1. Review your partner’s court forms

Your partner has to serve you with a copy of their court forms. The purpose of service is to let you know that your partner has started a court case against you and to give you a chance to respond.

Rule 6: Service of documents says that the first time your partner gives you copies of their court documents, they have to serve you by special service. This means your partner can't give them to you directly. They have to get a family member or friend over 18 years old to serve you, or they can hire a professional process server.

Once you get your partner's documents, read them carefully. Make sure you understand the orders your partner is asking for.

You will get a:

• Form 8: Application, which tells you the orders your partner is asking for, and their reasons for those orders.
• Form 8.0.1: Automatic Order, which tells you what you must do next. For example, it says that you must:
  • Serve your partner with your documents and a copy of the Automatic Order. See What does serving your documents mean in a family court case?
  • Attend a Mandatory Information Program (MIP) session within 45 days, if you have not already done so. See What is the Mandatory Information Program in my family court case?
  • Serve and file a financial statement with supporting documents, if there are support issues. See What is a financial statement? What documents do I have to give my partner?

If you don't do these things before your case conference, the judge might say you “have not complied”. This means you did not follow the order. You may have to pay your partner's legal costs.

You may also get:

• Form 35.1: Affidavit (decision-making responsibility, parenting time, contact), if your partner is asking for decision-making responsibility or parenting time. These used to be called custody and access. This form has your partner's story of your family situation before you separated and your partner's suggested parenting plan for after you separate.
• Form 13: Financial Statement or Form 13.1: Financial Statement, which has information on your partner's finances. You get this form only if your partner is asking for:
  • child support that is more than what they would get under the child support tables,
  • spousal support, or
  • to divide property.
• Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure, where your partner lists all the documents that prove what they said in their financial statement.