and answers given. The reporter uses a special device to record the testimony and transcribes it later into a transcript. Any party to an examination may pay the reporter for a copy of the transcript.
The transcript can be used at trial to show that a party’s testimony has changed if the party says something different at trial. The duration of all the examinations a person must attend to be asked questions, cannot last be more than a total of 5 hours unless the person consents or the court orders a longer one. One reason the court may order a longer examination is if a person is evasive or delays answering questions during an examination.
The requirements to compel the other party to attend an examination are given in Rule 9-2(12) of the Family Rules.
Service of notice
(12) Before conducting an examination for discovery under this rule, the party wishing to conduct that examination for discovery must do the following: (a)
if the person to be examined is a party to, and has a lawyer in, the family law case, ensure that, at least 7 days before the
examination for discovery,
(i) an appointment in Form F21 is served on that lawyer, and (ii) witness fees in the amount required under Schedule 3 of Appendix C are tendered to that lawyer;
(b)
in any other case, ensure that, at least 7 days before the examination for discovery, the person to be examined is served with an appointment in Form F21 and is tendered witness fees in the amount required under Schedule 3 of Appendix C;
(c)
at least 7 days before the examination for discovery, serve a copy of the appointment on all parties.
The consequences of failing to attend an examination are very serious. The court may make orders that can adversely affect a person’s right. For example, if the respondent refuses to attend an examination, the court might order that the proceeding continue as an undefended proceeding.
The respondent could lose the right to participate any further.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.23
Because of the seriousness of the consequences, a party being examined must be served (ordinary service) with the Form F21 Appointment to Examine for Discovery along with witness fees. The appointment must be served at least 7 days before the examination in order to give the other party time to arrange to be at the examination. The appointment gives the party to be examined notice of the examination and provides information as to the time and place.
The Appointment to Examine for Discovery compels the other party to attend the examination, so technically, a party could choose a date without consulting with the party to be examined.
However, a courtesy practice exists between lawyers. If the parties are represented by lawyers, they try to schedule mutually convenient times for both sides. Usually if one side wants to examine, the other side will as well so it is better to schedule both examinations together.
Witness fees, also known as conduct money, ensure that the party being examined has the financial means to get to the examination. Because of the potential consequences of not attending, it would be unfair to request an examination against someone who does not have the means to get to the examination. Even if they wanted to attend, they would not be able to do so.
The Appointment to Examine for Discovery is NOT filed with the court registry.
An example of the Appointment to Examine for Discovery is shown on the following page: Family Law—Chapter 8
8.24
Name of person being
examined.
Date, time, and address of the place the
examination is being held. Enough
information must be given so that the person
being examined knows where to go.
Otherwise, the person could not attend.
Sufficient conduct monies must be provided
to allow the person to reach this location
unless the fees are waived by the other
person’s lawyer.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.25
STAGE FOUR – Hearing
For a legal administrative assistant, the work at this stage involves preparing for the hearing and finalizing the results. There are two types of trials available in this stage. The first is a Summary Trial and the second is a full Trial.
The Summary Trial is a form of expedited hearing. Often, after the disclosure stage, a party feels that the outstanding issues can be decided without the need for a full formal trial with witnesses.
Full trials take longer and increase the legal costs.
Often, the facts are not in dispute, just the application of the law to the facts. For example, assume a case where the spouses were married for 5 years. The incomes of both parties are known and there are a few exceptional circumstances. The only issue may just be how long spousal support should be for. This is an application of laws to the facts so a summary trial would be suitable.
However, if one side is alleging exceptional circumstance such as illness and an inability to work, which the other party disputes, then the issue is over the facts. Witnesses may need to be called and cross-examined so the judge can determine the credibility of the illness claim before applying the law to determine how much and for how long the support should last.
Stage 3 – Disclosure
Once disclosure is completed, the
parties need to decide which type
of hearing the matter should go to.
TRIAL
SUMMARY TRIAL
Rule 14-1
Rule 11-3
FINAL ORDER
Both the Summary Trial
Form F52
and the Trial result in a
Final Order and possibly
a Bill of Costs
BILL OF COSTS
The focus of this chapter will be on the trial as summary trials are very similar to interlocutory applications covered in the next chapter.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.26
PRIOR TO THE HEARING
Trial Management Conference
Unless the court orders otherwise, the parties must attend a trial management conference at least 28 days before the trial date. The purpose of the trial management conference is to streamline the actual trial. Rule 14-3(9) lists the orders a judge may give at the conference. The list is extensive but generally, the intent is to correct any pleadings, and to determine the most efficient means to conduct the trial or settle the matter. For example, the judge may determine whether or not a witness must attend the trial or can give evidence by affidavit or set time limits for asking questions of a witness. They can determine the best method for an expert to give their opinion.
At least 7 days before the conference, each party must file a Form F45 Trial Brief and serve a copy on the other party. The trial brief is a summary of that party’s plan for the trial. It states the issues and that party’s position on the issues; the witnesses and experts that party intends to call and the time expected for each; and the witnesses that party expects to cross examine and the time expected for each.
At the conference, the judge can review each party’s trial brief and consult with the parties to see if the time expected for the witnesses is necessary. For example, if a witness is expected to take 30 minutes giving testimony, but the other side does not plan to cross examine, the judge may order that an affidavit be provided instead. This would save 30 minutes.
Or, a judge may feel that a party is unreasonable in their expected time limits and direct that a shorter period of time be allowed. That party will then know that they must focus the time they have on the most important evidence. Because the conference is 28 days before the actual trial, they still have sufficient time to plan their presentation within the new time limits.
An example of the Trial Brief is shown on the following page:
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.27
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.28
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.29
List the documentary evidence
and the Authorities to be referred
to or use an existing list
Insert the actual wording of
the orders sought.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.30
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.31
When initially booking trials, the registry will overbook each courtroom on the assumption that many proceedings will settle before the actual trial date. As the date approaches, the registry will redistribute the matters going into each courtroom to use available court time most efficiently.
To assist the registry, the parties must confirm with the registry prior to the trial date that they are ready to proceed. To do so, Rule 14-5 requires each party to file a Form F46 Trial Certificate at least 14 days before but not more than 28 days before the scheduled trial date.
In the Trial Certificate, the party must certify that they are ready to proceed, have completed all examinations for discovery, and have been to a trial management conference. Because the party has to certify these facts, it prevents them from trying to adjourn the trial on the trial date because disclosure is not complete.
The party also certifies that the party will promptly notify the court if the matter is settled or needs to be adjourned. If the courtroom is not needed, the registry needs to know so that another matter might be scheduled into that available time.
It is a serious matter for a lawyer to certify that they are ready to proceed. Lawyers are officers of the court and falsely certifying a matter is a breach of their duty.
If one party files a Trial Certificate and the other party does not, the matter stays on the trial list.
If both parties fail to file a Trial Certificate, the matter is dropped from the trial list. The party who fails to file will not be allowed to make any more applications without the leave of the court.
Once filed, the Trial Certificate must be served on the other side.
An example of the Trial Certificate is shown on the following page:
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.32
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.33
Form F36 Certificate of Pleadings
To ensure that all the pleadings necessary to define the proceeding have been filed, the party who filed the Notice of Trial should file a Form F36 Certificate. When the registry receives the Certificate, it will confirm the pleadings are in order and return a signed copy of the Certificate.
Once received, a Trial Record may be filed. If the pleadings are not in order, no Trial Record can be filed.
File the Certificate before filing the Trial Record.
Trial Record
Throughout the proceeding, pleadings and financial documents have been filed, and possibly, orders regarding the conduct of the trial may have been made. To simplify and organize all of these documents, the party who filed the Notice of Trial must file a Trial Record.
The Trial Record is a booklet containing all the required documents. Rules 14-4(1) and (2) of the Family Rules state:
Trial record for the court
(1) The party who files a notice of trial must file a trial record for the court, which trial record must contain
(a)
the notice of family claim and each response to family claim, counterclaim and response to counterclaim,
(b)
particulars served under a demand, together with the demand made,
(c)
the most current Form F8 financial statement, if any, filed by each party,
(d)
any order relating to the conduct of the trial, and
(e)
any document required by a registrar under subrule (2).
Powers of registrar respecting trial records
(2) A registrar may direct inclusion in the trial record of any document the registrar thinks necessary or may reject a trial record that, in the registrar’s opinion,
(a)
does not contain all the documents required under subrule (1), (b)
contains a document that is not a document required under subrule (1), or
(c)
is illegible.
The contents of the Trial Record may vary, but all Records consist of the parts described below:
• Record Cover, containing the style of proceedings and the counsel (on heavy card paper)
• Index – referring to the page numbers or tab letters of each document Family Law—Chapter 8
8.34
• Behind the Index are put clean (not hole punched) copies of pleadings, Financial Statement or Agreement as to Income, Demand for Particulars, Reply to Demand for Particulars and each of parties’ Trial Briefs (see Administrative Notice AN-13, 2017/01/01). The Affidavit of Personal Service is not included.
• The date filed or the date prepared must be put on the top of the first page of each document, usually handwritten, after the name of the registry, e.g. “Date filed: November 3, (year).” The page number must be added at the top right-hand corner of each page of each document, but do not change the original page numbers on each document.
• two blank unnumbered pages at the end for notes
• back cover (blue paper).
• either bound in a plastic multi-ring binding or stapled in three places and taped.
The Trial Record must be filed at least 14 days before but not more than 28 days before the scheduled date for the trial. This is the same time limit as the Trial Certificate so the party who has to file the Trial Record usually files the Trial Certificate at the same time. A filed copy of the file Trial Record must be served on the other side.
An example of the cover page and the index for the Trial Record follow on the next two pages.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.35
NEW WESTMINSTER REGISTRY
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
CLAIMANT:
ANNE MARIE THOMAS
RESPONDENT:
BRYAN MATTHEW THOMAS
T R I A L R E C O R D
LAWSON, ASHLEY & WRIGHT
Barristers & Solicitors
700 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B. C. V7Y 1B8
Telephone: 604-688-3039
Fax: 604-688-3000
Solicitors for the Claimant
MR. DONALD ROBERT ASHLEY
COUNSEL FOR THE CLAIMANT
JAKE SCHULTZ,
Barrister and Solicitor
300 – 3890 W. Hastings Street
Vancouver, B. C. V7E 4R5
Telephone: 604-668-7227
Fax: 604-668-7200
Solicitor for the Respondent
MR. JAKE SCHULTZ
COUNSEL FOR THE RESPONDENT
Record prepared by: Counsel for the Claimant
Date of Trial: 06 Oct 2027
Place of Trial: Vancouver
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.36
No. E116555
NEW WESTMINSTER REGISTRY
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
CLAIMANT:
ANNE MARIE THOMAS
RESPONDENT: BRYAN MATTHEW THOMAS
I N D E X
Page
Notice of Family Claim
1
Response to Family Claim
13
Claimant’s Form F8 Financial Statement
15
Respondent’s Form F8 Financial Statement
29
Claimant’s Trial Brief
53
Respondent’s Trial Brief
57
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.37
Even at this late stage in a defended divorce proceeding, the parties can still settle their differences and avoid a trial with its high financial and emotional costs. As a case proceeds, disclosure of evidence occurs and the parties (especially if represented by lawyers) can attempt to negotiate their own settlement. Sometimes having the parties negotiate with each other or through lawyers is not enough for them to reach agreement. A settlement conference can be very effective if the parties are close to settlement, but unable to reach that final meeting of minds.
The settlement conference is officiated by a judge or master, a neutral party who hears both sides and attempts to mediate a settlement. This is not a hearing so no witnesses are called.
The judge or master, being a neutral party with perceived authority and experience in family matters and the general respect of society, can often help parties overcome their emotions, suspicions and biases to reach a settlement. If the parties do not reach a settlement at a settlement conference, the trial must come on before a different judge/master than the one who presided over the conference, unless both parties agree that the same judge/master may preside.
At any time, the parties may together request a settlement conference by filing a Form F17
Requisition – General. Alternatively, the court can direct the parties to attend a settlement conference.
Additional Trial Preparation
Depending on the circumstances of the case, experts or witnesses may be required. For example, an expert may be needed to provide an opinion on the value of a family asset or psychological evaluation on the best interest of the children. Or, a witness may be required to give testimony about a situation they witnessed involving one of the parents with the children.
Trial books will also be prepared by the legal administrative assistant. Trial books are used to organize material a lawyer wishes to present in court. They include document books or case books. The original of each trial book is filed with the clerk at trial, marked as an exhibit, and is the one used by any witnesses during their testimony. A copy of each trial book must be prepared for the lawyer, judge, and other party’s lawyer so that everyone has each book to refer to at the trial.
Party’s Own Expert Opinions
The duty of an expert is to assist the court, not to be an advocate for any particular side. All experts must confirm that they are aware of that duty in their reports or when they give testimony.
If a party has its own expert report it wants to present at the trial, it must serve a copy of the report at least 84 days (12 weeks) before the scheduled trial date. If the other side wants to use their own expert to provide a responding expert report, they must serve a copy of the responding report at least 42 days (6 weeks) before the scheduled trial date.
Within 21 days of being served an expert report or responding report, a party can demand that the expert attend the trial to be cross-examined. If the demand is not made, the report is accepted by the court for consideration.
Family Law—Chapter 8
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While witnesses may voluntarily attend a trial, they can also be compelled by subpoena to attend and give testimony. If a witness voluntarily agrees to attend fails to do so, the trial will continue without that person’s testimony. But if a witness is compelled to attend and fails to do so, the witness may be arrested and brought to the court to give testimony. Some law offices have a policy to compel even friendly witnesses to protect their client’s position at trial.
To compel a witness to attend the trial, a Form F23 Subpoena to Witness and travel fees must be personally served on the witness. Look at Form 23 so you know how to fill it out.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.39
TIMELINES PRIOR TO THE TRIAL
Assume the trial date was previously set and
the Trial Notice has already been filed.
EXPERT REPORTS – served 84 days
before the trial date.
Demands for the expert to
attend court for cross
examination made within 21
days of receiving the expert
report.
RESPONDING EXPERT REPORTS–
served 42 days before the trial date.
Demands for the expert to
attend court for cross
examination made within 21
days of receiving the
TRIAL BRIEF filed and served 7 days
responding expert report.
before trial management conference.
TRIAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
held at least 28 days before trial date.
28 days before
trial date
Certificate of the registrar certifying
pleadings in order must be obtained
TRIAL CERTIFICATE and TRIAL
before the Trial Record can be filed.
RECORD filed and served between
28 days to 14 days before trial date.
If neither party files a Trial
Certificate, the trial date is lost.
CASE SPECIFIC PREPARATION
Trial Books – cases, documents
14 days before
Subpoenas – Witnesses
trial date
TRIAL
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.40
AFTER THE TRIAL
After the trial, an order must be filed and the costs must be finalized. The same two documents are prepared regardless of whether it was an ordinary trial or a summary trial.
Final Order
The decision of the court must be recorded in the form of an order. If one party is represented by a lawyer and the other party is unrepresented, the usual practice is for the lawyer to draft the order regardless of who was successful. If both parties are represented, then the successful party’s lawyer drafts the order.
Rule 15-1(1) of the Family Rules requires the decision to be recorded using Form F52 Final Order.
The form of the order must be approved by all parties who attended the hearing unless the court orders otherwise. The “form of the order” means the parties agree that the order was properly drafted to reflect the decision pronounced by the court. The parties are not indicating that they agree with or like the order, just that it is properly worded. The parties sign the order to indicate their approval.
Once approved, the order is filed with the court. Copies of the order, once filed, must be served on all the parties involved.
An example of the Final Order is shown on the following page. Note that when you first open this form, you will need to fill out all of the required information on the first page of the form then click on the button “Generate Form” to get the second and third page. Once the second and third page are generated, you will need to fill out all required information on those pages. Finally, to print the form you will need to click on the button “Click here to PRINT form” at the bottom of page 3
rather than using “File Print” in Adobe.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.41
Once you have filled
in the above fields,
you must click on
Generate Form to
generate the next
two pages which also
must be filled in.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.42
The judge’s name
The first day of trial
goes here
goes here.
The date the order is given
is put here. A judge can
give an order at the end of
the trial or reserve
judgment to another day.
If judgement was reserved.
If not, leave blank.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.43
First click on the check the
box to indicate the form is
complete, then on “save
form” and then on “print
form”.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.44
Costs are awarded to partially offset the legal expense required to take a matter to court. Rule 16-1(7) of the Family Rules states:
Costs to follow event
(7) Subject to subrule (9), costs of a family law case must be awarded to the successful party unless the court otherwise orders.
What this rule means is the winner is usually compensated by the unsuccessful party. Losing and having to pay your own legal fees and disbursements and then having to also pay the other side’s costs and disbursements can be a substantial sum. This increases the risk for a party who chooses to litigate with a weak case and gives them an incentive to settle. In fact, there are very few cases which are guaranteed wins, so even those with a strong case should pause and wonder if they could lose anyway and are thus encouraged to consider settlement as well.
Costs do not cover all the legal fees and disbursements though. This reflects the idea that often the case law or evidence involved is uncertain and there are legitimate arguments for both sides.
It also reflects the fact that lawyers charge different amounts so if a person chooses the most expensive lawyer available, the extra cost of the higher legal fees will not be covered even if they succeed. A Bill of Costs allows for the reimbursement of almost full disbursements, but only the average case’s amount for legal fees, using average lump sum amounts for steps in the litigation instead the actual legal fees charged.
For family cases, the Bills of Costs are fairly simple to calculate. First the level of difficulty is determined. Monetary amounts are assigned for each procedure and claimed if that procedure occurred. For some procedures, the monetary amount changes depending on the level of difficulty.
For hearings and examinations for discovery, the amounts are calculated based on the number of days involved.
The Bill of Costs was already looked at in previous chapters. When a proceeding goes all the way through to a trial, additional items can be claimed.
Bill of Costs – Items for a defended proceeding
The following three pages provide an example of a Bill of Costs where the respondent defended the claim:
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.45
Use item 1 where the
case did not proceed
beyond litigation stages 1
and 2.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.46
Claim item 2 for preparing
the List of Documents and
item 3 for each
examination for discovery
Claim item 6 for the Trial
Management Conference
and item 7 for the trial
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.47
Legal fees attract GST and PST
so they are also computed on
costs. This is 9,000 X 12%
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.48
Use these questions to check your understanding of Chapter 8. The answers can be found in the data file named Ch8ReviewKey.docx
PART A—FROM NOTICE OF FAMILY CLAIM TO TRIAL
1. What does “defending a divorce” mean?
2. How does the respondent let the court know they want to defend the divorce?
3. What two documents define the issues raised by the claimant in a divorce case?
4. Freddy and Lilly have been separated for a year. Freddy has filed a Notice of Family Claim to start divorce proceedings on the grounds that Lilly has committed adultery with George.
When Lilly is served the Notice of Family Claim, Lilly is angry. She has never even been alone in the presence of George. She wants a divorce all right, but she wants to set the record straight about the grounds for divorce and she wants spousal support. What should Lilly do?
5. What two documents define the issues raised by the respondent in a divorce case?
6. At what point in the proceedings is it best to set a trial date?
7. How does a party set a trial date?
8. What is courteous practice of lawyers who are setting a date for trial?
9. Why is it important to give the court registry an estimate of the length of the trial?
10. Freddy and Lilly have been able to resolve the contentious issues before the trial date arrives. What is their obligation to the court registry?
11. List three areas where disclosure might be necessary in a divorce case?
12. If the claimant has not claimed support nor division of assets in the Notice of Family Claim, but the respondent has claimed division of assets in a Counterclaim, what must each of them do next in regards to financial disclosure?
13. What does disclosure of documents mean?
14. When must a claimant prepare a Form 20 List of Documents?
15. What are four types of documents to be found in the Form F20 List of Documents?
16. What is the purpose of an Examination for Discovery?
17. Who attends an Examination for Discovery?
18. How does one party make the other aware that the date for an Examination for Discovery has been set?
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.49
19. What can the consequences be for not attending an Examination for Discovery?
20. What is conduct money?
21. When is it appropriate to apply for a Summary Trial instead of a Trial?
PART B—TRIAL
1. What is the purpose of a trial management conference?
2. What are some of the things a judge might consider at the trial management conference?
3. What is the purpose of an Form F45 Trial Brief?
4. Why is it necessary to file a Form F46 Trial Certificate?
5. What are the consequences of failing to file a Trial Certificate?
6. Who files a Form F36?
7. What are the consequences of failing to file a Form F36?
8. What is a trial book?
9. What is the duty of an expert witness?
10. How can a person be compelled to be a witness at a trial?
PART C—AFTER TRIAL
1. Who prepares the final order
a. if only one party is represented by a lawyer?
b. if both parties are represented by lawyers?
2. What does it mean to “approve the form” of an order?
3. Who must approve the form of the order?
4. Who usually is awarded costs after a trial in a family law case?
5. Do costs cover all legal expenses? Explain your answer.
Family Law—Chapter 8
8.50
PE8.1 PRACTICE EXERCISE—Commencement to Disclosure
In this practice exercise you are working for Gail B. Amherst of Amherst Brown & Company.
Ms. Amherst’s client, Ting Shu Mak, is the Respondent to a divorce claim. Ms. Amherst has given you the Mak Client Information Sheet and has asked you to open a new file. (For this practice assignment you will complete a File Contents list Instead of creating a file folder.) You will prepare the documents as indicated.
Documents/files you need:
• data files , PE8MakClientSheet , PE8.1F3, PE8.1F6, PE8.1F71, PE8.1SchultzLttr1, PE8.1SchultzLetter2 and FileContents template which can be found in the DataFiles folder
• Go to: Google “Family Forms Supreme BC” and
o download: Forms F4, F5, F44, F45, F46, F52, F71
1. Your client is served with Notice of Family Claim (24 Jan 2021)
• To see the claims made by the Claimant, open the data file named PE8.1F3 in the folder named DataFiles.
• This document would be included in your client’s file folder.
2. You prepare Form F4 Response to Family Claim (19 Feb 2021)
Save the completed F4 as: PE8.1F4YourLastName.
When you have completed this practice exercise, check your work with the file named PE8.1F4Key.pdf
• find the case number and court registry on the F3 Notice of Family Claim
• complete the information about the claimant and respondent names exactly how it was done on the form f3 (to add in also known as names, you need to click on “Add AKA/DBA”) – check the box “Filing Party” for the Respondent in section 3
• use the law firm address and fax for the Address for Service. Do not include an email address.
• Part 4 – The information set out in sections 1,2 and 3 of the Notice of Family Claim is correct
• Schedule 1—the information in sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Schedule 1 to the Notice of Family Claim is not correct. She denies that she committed adultery at all.
• Schedule 2—the information in sections 1, 3, 5 and 6 of the Notice of Family Claim is correct
• Schedule 3 – does not apply, leave blank
• client disagrees with the claim for divorce; agrees with the parenting arrangements.
• Select service address from dropdown menu (correct any formatting issues with address)
• Certificates – click on box beside Party’s Certificate and Legal Adviser’s Certificate
• Select “Preview and Sign Documents”
• Complete the information in the signing provision and pages 3 and 4. dates are keyed in at the time of signing. Do not key. Leave room for date.
• Check of boxes in the Certificates
3. You prepare Form F5 Counterclaim. (19 Feb 2021)
Save the completed F5 as: PE8.1F5YourLastName.
When you have completed this practice exercise, check your work with the file named PE8.1F5Key.pdf
Family Law Chapter 8
8.51
• find the case number and court registry on the F3 Notice of Family Claim
• complete the information about the claimant and respondent names exactly how it was done on the form f3 – check the box “Filing Party” for the Respondent
• use the law firm address and fax for the Address for Service. Do not include an email address.
• Leave section 3 “Defendant by Counterclaim” blank
• Section 4 – spousal relationship history: use information from client sheet to complete
• Section 5 – client wants divorce order, an order respecting children, spousal support, costs
• Select Service Address from the dropdown menu and make any necessary changes
• Section 7 – click the boxes beside both certificates
Complete Schedule 1
• Section 1– complete using the client information sheet
• Section 2 – grounds for divorce –living separate and apart (the couple have not lived together since separating)
• Section 3 – no collusion or condonation
• Section 4 – certificate of marriage was filed
• Section 5 – use client information sheet to complete
Complete Schedule 2
• click on the button “Modify” to complete section 1, click on the button “Save & Close”
once information has been entered
• client wants order for child support (she does not need to ask for an order respecting parenting arrangements as the claimant has already asked for an agreeable order on the form F3, so sections 3 and 4 can be left blank)
• current child support arrangements: The Claimant pays to the Respondent the amount set out in the Child Support Guidelines, $656, on the first day of each month.
• client believes Claimant earns $69,000.00 annually because she saw his 2018 tax returns and added 3% raise for each year since then
• client wants support in the amount set out in the child support guidelines tables commencing on March 1, 2021
• client wants child support under the Divorce Act and the Family Law Act
Complete Schedule 3
• no current arrangements for spousal support
• client wants $1,000.00 spousal support on first day of month
• client wants spousal support under the Divorce Act and the Family Law Act
To complete the form, click on the button “Preview and Sign Document”
• scroll down to signature provision on page 2 and complete as necessary
• dates are written in at the time of signing. Do not key date. Leave room for it.
• scroll down to certificates and check all boxes
4. Assume you prepare Form F8 Financial Statement. (19 Feb 2021) 5. Assume you file the Forms F4, F5 and F8. (20 Feb 2021) 6. You prepare a transmittal letter requesting admission of delivery to serve the Claimant with Forms F4, F5 and F8 (22 Feb 2021)
Family Law Chapter 8
8.52
Save the completed document as PE8.1MakLttr1YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.1MakLttr1Key.pdf
• See Appendix Two, page 9 for the precedent. You could use any of these formats.
• A copy of this letter would be placed in the client’s folder, and it should appear on the File Contents list.
7. You receive a letter admitting delivery of Forms F4, F5 and F8. (28 Feb 2021)
• You read the letter admitting delivery of the respondent’s Response to Family Claim, Counterclaim, and Financial Statement see the data file named PE8.1SchultzLttr1 in the folder named DataFiles.
8. You receive in the mail a letter requesting admission of delivery the Claimant’s F6, F8
and F20. (15 Mar 2021)
• To read the letter requesting admission of delivery of the claimant’s documents see the data file named PE8.1SchultzLttr2 in the folder named DataFiles
• To see the claimant’s Response to Counterclaim open data file PE8.1F6 in the folder named DataFiles.
• The letter and Forms F6, F8 and F20 would be included in your client’s file folder.
9. You prepare a letter admitting delivery of the Response to Counterclaim, F8, and List of Documents. (18 Mar 2021)
Save the completed document as PE8.1MakLttr2YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.1MakLttr2Key.pdf
• See Appendix Two for the precedent. A copy of this letter would be placed in the client’s folder.
• (Ms. Amherst would sign the admission of delivery, you would copy the letter for the client’s folder, and mail the documents with Ms. Amherst’s original signature back to the claimant’s lawyer.)
10. Assume you prepare Form F20 List of Documents
11. Assume you prepare a Form F21 Appointment to Examine for Discovery. (You will attend 1/2 day at an Examination for Discovery.
12. Assume you prepare a transmittal letter serving Forms F20 and F21.
13. You prepare a Form F44 Notice of Trial (28 April 2021) Save the completed F44 as: PE8.1F44YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.1F44Key.pdf
• find the case number and registry location on the F3 Notice of Family Claim
• filed by the Respondent, Ting Shu Mak at the Vancouver Court Registry
• trial date and time: September 14, 2021 at 9:30am
• place of trial is set out in the Notice of Family Claim
• parties agree trial will not last longer than one day
Family Law Chapter 8
8.53
14. You prepare a transmittal letter serving the Notice of Trial and requesting admission of delivery. (28 April 2021)
Save the completed document as PE8.1MakLttr3YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.1MakLttr3Key.pdf
• See Appendix Two for the precedent. A copy of this letter would be placed in the client’s folder.
PE8.2 PRACTICE EXERCISE—Hearing
1. You prepare a Form F45 Trial Brief. (06 August 2021) Your client and Mrs. Amherst will be attending a trial management conference on August 14, 2021. You must prepare and file a Form 45.
Save the completed F45 as: PE8.2F45YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.2F45Key.pdf
• find the case number and location on the F3 Notice of Family Claim
• filed by the Respondent, Ting Shu Mak
• issue in dispute: spousal support and child support. You may be able to settle child support at the Conference.
• respondent’s position for spousal support: I am unable to maintain a home with my current salary even with the free childcare my mother provides. Before our son was born, I worked full time as an MOA to contribute to the family finances. After our son was born I stopped working to look after him. I need spousal support while I upgrade my education to get a better paying job.
• respondent’s position for child support: We are agreed that the claimant should pay the amount set out in the Child Support Guidelines, but are apart on what figure we should use for his income. This may be a question we could settle at the Trial Management Conference.
• witnesses:
o Ting Shu Mak—1.5 hours
o Fen Wang–112–1444 41 Avenue, Vancouver, BC (1 hour)
o Shirley Dawson–5781 Fraser Street, Vancouver, BC (0.5 hour)
o Gerald Horner—4289 Knight Street, Vancouver, BC (0.5 hour)
• there are no expert reports
• witness to be cross-examined
o Bolin Liwei Mak—1.5 hours
• there are no orders affecting the conduct of the trial
• there is one tabbed book of evidence and the table of contents is attached to the trial brief
• there is one tabbed book of authorities and the table of contents is attached to the trial brief
• for the orders to be sought at trial look at Ting’s F5 and pull wording from there. For the order for divorce use the standard wording found in court orders
• for the time required for submissions use 15 minutes for the opening and 1 hour for the final submissions
Family Law Chapter 8
8.54
• leave the date open to be written in at the time of signing. Be sure there is room to write it.
2. You prepare a Form F46 Trial Certificate. (prepared and filed 27 August 2021) Save the completed F46 as: PE8.2F46YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.2F46Key.pdf
• filed by Ting Shu Mak at the Vancouver Court Registry
• trial date: September 14, 2021
• estimate of length of trial: 1 day
• Leave room for the date to be written in at the time of signing.
3. You prepare a Trial Record. (prepared and filed 27 August 2021) Assume you have already filed and had returned a F36 Certificate of Pleadings Save the completed Trial Record as: PE8.2TrialRecordYourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.2TrialRecordKey.pdf
• prepare the cover and the index
o include the documents and page numbers as you see them in the precedent on page 8.35
• assume the rest of the record book is completed
4. You prepare a Form 52 Final Order.
Save the completed F52 as: PE8.2F52YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.2F52Key.pdf in the folder named
AssignKeys.
• Complete the party names
• Section 2: select “THE HONOURABL….” from the dropdown menu
• Section 3: select “for TRIAL at….”
• Section 4: yes
• Section 5: yes
• Section 6: 6
• Section 7: 2
• Click on the button “Generate Form”
• find the case number and location on the F3 Notice of Family Claim
• filed by Ting Shu Mak at the Vancouver Court Registry
• coming before the Honourable Mr. Justice J.P. Brown, as the decision was not reserved it was given at the end of the one day trial September 14, 2021.
• orders
o divorce
o by consent, parenting arrangements— the court has decided to use the wording in the F3
o by consent, child support according to the child support guidelines—calculate and use the wording in the F5 with the payment to be made on the first of the month.
o the claimant pay to the respondent spousal support in the amount of $1,000.00 per month pursuant to the Divorce Act; and
o costs to be paid by the claimant to the respondent
Family Law Chapter 8
8.55
5. You prepare a Form 71 Bill of Costs. (September 16, 2021) Save the completed F71 as: PE8.2F71YourLastName.
Check your work with the file named PE8.2F71Key.pdf
• Style of Proceedings from the F3
• filed by Ting Shu Mak
• scale of difficulty has not been determined by the court and is therefore ordinary
• Item 1—yes, claim for
• Item 2—yes, claim for
• Item 3—you attended one day at Examination for discovery
• Item 4—there were no contested applications
• Item 6—you attended one trial management conference
• Item 7—the trial lasted one day
• Item 8—this fills in automatically
• Item 9—this fills in automatically
• Add 12% for PST and GST on the cost items.
• “other costs” none
• Disbursements: photocopying $280.00 and add 5% for GST and nothing for PST.
Family Law Chapter 8
8.56
RE Divorce
DATE January 16, 2021
CLIENT IDENTIFICATION
FULL NAME OF CLIENT
TING SHU MAK (aka TINA SHIRLEY MAK) (she/her/hers)
TELEPHONE
(Home) 604-437-2245
(Cell) 604-808-4789
ADDRESS
#112-1444 41 Avenue
E-MAIL: tinasmak@yahoo.com
Vancouver, B.C. V5P 2V1
At this residence since
BIRTH DATE
October 23, 1984
BIRTHPLACE: Burnaby, B.C.
BC RESIDENT SINCE
October 23, 1984
SIN
998-990-993
OCCUPATION
MOA
INCOME:
$37,000.00
EMPLOYER:
Dr. Donna L. J. Yee
TELEPHONE: 604-493-6680
5780 Cambie Street
Vancouver, B.C. V5Z3A7
PARTICULARS OF MARRIAGE/RELATIONSHIP
COMMENCEMENT DATE OF COMMON-LAW RELATIONSHIP, if any:
DATE OF MARRIAGE
August 8, 2011
Place: Burnaby, B.C.
DATE OF SEPARATION
January 1, 2020
POSSIBILITY OF RECONCILIATION
None
CLIENT
SPOUSE
STATUS BEFORE MARRAGE
SINGLE
WIDOWER
NAME BEFORE MARRIAGE
TING SHU WANG
BOLIN LIWEI MAK
SURNAME AT BIRTH
WANG
MAK
PARTICULARS OF THE PAST, CARE OF CHILDREN
The child of the marriage, Dillon Mak, has always been in the care and control of our client, the respondent and it is proposed that the child remain in the respondent’s care and control in the future. The said child has resided with the claimant since birth and since the separation of the parties.
The respondent’s mother resides in the home with the respondent and her son and provides loving and appropriate child care for the period from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily while the plaintiff is at work.
The respondent has suitable accommodation and a loving environment for the said child and intends to that the child will continue to attend schools close to her residence.
The claimant believes that it is in the best interest of the child that the respondent continue to exercise all parental responsibilities over the child.
Family Law Chapter 8
8.57
The claimant would like the continued reasonable parenting time with the child. Currently, that is each Sunday between 11:30 AM and 7 PM with pickup and drop-off at the respondent’s home.
SPOUSE IDENTIFICATION
NAME OF SPOUSE
BOLIN LIWEI MAK (aka SAMMY LEE MAK) (he/him/his)
TELEPHONE
(Home) 604-876-1213
(Cell) 604-230-2290
ADDRESS
1331 West 41 Avenue
E-MAIL: bolimak@telus.net
Vancouver, B.C. V7T 1B6
At this residence since
BIRTH DATE
February 18, 1974
BIRTHPLACE: Vancouver, B.C.
BC RESIDENT SINCE
February 18, 1974
SIN
887-979-656
OCCUPATION
Engineering Assistant III
INCOME
$66,000.00
EMPLOYER:
City of Vancouver
TELEPHONE 604.873.7000
453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1V4
LAWYER OF SPOUSE:
Mr. Jake Schultz, Barrister and Solicitor
Client File No. JS-8737
Suite 300 – 3890 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, B.C. V7E 4R5
Telephone: 604-668-7227
Fax: 604-668-7200
CHILDREN
NAME
SEX
BIRTH DATE
PLACE OF BIRTH
Dillon Lee Mak
Male
June 13, 2013
Vancouver, BC
REAL PROPERTY: none
PERSONAL PROPERTY: already divided
Family Law Chapter 8
8.58
All court forms for this simulation can be found at the AG of BC website. Google “Family Forms Supreme BC” and download the forms.
Commencement to Disclosure
Today is April 10, 2023
You are working for Gail B. Amherst of Amherst Brown and Company. Ms. Amherst’s client, Vasily Plisetskaya, has been served with an F3 Notice of Family Claim for divorce and the Claimant’s F8 Financial Statement.
Ms. Amherst has given you the Plisetskaya Client Information Sheet and has asked you to open a new file. She doesn’t have time to read the F3 Notice of Family Claim because she has to be in court for a contentious divorce trial that is expected to run for five days. As she is running out the door, she tells you she will read the F3, then give it to you to place in the Plisetskaya client folder.
Open a new file using the usual steps.
1. Print the Client Information Sheet, found in the Data Files folder, punch, and fasten it on the correspondence side of the client folder.
NOTE: To reduce printing costs, you will print only ONE copy of all documents in GA8.
In real life, if you work at a firm that has paper files you would ALWAYS print a copy of
everything for your file. If you work at a firm with electronic filing, you will need to ensure
the documents have been stored in the correct electronic files.
Ms. Amherst returns from court, reads the F3 Notice of Family Claim and gives it and the F8
Financial Statement to you to place in the Plisetskaya client folder.
1. Open the data file named GA8.F3. pdf print it and paper clip it and place it loosely in the Plisetskaya client folder to be included in the Trial Record Book.
2. Open the data file named GA8ClaimantF8.pdf. To save some paper for you (but you would not in real life) print the first page only, placing it loosely in the Plisetskaya client folder to be included in the Trial Record Book. Note how many pages the F8 actually is though, as you will need to number the pages of your table of contents in the Trial Record, as if the full document was there.
Today is May 4, 2023
The trial for the other case she was working is over, and Ms. Amherst has had an opportunity to read the F3 Notice of Family Claim. She asks you to prepare the respondent’s Form F4
Response to Family Claim and the F8 Financial Statement.
Family Law Chapter 8
8.59
You prepare Form F4 Response to Family Claim.
1. You download the Form F4 from the Supreme Court website and save the form as
GA8F4YourLastName.pdf.
2. The file number can be found on the Notice of Family Claim.
3. Click on the down facing arrow beside registry. Select Vancouver and then click Enter.
4. Add the Claimant’s full name in the appropriate fields.
5. Click on the box “Filing Party” and add the Respondent’s full name in the appropriate fields.
6. Click on the Address for Service button.
a. Check box beside Counsel Address.
b. Add Gail B. Amherst and the address for Amherst Brown & Company. Add the fax number, but leave the e-mail address open. Amherst Brown & Company does not want information sent through e-mail.
7. Do not add legal representative. This field is for parties who are minors or legally incompetent.
8. The Respondent (Vasily) agrees with the information in sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Notice of Family claim and Schedule 1 (Divorce) of the F3 Notice of Family Claim.
9. If you read the F3 Notice of Family Claim, you will see that Schedule 2 (Children) is to give information about children. There are no children. Therefore, the section for Schedule 2 on the Form F4 will not be completed.
10. The Respondent agrees with the information in Schedule 3 of the F3 Notice of Family Claim. He is agreeing with the facts, not with the claim.
11. Section 5: the Respondent agrees with the claim for divorce. There are no claims on the Notice of Family Claim for parenting arrangements, child support or division of family property/debt so leave those blank. The Respondent disagrees that the Claimant needs spousal support to be independent. She worked as a college instructor before their son and daughter were born, stayed at home with the children until each was three years of age and then went back to work as a college instructor. The Claimant has been working for over 25 years and earns a salary equal to the Respondent’s. As well as earning a salary, the Claimant inherited over $250,000.00 from a deceased aunt in 2013. The purpose of spousal support is to help a spouse become independent. The Claimant is already independent.