Part 3: Answers

If you are served with an application, you almost always have to take some sort of action, such as filing an answer and other forms with the court to respond to the claims against you. You may also make claims against the applicant or another person (an added respondent) in your answer.

It’s important that you take the appropriate next steps as soon as possible so that you don’t miss any deadlines. If you miss your deadline to serve and file an answer, the court case can go ahead and a judge may make final orders without your input.

Rule 10 of the Family Law Rules tells you about how to answer an application.

Steps to Answering an Application

Step 1: Review the Forms that were Served on You

It is important to review the forms you’ve been served with because they will determine your next steps. Read all the forms and documents you received closely because they can include:

The date when you need to appear in court.
Instructions about what to do next.
When you need to respond.

Step 2: Fill Out Your Answer and Supporting Documents

You can find the court forms online or at any family court office.

You can complete the forms on a computer or by hand. Please make sure your handwriting is clear and the court file number is in the top right corner of each page of your forms. Court staff can’t complete the forms for you.

You will need to swear or affirm that the information in some of your forms is true, and sign them in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits. There are commissioners for taking affidavits at all family court offices who will commission your forms for free. Remember, it is a criminal offence to swear or affirm a false or misleading affidavit.

To respond to an application, you will need:

Form 10: Answer. In this form, you say why you agree or don’t agree with the claims that the applicant is making. You can also make your own claims in this form.

Depending on your circumstances and what you’re asking for, you will also need to prepare:

Form 35.1: Affidavit (decision-making responsibility, parenting time, contact), if you’re making a claim for parenting time or decision-making responsibility in respect of a child. You must sign this form in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits.

The following financial disclosure documents, if your case involves child support, spousal support, or property issues:
- Form 13: Financial Statement (Support Claims), if you’re responding to or making a claim for child support or spousal support, but your case does not involve property issues. You must sign this form in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits. Learn more about ways to arrange child support.
- Form 13.1: Financial Statement (Property and Support Claims), if you’re responding to or making claims related to property or debts (whether or not your case involves support issues). You must sign this form in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits.
- Proof of current income (for example, your most recent pay stub, social assistance statement, or pension stub that shows your year-to-date income). Attach these documents to your Financial Statement (Form 13 or Form 13.1).
- Proof of income for the past three taxation years, which must be one of the following:
  - Your Notices of Assessment and any Notices of Reassessment for each of the past three years. If your notices are unavailable for a particular year, you can use an Income and Deductions printout provided by the Canada Revenue Agency. You can contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-8281.
  - Other proof of income for each of the past three years, if you swear or affirm a statement in your Financial Statement (Form 13 or Form 13.1) that you are not required to and have chosen not to file an income tax return because of the Canadian Indian Act.
- If you’re asking for special or extraordinary expenses for a child, you also need to provide proof of these expenses (e.g., daycare receipts).
- Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure. In this form, you confirm which financial documents you have served on the applicant. This form must be served and filed either before or with your first case conference materials. For more information, see A Guide to Procedures in Family Court, Part 4: Financial Disclosure. You may also refer to Rule 13 of the Family Law Rules.

You should make at least two photocopies of all your completed forms – one copy for yourself, one copy for the applicant, and the original for the court.

Get Help Completing Your Court Forms

If you want help filling out the forms and you don’t have a lawyer, you can:

Visit a Family Law Information Centre (FLIC).
Use the Guided Pathways to Family Court Forms.
Visit the Steps to Justice website.

You can find more information about these resources in A Guide to Procedures in Family Court, Part 1: Information Before You Start Your Family Case.

Step 3: Serve All Your Documents

After you have completed, signed, and sworn or affirmed (if needed) your forms, you have to serve the applicant and every other party named in your case.

You can serve the documents yourself, using regular or special service. Alternatively, you can ask a friend or a family member who is over the age of 18, or you can hire a professional process server to serve the forms for you. You can get the name of a process server online.

If it isn’t safe for you, a friend, or a family member to serve the documents and you cannot afford to hire a process server, you can ask the court staff to arrange to have your documents served for you.

Make photocopies of all your documents that you completed in Step 2 and serve them on every party named in the case:

Within 30 calendar days if you were served with the application in Canada or the United States, or
Within 60 calendar days if you were served with the application outside Canada or the United States.

There are rules about how to count time correctly. If you don’t follow the rules, court staff may not accept your documents.

See A Guide to Procedures in Family Court, Part 6: Serving Documents for more information on service and counting time. You may also refer to Rule 3 and Rule 6 of the Family Law Rules.

Step 4: File Your Documents with Proof of Service

After you have served the applicant and any other party in your case:

Complete Form 6B: Affidavit of Service (one for each party that was served). In this form, you give information to prove to the court that you served your documents. The person who served the documents (whether it was you or somebody else) must swear or affirm that the information in Form 6B is true, and sign the form in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits. There are commissioners for taking affidavits at all family court offices who will commission the form for free. Remember, it is a criminal offence to swear or affirm a false or misleading affidavit. It is your responsibility to make sure that the information in Form 6B is true.

File all your original documents and Form 6B at the courthouse location listed at the top of the forms you received from the applicant. This is the courthouse with all the information about your case. You have to go to this location anytime you need to appear in court or file a document. You will include your original documents and Form 6B in the Continuing Record for your case and update the table of contents.

See A Guide to Procedures in Family Court, Part 5: Filing Documents for more information on how to file documents in family court.

Court Filing Fees

If your case is at the Superior Court of Justice or the Family Court Branch of the Superior Court of Justice, you may be required to pay a court fee or qualify for a fee waiver to file your responding documents. If you’re eligible for a fee waiver, you won’t have to pay most fees. Learn more about fee waivers.

There is no fee to file documents at the Ontario Court of Justice.

More information about court filing fees is available in A Guide to Procedures in Family Court, Part 5: Filing Documents.

Next Steps

The next steps in your family court case may include a:

Mandatory Information Program (MIP): In most circumstances, you and the other party will be required to attend different, free MIP sessions before your first appearance or conference and no later than 45 days after the case was started.
First appearance: The first appearance date will be written on the first page of the application if your case is at the Ontario Court of Justice or the Family Court Branch of the Superior Court of Justice, unless there are divorce or property claims in your case.
Case conference: If your case is at the Superior Court of Justice and the first appearance date is not written on the first page of the application, you or the applicant is responsible for scheduling your first court appearance, which is usually a case conference.
Motion: The Family Law Rules generally require parties to attend a conference before any motions, unless there is a situation of urgency or hardship.

More information about these possible next steps is available in A Guide to Procedures in Family Court, Part 7: Required Steps.

You should always make sure you know what the next step is in your family court process. If you’re not sure, court staff or a lawyer can help you understand what steps may be required in your case.

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