Family Law Court Process: Step 2 - The Answer
If you've made an application or a motion to change, the other party will have to make an answer ("Form 10 Answer"). Alternatively, if you've been served with an application or motion to change, you will have to make an answer, unless you do not wish to defend your position. In that case, the other party can obtain a summary hearing to deal with his or her claims more quickly against you.
In most cases an answer is made. Think of an answer as the family law version of a statement of defence. It responds to the claims made in the application or motion to change. It alleges new facts that the responding party is using to support its position. The answer also has a section in which the responding party can make claims of its own with alleged facts to support those new claims.
If you are the respondent (the one making the answer), you'll generally have to also prepare a financial statement. In family law, even if property is not in dispute, income is relevant to other issues, such as a parent's ability to pay for the children's needs if that parent is asking for primary care of the child. The party making the application would have likely had to file and serve a financial statement, as well. I'll write about financial disclosure in other posts.
The legal fees for making an answer are approximately what they are for making an application or motion to change. The costs rise as you increase the complexity and number of the claims, but they generally work out to be in the range of about $3,500 to $5,000 per answer.
Your family law lawyer will work with you to gather all the disclosure you need to make a financial statement and will guide you through the process of gathering the facts necessary to support the positions you want to take. Your lawyer would also advise you on what claims you can make or should make and their chances of success.
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