5 Steps to Getting Divorced in BC
Short answer: to get a divorce in British Columbia you file a Notice of Family Claim (Form F3) in the BC Supreme Court, have it personally served on your spouse, and then wait out the 30 days your spouse has to file a Response to Family Claim. If no response is filed, the divorce can usually be finished in writing — a desk order divorce — without either of you appearing in court. Two threshold requirements apply: one of you must have been habitually resident in BC for at least the year before the case starts (Divorce Act, s. 3(1)), and you must be able to show a ground for divorce.
Below is how each step works, and what our Surrey office charges for it.
Grounds for Divorce in BC
There is only one ground for divorce in Canada — breakdown of the marriage (Divorce Act, s. 8(1)). Section 8(2) sets out the three ways to establish it:
One Year Separation
You and your spouse have lived separate and apart for at least one year. Section 8(3) allows you to resume living together for a period, or periods, totalling not more than 90 days with reconciliation as the primary purpose without restarting the clock. Some couples separate but keep living in the same house, and that can still count as living separate and apart; a Surrey divorce lawyer from our office can tell you what factors courts consider when deciding whether you are separated.
Physical or Mental Cruelty
Your spouse has treated you with physical or mental cruelty of such a kind as to make continued cohabitation intolerable.
Adultery
Your spouse has committed adultery.
Separation is by far the most common route, and it is the only one that does not require you to prove the other spouse's conduct.
5 Steps to Starting a Divorce Action in British Columbia
It will probably be best if you and your spouse can agree on major issues such as child support, parenting arrangements, spousal support and property issues before you apply for a divorce. If you cannot agree, you can ask the court to decide. But if you do that, your divorce may take longer to complete. It will probably also be much more expensive and stressful for you and your family if the court has to make these decisions for you. Our Surrey Divorce lawyer can guide you through this process and shift the burden.
If you and your spouse are considering divorce, it's important to know what your options are before proceeding with the action. Divorce in British Columbia, Canada can be either an uncontested divorce (meaning you both agree on the division of assets and debts, parenting arrangements and child support) or a contested divorce (meaning there are conflicts that need to be resolved through the legal process). If you and your spouse cannot agree on these issues, it's time to start a divorce action by filing a Notice of Family Claim with the BC Supreme Court.
1) Decide if you want to divorce
Divorce can be one of the most difficult and emotionally draining experiences, but it is also necessary if you want your life back.
Find a lawyer. It is best to start with a lawyer who works in family law regularly. If you do not know any lawyers, there are many options for finding one. You can ask friends and family for recommendations, or search the Law Society of BC Lawyer Directory, which lists the names, contact information and current practice status of lawyers licensed in BC.
Divorces are never easy and they are never perfect, but with the right Surrey divorce lawyer by your side, you can feel prepared for the journey ahead.
A Surrey divorce lawyer from our Surrey Law Firm will make sure you know what to expect during every step of the process, so that you are as confident as possible about how things will play out.
2) Gather the Required Documents
When it comes to starting your divorce action, the first thing you need is your marriage certificate. If you have misplaced it, you can order a replacement from the BC Vital Statistics Agency — marriage certificates can be ordered online, by mail, or in person at a Service BC office, by either person named on the certificate or by someone with their written authorization.
After obtaining your marriage certificate, you will need to contact a Surrey divorce lawyer who can help with filling out the necessary forms for your case.
You will then need to review your financial circumstances and know what you (and your ex) have in terms of assets including real property, bank accounts, pensions, and debts.
You should also think about any children or other dependants you may have. Parenting arrangements, parenting time and decision-making responsibility, contact, and child support all need to be addressed, and the court decides parenting questions on the best interests of the child. If support should have been paid for an earlier period, ask your lawyer about retroactive child support. This is also a good time to consider whether you need a separation agreement, or whether an interim court application is required before you take steps to finalize your divorce.
3) File a Notice of Family Claim
A Notice of Family Claim is the document that starts a divorce action. It is filed in Form F3 at a registry of the Supreme Court of British Columbia under Rule 4-1 of the Supreme Court Family Rules, and the court will not deal with your case until it has been filed and properly served on your spouse.
Form F3 asks you to set out:
- The parties — each claimant and respondent, and how they are related to the case.
- The spousal relationship history — the date you began living together in a marriage-like relationship, the date and place of the marriage, and the date of separation.
- Prior orders, agreements and proceedings that relate to any of the claims you are making.
- The relief you are claiming, by checking the box for each order you want and attaching the matching schedule: Schedule 1 for the divorce, Schedule 2 for orders respecting children, Schedule 3 for spousal support, Schedule 4 for family property and family debt, and Schedule 5 for any other order.
Schedule 1 is where the divorce itself is set out. It asks for each spouse's birthdate, the date each has been habitually resident in British Columbia since, surnames at birth and immediately before the marriage, marital status before the marriage, the place of marriage, and the ground you are relying on — either the date you began living separate and apart (with any periods of attempted reconciliation), or adultery or cruelty under section 8(2)(b) of the Divorce Act. You also confirm there is no possibility of reconciliation and that you are not part of any arrangement to deceive the court.
Ask for everything you may want at this stage. Claims that are left out can be difficult to add later.
4) Serve the Notice of Family Claim
A Notice of Family Claim must be personally served on each respondent — Rule 6-3 of the Supreme Court Family Rules lists it among the documents that require personal service. Personal service on an individual means having someone who is not a party and who is at least 19 years old leave the document with the person being served. It cannot be done by ordinary mail, registered mail, email or fax, and you cannot serve it yourself. In practice a process server handles it and then swears an affidavit of service proving it was done.
If your spouse cannot be found, or if personal service is unsafe or impractical, you can apply to the court for an order for substituted service — allowing service by some other method — or, in some circumstances, for an order dispensing with service altogether.
Once served, your spouse has 30 days to file a Response to Family Claim in Form F4 and serve a copy on you (Rule 4-3). A respondent who wants to make claims of their own files a counterclaim in Form F5 within the same 30 days. Form F3 itself warns that orders, including orders granting the relief claimed, may be made against a respondent who does not file in time.
5) Wait Out the Response Period, Then Complete the Divorce Package
Check the court file at the end of the 30 days to see whether your spouse (the respondent) filed a Response to Family Claim before you take any further step — what you do next depends on the answer.
If no response was filed, the case is undefended and can usually be finished in writing, without a court appearance. Rule 10-10 of the Supreme Court Family Rules governs final orders in undefended family law cases: you apply by requisition in Form F35 and file the supporting material it requires, including a draft of the order you want, proof that the case is undefended, a registrar's certificate that the pleadings are in order, proof of service, and the affidavits required for divorce, child support and guardianship — for a divorce that includes the Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38). A judge reviews the package in chambers and, if everything is in order, grants the divorce order. Our step-by-step walkthrough of that paperwork is here: desk order divorce in BC.
If a response was filed, the case is defended and the disputed issues are worked through the court process — financial disclosure, a judicial case conference, applications, and negotiation or mediation along the way. Under Rule 7-1, with limited exceptions a party cannot serve a notice of application until a judicial case conference has been conducted, so the JCC is usually the first time you are in front of a judge. Many defended files settle before trial.
How Much Does a Divorce Cost in BC?
We charge a set fee of $2200 for a simple desk order divorce. This is when both the parties do not have any other issues except the divorce and we file the Supreme Court of BC forms that includes that relief in a Notice of Family Claim to be filed in BC. If you require a settlement of issues such as a separation agreement relating to child support, parenting arrangements, or property issues then our law firm will charge between $900 to $8000.00 for a separation agreement to be filed with the Divorce Claim. We highly recommend cost effective separation agreements and mediations instead of paying high fees for our trial lawyers to litigate.
Court filing fees are payable to the court registry and are separate from what we charge.
Want to know which of those two paths fits your situation? Book a free consultation or call our Surrey office at (778) 381-9977.
This page is general information about the divorce process in British Columbia, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Court rules and forms change. For advice on your own situation, speak with a lawyer.