You and/or your spouse should bring:

(a) Your original (fully completed and signed) Notice of Family Claim or Joint Notice of Family Claim. (“NOFC”)

(b) 2-3 additional copies of your fully completed and signed NOFC.

(c) Your original marriage certificate. (It must be the original certificate – not a photocopy – and this will not be returned to you. If your original marriage certificate is not in English, you will need to have it professionally translated by a certified translator, and that translator will need to provide an Affidavit to be filed with it.)

(d) Registration of Divorce Proceedings, which you can find here.

(e) $200.00, payable by cheque, debit card, or cash.

The original signed copy of your completed NOFC, Registration of Divorce Proceeding, and marriage certificate will be filed with the court, and your photocopies of the NOFC will be stamped and provided to you. You should keep one copy, and you will need to personally serve the other copy on the opposing party or his/her legal counsel.

Parties cannot serve each other with court documents. The NOFC can be served by anyone except you. Whoever personally serves your spouse with the NOFC may need to prepare an Affidavit of Service, which will be filed in the court. The Affidavit of Service proves that your spouse was served in the event that he or she does not file a Response to Family Claim. If your spouse files a Response to Family Claim, an Affidavit of Service is generally not required. Your spouse will have 30 days to file a Response to Family Claim and Counterclaim, but it is relatively common for parties to file past this deadline. Your spouse will not be barred from responding or filing a Counterclaim if he or she does not meet this deadline.