Stratford Divorce & Family Law Blog

Family Law Court Process - The Settlement Conference In previous articles, I wrote about what you could expect at early stages of the family law court process. The procedure is that after a case conference and possibly a motion, another pre-trial hearing called a settlement conference is scheduled. At times a settlement conference can be combined with a case conference, but often a settlement conference will be held separately and after all disclosure has been made. A matter cannot proceed to trial without having held a settlement conference. What Can I Expect at My Settlement Conference? A settlement conference is intended to promote resolution of the issues after all financial disclosure and reporting has been made to the parties and the court. With the benefit of the entire picture, a judge at a settlement conference is in a position to provide a judicial opinion that gives each party a solid assessment of the strengths and weakn...

Step 4:  What Is a Case Conference? After you have started a court action in family law, the first major appearance that you can expect to have is a pre-trial hearing called a case conference. The case conference has been called the most important step in family law litigation. This hearing is held in front of a judge and allows both sides, either self-represented or with their lawyers, to obtain orders on procedural matters and possibly hear a judge’s view of the case at an early stage.  While a judge may offer preliminary opinions on the issues, no binding decision will be made on a substantive issue in your case. Obtaining a judge’s feedback can be helpful because it allows the parties to see their arguments from a different point of view and possibly reassess the strength of their claims. In turn, this may help to resolve matters through negotiation or mediation. Photo credit: Diane Webb What Can I Expect at My Case Co...

Changing Child Support In a previous post I wrote about a motion to change. A person would start a court proceeding with a motion to change when they already have a separation agreement with an estranged or ex-spouse, but they want to change something that was agreed to.  In Ontario, the law allows for a change if the payor has experienced a major change in circumstances, such as reduced income or debilitating health problem that prevents them from working as they used to. Kevin Costner Case In the r ecent decision in California , actor Kevin Costner apparently had a marriage contract signed before he married his estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner. In their divorce process , the two disagreed about the amount of child support he should continue paying for their three children. Earlier in the court process, a judge awarded the amount of US$129,000 on a temporary basis. Recently, the pair returned to court to get a final decision. Ms. Baumgartner wanted US$161,592. In the end, t...

The Family Law Court Process: Step 3 - The Reply A possible third step in the family law or divorce court process is the Reply. I say it's possible because a Reply is only made when the respondent makes an Answer that raises new claims. In that case, the applicant can respond to only the new claims. Similar to the application and the answer, the Reply will set out the applicant's response to the new issue(s) raised by the respondent. But if the responding person does not raise new issues in his or her Answer, the applicant does not make a Reply. A Reply can be lengthy and your family law lawyer will write the response with your input. The costs associated with making a Reply are approximately the same as the other main documents -- $3500 to $5000 -- depending on the length of the response and the complexity of gathering information needed to respond to the new claims. Photo credit: Olya Harytovich A Reply can be made only by the applicant. So if you are considering starting a c...

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 ...

Family Law Court Process: The Motion to Change Another way your family law lawyer may start your court process is with a motion to change. This tool is used when you already have a domestic contract with another person. This might be a separation agreement. Or you may have a court order from a previous matter that sets out how much someone must pay in spousal support or child support.  As the name indicates, this litigation tool allows you to ask the court to change, or vary, a term in an existing contract or an order of the court based on significant changes to your circumstances or ability to pay. The motion to change is similar to the application in that you will have to discuss with your lawyer what requests you are making of the court and the facts and supporting documents that you are using to bolster your request. Spousal Support and Periodic (Monthly) Payments If you have been receiving spousal support on a monthly basis or child support for your child(ren), you may be brou...

Family Law Court Process If you start litigation in your family law matter, or if you are served with a court application or motion to change, there are several major steps along the road toward a judicial decision: Step 1: The Application Unless you have a court order or a signed contract, the way in which you would begin the court process is through an application. In discussion with your lawyer, you would decide what claim(s) to make and list the facts that you intend to rely on to support the claim(s).  If you are making claims that involve support or property, you will also have to prepare a financial statement that accompanies the application. Your lawyer will help you identify which type of financial statement and to gather the required supporting documents, which we generally call "disclosure." If your application includes a claim for decision making responsibility, you will also have to swear to a document called an affidavit for parenting matters, which sets out inf...